I learned from the Japanese the concept of taking company trips. I mean LEISURE trips. It’s when your boss takes you and your co-workers to a fancy ryokan hotel, where you spend one and a half days strolling in a yukata (casual cotton version of the kimono), taking a dip in a natural hot spring pool (onsen), and enjoying an exquisite multi-course kaiseki meal which lasts for hours, only to restart the next morning as breakfast courses roll in over a period of two hours. I remember at one of those fancy feasts, the lobster antennae were still moving as the creature’s belly had been opened to expose its meat; I picked away at the morsels with my chopsticks and it WAS the freshest sashimi I ever had. It may sound a little too exotic for some, but I was pretty wowed.
Company Trips For Employees – Making Lasting Memories
So fast forward a few years, now a business owner myself, and since my company has been on solid financial ground, I began to organize company trips for my employees. Except that instead of the Japanese-style 1.5 day trips, ours last up to two weeks. You see, each one of us lives and works in a different corner of the globe, so when we fly in to one location to spend a few days together, we want to make sure it’s worth that long commute. Over the past several years, we’ve gathered in Rio de Janeiro, happened to stay in Pablo Coelho’s old apartment before flying off into the Amazon where we swam with pink dolphins. One year, we went to San Fran and did a fun food tour in an elegant part of the city.
Celebrating 20th Company Anniversary in Africa
This year, to celebrate our company’s 20th anniversary, we did something extra special and all got together in Nairobi, from where we took a 14-seater plane to the Masai Mara and went on 4 days of safari rides. It was amazing to see herds of zebras, hippos, antelopes, giraffes, families of elephants, and the occasional wild cat. To see these animals in their environment where WE were guests, was truly astounding. After that, we flew to Zanzibar to rest in a beach house on the Indian Ocean.
Our company trips to me are not only a way to reward my employees for their dedication and care, but it’s like travelling with friends. We make a point, on these trips, to limit work-related talk. It’s just time for fun to replenish our energy for another year of work and service to our clients.
