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Candice: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome back to the Admin Avenues Podcast. I'm your host, Candice Burningham, and today my guest is Will [00:01:00] Mason from Beyond the Boardroom, Pinnacle Team Events, and Corporate Volunteering Australia. Will, welcome to the show
Will Mason: Thank you, Candice. It's fabulous to be
Candice: Wonderful. And we're gonna be talking about why great teamwork is never accidental. So, ~um,~ we're gonna explore what it really takes to build connected, high-performing teams, and why the most powerful workplaces and connections are often ~cr-~ created outside the meeting rooms. I know it's very hard in an office to try and create a vibe,~ uh,~ if you can even get them to the office.
But when you put on cool events and things that they actually wanna be involved in, it's a much better way of doing it. So just a little bit about Will. ~Uh, ~he's a leading corporate team building event expert, ~uh,~ and the driving force behind Beyond the Boardroom pinnacle team events and,~ uh,~ Corporate Volunteering Australia.
You, you, you like to put a fair bit on your plate, don't you?
Will Mason: I like to keep busy, Candace. That's right. Yep.
Candice: And so you're also the national,~ uh,~ sponsors of our upcoming conference series, which is super exciting. So if you're coming to one of our [00:02:00] conferences, you're going to meet Will or one of his teams and be part of, ~uh,~ a special thing that we're doing at the beginning of each event, but we'll get into that later.
But Will has more than twenty years of experience designing, delivering purposeful corporate experiences across Australia. ~Uh,~ everything from intimate leadership offsite to large scale events for more than a thousand participants. I can't imagine doing that. ~Um,~ and Will and his team are gonna be joining us, as I said, in Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane to kickstart each conference with a high impact icebreaker.
So without further ado, Will, welcome. So you've spent more than twenty years in corporate team building. How on earth did you get started about this, and how do you stay passionate about it after twenty years?
Will Mason: Candace,~ I,~ I sort of got into the corporate team building game, ~uh,~ when I first finished university.~ I, I,~ I did a business degree at university, and I was, throughout my degree, ~uh,~ undertaking a lot of programs where I was working in outdoor education. So typically, I was working with, ~um,~ private [00:03:00] schools and corporate groups, taking them into the outdoors and doing multi-day expedition programs.
And it was as I was sort of working with a lot of these corporate teams doing these multi-day expedition programs that my love for working with corporate groups and corporate teams really started to sort of foster through that time at uni. And literally at the end of my uni degree,~ um,~ I've never shown my degree to anyone.
I'm one of those people that sort of finished the
Candice: on your mom's wall.
Will Mason: that's right, it's on mom's wall, and that's the only place where it's ever sort of been seen because, ~uh,~ Pinnacle Team Events was sort of born at that time. ~Uh, ~myself and a gentleman that I was working with, ~um,~ in outdoor education, ~uh, ~we set up Pinnacle Team Events and,~ uh,~ I think we're now-- I've sort of been, ~um,~ in my 22nd year this year
Candice: That is insane. And
Will Mason: It is insane. And you sort of said, you know, how do I keep passionate about it? I think to answer that question,~ it, it,~ it's never felt like work for me. It's just felt like the [00:04:00] thing that I'm meant to do, you know? And ~my-- ~this infuriates my wife because, ~um, you know, ~I will happily she often has
Candice: off to work.
Will Mason: to say, "Are you coming home tonight?"
Because I am so passionate about, ~um,~ supporting organizations to build a fabulous culture that they're proud of, and I love supporting my team that go out and they're the, they're on the front face delivering all of those programs. ~Um,~ and it, it just doesn't feel like work, and I think that that's why I'm still able to do it and jump out of bed each day after twenty-two years, 'cause it doesn't feel like a job.
