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Southern
Housing Group Annual Staff Conference 2002
"Although
we knew what we wanted to achieve with this event, we weren't entirely
sure how something quite so unusual would go down with staff from
so many different backgrounds. But what happened on the day itself
surprised and pleased us all." Jackie Carter, Central Services
Director, Southern Housing Group
In 2001 Southern
Housing Group (SHG), a not-for-profit housing association, began
to plan for a staff conference "with a difference": a
full day's programme bringing together their entire staff, for the
first time, from regional offices all over southern England - approximately
400 people in total. The aim was to motivate and inspire the staff
with an inclusive vision for the future - and to have some fun in
the process.
Fresh
Tracks had worked with SHG previously and knew that it was an
organisation open to new ideas. The programme was developed in liaison
with the Group's Central Services Director, Jackie Carter, who was
keen that the day should be seen as a valuable and inspiring use
of each participant's time: "We wanted everyone to leave feeling
proud of the organisation, ambitious for its future and energised
to develop their own skills within it".
To mix up the
participants, the delegates were divided into tables of about eight
people from different regions, disciplines and levels of seniority.
And to ensure that the programme ran smoothly, each table had a
table host who had attended a training day focusing on leadership
and facilitation skills to ensure that they were confident leading
sessions and activities on the day of the conference.
The programme
featured a mix of presentations and work sessions all aimed at realising
SHG's three main objectives for the conference: to share knowledge
and expertise; to celebrate success; and to break down barriers
and encourage communication between different parts of the organisation.
A popular session
was a video and film-writing session. Teams were asked to develop
a storyboard for a 2-minute promotional video about SHG. Each team
was given a Polaroid camera with which to create images for their
storyboard and 45 minutes to get their ideas onto the board. Over
lunch the completed storyboards were displayed, highlighting an
impressive breadth of ideas, creativity and imagination.
In one of the
final sessions participants were asked to pin down ideas for implementing
some of the examples of best practice that they had heard about
during the day. This was done in the form of a confidential "letter
home" which was posted by Fresh
Tracks to the recipients a month later.
At the end
of the day, most participants were leaving with a smile on their
face: "I really enjoyed it". The aim had been to get people
talking to each other and give everyone an opportunity to find out
a bit more about the successes and plans of the organisation for
which they worked. Above all people had had fun and in doing so,
were encouraged to think creatively about their contribution to
the organisation, and ways in which they could enrich their own
working environment. "Very informative, good team building
and a fun day for all".
For
Full Version Click Here
©Fresh
Tracks 2001, for more information
click here or email: mail@freshtracks.co.uk
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