It just feels like what I'm meant to be
Candice: Yeah. And I guess, ~you know,~ having experienced these kind of events, you, you're never dealing with people who are cranky or don't wanna be there. It's always an uplifting, people are fun, people are happy to be out of the office. They're, you know, wanna get into the activity. They wanna win. ~Um,~ and then
Will Mason: That's right. And ~we-~ you're exactly right. We're often the best bit of the conference, you know? We're, we're sort of often that really fun bit of the conference and,~ uh, you know, ~often we are scheduled at a, ~um, at a, at a ~[00:05:00] graveyard shift time. You know, often we're on the morning after the night before, ~uh, you know, a,~ a big night or an awards night or something.
That's right. We've gotta, we've gotta get people, ~um,~ inspired ~with a,~ with a slight hangover and get them moving. ~Um,~ but we're not afraid of that, you know? ~We,~ we really enjoy that challenge and, ~um, you know,~ get people to come along for the ride, and we love seeing that transition from a group that maybe arrived, ~you know,~ dragging their heels, but by the time they've finished the program with us, ~um, ~they're, you know...
~We,~ we've literally been able to shift that team, ~um, ~throughout the program, which is what we're all
Candice: And it really is. It's--~ Uh,~ we'll talk about that more later. But now I've said you, you run Pinnacle Team Events, Beyond the Boardroom, and Corporate Volunteering Australia. Can you explain what each business does?
Will Mason: ~Uh,~ absolutely. So Pinnacle Team Events, as I said, was, ~um,~ born sort of 22 years ago, and ~the The,~ the, the brand was sort of built around supporting, ~uh,~ companies having conferences, and we began doing a lot of these conferences in regional New South Wales. So we started with [00:06:00] venues in the Hunter Valley and then the New South Wales Central Coast, and then the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, and the Southern Highlands and the South Coast.
And as our business grew and grew, more and more of these regional conferencing venues, ~um,~ where a lot of groups during that time would go for their multi-day conferences, would recommend Pinnacle Team Events onto their clients. And,~ uh,~ we were then able to support all of those groups with a, with a suite of programs that were sort of designed for groups to engage with at a conference venue.
~Um,~ you can imagine when you go to a lot of these conference venues, they might have a golf course, or they might have a, day spa and a tennis court, but other than that, there wasn't much to do at a lot of these venues. And hence, we built a, a suite of programs that we could deliver at all of these conference venues all around New South Wales.
And the business grew and grew, and clients would then, ~um, you know,~ instead of just booking us at their conference, they would then book us for their team day in the office, ~um, you know,~ or book us for their [00:07:00] end-of-year party. ~Um, you know,~ and so our menu has slowly grown more and more to be able to accommodate groups that aren't just at conference venues, but they're also working out of their company office in, you know, Sydney CBD.
And look, ~so, you know, from, ~from over the 22 years,~ um, ~things have really grown for us from, ~you know,~ sort of what was ~a, you know, a,~ a couple of us at the beginning that would send every email and answer every phone call and,~ um, you know,~ send every invoice.~ Um,~ we now have a team of 20 full-timers across, ~um,~ the three different brands that, ~um, ~support all of these different, ~uh,~ inquiries all across the country.
And Beyond the Boardroom was actually a competitor of ours. And during COVID,~ I, um, ~I still remember this day where I rang around a lot of my competitors in the team building space. ~Uh, ~all the bookings had gone. ~Um, ~all of our staff were on JobKeeper, and things were very, very quiet,~ uh,~ in terms of team building.
No one was doing every- anything. Everyone was working from home. And I rang around a lot of my competitors just to sort of say, "Look, this is crap, you know, [00:08:00] but hang in there. ~Um, you know,~ and let's, let's keep in touch with each other, you know, because there's not many people going through exactly what we're going through right now.
So if you ever want me to,~ you know, ~ha-have a conversation with you, I'm here for a chat, I'm here for a yarn, I'm here to support in any way I can." And ~the,~ the gentleman, ~uh,~ this fella by the name of Luke, who had, ~um,~ sort of set up Beyond the Boardroom, he and I had great sort of strategic conversations around what are you going to do with your business, and what are you gonna do with your business to try to navigate through this time?
And I invested heavily into virtual events, but he actually invested into doing outdoor education, and he set up a business called Beyond the Classroom. And he's successfully now running this, ~uh,~ fabulous business called Beyond the Classroom, where he does outdoor education programs for school groups. ~Uh, ~but when the corporate groups started coming back and Beyond the Boardroom was getting calls, he'd sort of lost a lot of that facilitation team that could deliver those programs.
And so for about six months, every time Beyond the [00:09:00] Boardroom got a booking, it would be delivered by one of my team. So we were sort of helping him out to try to help him get back up on his feet again. And after the six months, he was like: Hey, look, it just makes sense. Why don't you buy me out? And Beyond the Boardroom was a-- It had a slightly different, angle to Pinnacle Team Events.
As the name suggests, a lot of it was about taking groups beyond their boardroom. And so a lot of the programs were designed around, ~um,~ what can we do from your company office? What can we do from your boardroom, you know, in the city of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, you know, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide? And what can we do to take your team out for an experience or do something in your boardroom, that fits into that same team-building space?
so two brands that are very much, both trying to achieve the same thing, but they've got a slightly different angle in the market of how they're doing it and sort of where they're positioning selves. one that's really focused on what can [00:10:00] we do at conference venues, and then the other one is sort of more around what can we do out of your company office.
And look, inevitably, sometimes we might get the same group that in- that inquires, but typically, we find that the marketing, the way that we've sort of steered those two different brands is working, and it's very rare that we get the same inquiry, across either of those two different brands
And then Corporate Volunteering Australia, it came in to play this year, because my passion now after doing this for 22 years is working with corporate groups.
and we can do a team building program that has an outcome that is bigger than that group on the day. And when I sort of say that it's bigger than that group on the day, what I'm referring to here is that I've seen great results for companies and for, a team culture when they can do a team building program that impacts onto a charity.
And a lot of your listeners, I'm sure, would have attended, [00:11:00] you know, programs like ours over the years, where potentially you build a bicycle in a team and you donate that bicycle onto some underprivileged local kids, and your team get to experience these kids coming into the room, that you've built a bicycle for them, and you get to donate that bike to those kids.
It's, it, it's an incredible sort of suite of programs that we have available that are in this sort of corporate social responsibility space. But what I noticed was that there wasn't a, a brand here in Australia that was dedicated wholly and solely to supporting corporate volunteering experiences. And all of our corporate volunteering experiences under Corporate Volunteering Australia are designed that they can be done in your company office.
So you can put on, like a, a corporate volunteering hour over lunch, and your staff can all come into one of your training rooms in your office, and we'll be able to come into that space with every- everything set up, ~um,~ and ready to go, that your groups will [00:12:00] be, whether they're packing boxes to, ~um,~ give to people experiencing homelessness, whether they are making solar-powered lights to be gifted onto people living in extreme energy, energy poverty, whether they're building bicycles to give to underprivileged kids.
We've got a big range of these programs that can all be delivered in your company office, and we're finding, ~um,~ that our-- the, that the market is really resonating with that, with how easy we're making corporate volunteering for them and how we can do it at scale, that we can have this happening in multiple cities, ~uh,~ all across Australia all at the same time.
~Um,~ a lot of organizations now have impact days where, ~you know,~ all 1,000 staff members all wanna get together on the same day and make an impact, and we can support them by having facilitators in each of those capital cities delivering the same program at the same time all across the country.
Candice: Yeah. And we like that because that makes life easier for us, who are usually the ones left to find these experiences for the companies. So I [00:13:00] think that's awesome. ~Um,~ but you also do it outside the boardroom too. Like if they need to go into with ~like, uh,~ charity groups or I think you and I discussed that, ~you know, I,~ I did, ~uh, ~charity work with Ronald McDonald House.
You were saying you also have those kind of
Will Mason: Yes, we've got programs connected in with Ronald McDonald House, and that's sort of the challenge that I think a lot of, ~um, ~big corporate teams have found is that if, for example, you contact Ronald McDonald House, which, ~um, ~I must admit my team have done this several times over the years, where we've been to our local Ronald McDonald House and we've cooked, ~um,~ a meal for the guests that are staying in-house.
And ~there's,~ there's always restrictions around a lot of those ones where you go to the charity to donate your time. And I guess, what do those restrictions look like? It's like maybe you can have a maximum of 12 people in the kitchen cooking at a time, and it's gotta be on a Tuesday or a Thursday, and you've gotta book maybe six weeks ahead, and the time slot is three o'clock until eight o'clock at night.
And you can see all of these restrictions [00:14:00] mean that ~it's,,~ it's obvious that the charities need to have this in place because, ~um,~ they're bound by, ~you know, the, ~the logistics that they're bound by. But for the event organizer who's got 300 people in the office in Sydney on a, on a Tuesday, and my time slot in the agenda is 11 until 12, it's really difficult then for charities to be able to figure out, "Well, what can we do in that time slot in the Four Seasons or in your company office in Melbourne?"
And so that's where corporate volunteering has been able to bridge that gap between what the corporates~ are,~ are looking for and what the charities need, and we then facilitate those programs in between to provide the capacity for the charities to be able to work with those corporate groups.~ Um,~ anywhere from a group of 20 through to 2,000, we've been able to accommodate groups of all sizes.
Candice: That's so good. So your philosophy is great teamwork, and that's not accidental. What does it mean to you?
Will Mason: I mean, I sort of have to practice this [00:15:00] myself, Candace, a leader o-of my team, that you've got to be really intentional about building, ~you know, ~an organization that has great teamwork. And there's so many, ~um,~ pieces I find that sort of, you know, support an organization in having great teamwork. You know, we often get,~ um,~ not often, but every now and then you'll get a group that says, "We're...
~You know,~ we-we've got all these issues, and we want to book this one team-building activity," and expecting that one team-building activity is going to change their entire company culture. And we're really honest with them that we are one of the many things that you need to be doing as leaders to be able to build, ~uh,~ team that works really well together.
And you've got to be really intentional about that. There's got to be a lot of things that happen. ~Um,~ you've got to have, ~you know,~ like ~a,~ a shared vision and purpose. I think leaders have got to be really open and transparent about what that vision and purpose is so that you've got your team all coming along for the journey.
~Um,~ that style of leadership, I find, really enables people to [00:16:00] then work together, ~you know, ~rather than sort of being, ~you know, ~closed and guarded. It's great if you're open and transparent. ~Um,~ we are really clear in our organization about our roles and about being accountable for our role, which we find then really helps the individuals within our team to be able to work together well because they know where they stand.
They know what they're accountable for. ~Um,~ mutual respect and inclusivity is, is a really important one, you know, that I think really helps team members to be able to work really well together. ~Um, and,~ and that, ~um, ~that mutual respect often comes from the ability to be able to have ~a,~ a bit of conflict, you know?
But to be able to do conflict in a way that it's done, ~um, ~professionally and constructively. ~Um,~ but how do you sort of allow teams to be able to do that? Well, ~you know, you've sort of got to...~ You've really got to trust each other. And so all of these bits, I think,~ you know, sort of ~mean that, as you can sort of see here, there's so much more than just one team-building activity.
You've got to be really, ~um, you know, ~intentional about putting together [00:17:00] all of these different factors to be able to build a team that can work really well together.~ Um, ~don't just think that by booking, ~um, you know, a,~ a team-building activity once a year that you're going to have a great culture. You've got to really be intentional about it and keep working on it.
It's not something that can just be done once. It's a continual evolving thing that you've got to keep putting time, effort, and energy into.
Candice: Yeah. But I do think sometimes it can be that one event can, that can be the circuit breaker that it pulls you out of the office and remember, while we might be niggling and arguing over things, ~you know, ~when you're out of the office and when you have to do a team event, you do realize you have to rely on other people for this, and you have to remember that everyone's human.
Like, taking, taking people out of the office and seeing people in an environment where you, you've just, you've gotta have that circuit breaker to be like, "I'm not the enemy. I'm a human too. I've got things going on too."
Will Mason: Yeah. And look, I mean,~ uh, d- you know,~ undertaking a team building activity, a lot of groups only do it, ~you know, ~two, three, four times a year, ~you know?~ But you're right, it is often [00:18:00] that circuit breaker, and it's like going to see... You and I spend a lot of our time at
Candice: Yes.
Will Mason: and, ~you know,~ every, every time I see ~a, um, you know, ~a speaker up on stage, I always sort of think, ~you know,~ the speaker's often there for an hour presenting, but my goal is always to take just one or two things from each speaker that I'm listening to.
And if I can just take one or two little golden nuggets from each of those presentations and it shifts just a little bit, it's like a team building activity. If ~y-~ if everyone can just take a couple of little bits from that and it shifts the team just a little bit, the momentum of that over time with all of the different things that you're compounding together, that's what's creating a great culture.
But you're right. Often you do need to take these moments where it's we're bringing everyone together, ~um,~ we're engaging with a conference or with a team building activity, ~um,~ to really have that circuit breaker, as you called it. I think that was a great term. Yeah.
Candice: Yeah. Yeah, because I mean, like, you believe real connection is often built in these moments between the [00:19:00] agenda and, you know, it's those shared challenges and unexpected laughs and spontaneous conversation. Like, why do you think those are the moments that are so powerful in these kind of days?
Will Mason: ~I mean,~ I think,~ you know, ~the- often the conference agenda it is, it's so full,~ um, with, ~with so many different bits. But, ~you know,~ after,~ you know,~ attending thousands and thousands of these over the years where we're presenting our program, we see that it's often those moments between the agenda items where the individuals are getting an opportunity to have a conversation with each other, where they're networking and engaging with each other.
And look, the cornerstone of, ~uh, uh, ~of all, ~um, sort of, you know,~ team building philosophy, it all starts with trust. And what's the best way to build trust? Well, the best way to build trust is, ~you know, ~at an individual level, and, ~you know, ~often people are doing that over a cup of tea or a cup of coffee in between those agenda items.
~Um,~ so I think that as important as the speaker is, and [00:20:00] as important as the,~ you know, ~the gala dinner is, and the team building activity is, all of those agenda items are really important. But I do think that what's just as important is those bits of time in between,~ you know,~ the lunch breaks, the morning tea breaks, the afternoon tea breaks, where all of the delegates are getting that opportunity to connect with each other at a personal level rather than,~ you know, sort of, I guess, sort of ~sitting there and absorbing the material from the leadership team.
~Um,~ because that's how we build trust, is at that personal
Candice: And you wanna share those moment. Like there was this, a speaker last year called Alison Shamir, she's a real, ~um,~ imposter syndrome, ~uh, ~coach, a speaker, specialist. Don't know what the word is. All three. ~Um, ~but it was so funny after her session, seeing people come up to strangers and be like, "She was talking at me.
She was talking at me." And ev- like, everyone except, well, 95% of the room, apparently 5% weren't,~ um,~ and that's just a stat about,~ uh, ~imposter syndrome is, ~uh,~ were just, like, connecting over that [00:21:00] moment of just being like, "I didn't realize I had that." ~Uh, like,~ but you don't get to talk in the moment. You're listening.
You're...
Will Mason: That's right.
Candice: yeah, I could not agree more ~that,~ that it's those moments
Will Mason: and that's what a great speaker or a great team-building activity does, is it then provides that, ~you know, ~shared common experience for all of the participants to then have something in common afterwards. That as we're then going to have that cup of coffee, as we're now sitting down for lunch, that we can now see that we've had this shared experience in common.
And,~ you know,~ humans have this crazy thing that because you and I have got something in common, we're both really passionate about events. The first time I met you, we got along like a house on fire because we've got these things in common. And that's all that it takes, is finding those shared common ground pieces.
And often, ~you know, ~people will reach for, ~you know,~ "How many kids have you got? Where have you come from?" And, ~you know, ~people are then sharing those personal details about themselves, and that's what they're doing in those moments between the agenda to build trust in their team members. Yeah.
That's right
Candice: So with--~ I g-~ I [00:22:00] say this gently because I, I feel like a lot of people aren't being allowed to be as hybrid as they would like to be anymore. But with hybrid and I guess fewer informal workplace interactions, like, do you think conferences and team days and face-to-face experience are becoming more important?
' Cause I think they're trying to push people back into the office, but it's not the s- it's just not the same. It's not what it used to be. Well, when I worked in an office, like we had water cooler chat. We had, you know, who's going out for lunch, who's doing this. But I
Will Mason: Tuesday coffee dates, you know, Thursday drinks, Friday lunch. Yeah, yeah
Candice: So ~do,~ do you feel like th- these kind of events and moments are becoming more important for office culture?
Will Mason: I think they're very much becoming more important. And we- look, we've seen our business grow, ~um,~ sort of nearly fivefold since pre-COVID.~ Um, ~because I put all of that down to the hybrid working is it's trickier to, to create that culture online. And [00:23:00] so organizations, leaders, teams are being more intentional now about getting the band together, ~you know,~ getting everyone together physically.
~Um,~ and look,~ we, we, ~we still host, you know, the odd virtual event, but, , during COVID lockdowns, we were hosting 50 virtual events a week. These days, we might do 50 in a year,~ you know? Um, ~but we are seeing way more, ~um,~ organizations booking multiple programs throughout the year rather than pre-COVID.
It typically used to be, "We'll just do one team-building activity a year because we're with each other Monday to Friday, nine to five in the office all the time." But now, because often people are maybe, ~um,~ working remotely,~ um, ~and they're -- sometimes they might have a couple of days that they need to be in the office, but other organizations, they still might be that they don't have to be at all.
They're having to be more intentional about getting people together more regularly. And in order, I think, to lure people to those opportunities, they're [00:24:00] having to make sure that those opportunities, ~um,~ they're really getting their bang for their buck out of people. You know? They're really having to make sure that they put on great speakers, that they're bringing in organizations like mine to be able to put on programs that really resonate with people.
~Um, you know,~ rather than just inviting people to come into the office, I think that a lot of people are wanting an excuse as to why are we coming into the office. ~Um,~ so look, I think that, you know, we've seen that it's been, ~um,~ that organizations are needing us more now. They're needing us to be able to help them to build that culture, ~um,~ because they know that all of us as humans, we wanna feel part of something.
You know? We wanna feel part of that culture. We wanna feel important within our team. And a great way of doing that is by making sure ~that ~that team connect and that they get to know each other, and they trust each other, and they work together well, and they feel a part of it rather than, you know... It can be, it can be a lot harder to do that when everyone's working remotely.
Candice: Yeah. But let's be honest, these-- sometimes these team-building events sometimes [00:25:00] have a reputation of forced fun and awkward activities and things like that. So,~ you know, ~what separates a purposeful team experience from one that simply fills time on an agenda?
Will Mason: Fills time. Yeah. And look, I think~ you, you, ~you're very right. We, the years, we, ~um, s- ~still see, ~you know,~ some of our competitors out doing team building activities, particularly if we're in the city.~ Um,~ and we cringe at seeing, ~um,~ the way that some of them are still being done. ~Um,~ we feel that we are really providing team building activities ~in a, in a,~ in a way, in a format that is what the participants would want to in- sort of engage in ~and,~ and in, and really enjoy.
So we never introduce ourselves as the team builders, and we're here today to do team building. We will arrive to the event and present, ~um, you know, ~the program that we're going to be doing~ in, in,~ in a fun and engaging way. And what we see is that we're sort of tricking people into team building. We're not telling them what they're going to be doing today, that they're gonna be team [00:26:00] building, but we present a program that people will engage with and that they really want to be a part of.
And then by the end of it, they're probably like, "Ah, somehow these guys have just tricked me into team building, where I've now learnt more about my colleagues.~ Um, you know, I, ~I've undertaken these activities where we all had to work together as a team, but I've actually had a really good time doing it."
And so, you know, I think ~where, ~where do we start? All of our,~ you know, um, ~inquiries that come into us, our goal is always to be able to, ~um, ~have a conversation with whoever's booking that on behalf of the team. ~Um, ~and one of the key questions in amongst, you know, how many people have you got, and what date and time and location, but what's the purpose?
What's the objective? Why are you booking this? What are you looking for? And that's how we're then able to make sure, just by asking that simple question, that we're able to align the correct program with that outcome or that purpose. And if it is just to have fun, well, great, we've got a suite of programs that we can do that.
But [00:27:00] if it's to align to your company values, well, we've got some programs that can support you in doing that. If it's to have an opportunity to give back to the community, we've got, ~you know,~ these corporate social responsibility programs that can do that. Sometimes it might be a little bit more, ~um, ~intentional about we really need to work on breaking down silos or working on our collaboration, or we're feeling as though we're having miscommunication, and we're wanting to work on that.
So we really want to dive into what's the purpose and what's the outcome, and we can then steer our clients in the right direction by building a program that's really going to hit that nail on the
Candice: Yeah. And how do you engage those difficult personalities, you know, particularly people who feel uncomfortable participating in those traditional type team building events? Because, ~you know,~ we're all different. Some of us are extroverted, some of us are introverted, some of us hate these things, some of us love these things.
How do you bring in those people that, that don't wanna be there, ~don't wanna do~
Will Mason: ~this is the,~ this is the skill of the facilitator, Candace. And, ~you know, ~in, in my business, I [00:28:00] sort of say to people that I'm, ~you know, ~yes, we're selling events, but really what I know that I'm selling is the people that deliver those events. You know? I've got warehouses, ~you know,~ offices all around the country filled with these props, but those props mean nothing if I don't have the right facilitators to be able to go and deliver that program to the audience.
And it's the skill of the facilitators that one day we might be working with a group of 200 coal miners, and the next day we might be working with a group of 50 bankers, and they might be doing a similar sort of a program, but the way that we would facilitate that program would need to look very different so that we can get that audience on board with the program that we're organizing.
And so it's the skill of the facilitator to be able to,~ you know,~ the way that they communicate to the ~group, um,~ the, the sorts of warm-up activities that they might do to get the group on board, the way that they put them into [00:29:00] their teams, the way that they frame up the program will all allow us to get that group coming on the journey.
And it might take,~ um, you know, a,~ a little bit of time for some of them to sort of come along, but we find that by the end of the program that we're getting high fives, everyone's had a fantastic time, and we've been able to get everyone to come along on the journey.
Candice: just cracking it, isn't it? It's just finding that spot ~that, that, ~that takes them away from their mindset of, ~uh, ~I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna be here, I don't wanna look like a fool. And kinda on that note, like, how do you make experiences inclusive for all different ages and cultures and physical abilities, you know?
~Con-~ confidence levels, communication styles. Like, y- you've literally gotta cater for everyone
Will Mason: We do. And,~ uh, you know,~ you know, that piece that you sort of said, ~you know, we-- I,~ I don't wanna look like a fool, ~you know?~ And so ~that's a,~ that's a big piece. It's the design of the program so that none of our activities ~are,~ are embarrassing. ~Um, you know, ~we see some groups out there using blindfolds and that your team members are having to touch someone leading them around with a blindfold.
That [00:30:00] is all, like, 1980s team building. And we've, as a society, we've come so far from there, but there are still so many team building organizations that use blindfolds and this old-school way of team building, ~um,~ that it, it is uncomfortable. And, and I get it why people have this thing in their mind about feeling uncomfortable about team building if that's the way that it's done.
So I guess our programs, ~you know, ~they're designed for corporate teams. They've got to be a really elevated program because we know that the participants are,~ um, you know, they're, ~they're often a, a really highly intelligent bunch of people, a really well-read bunch of people, and they don't want to be doing a program that's seen as, ~you know,~ a, a 1980s team building sort of a program with a blindfold.
~Um,~ so all of the programs that we design have got to be able to suit all physical ability levels because we could have anyone from grad-- ~you know,~ uni graduates that are 23 years old through to people that are, ~you know,~ 70 years old that are ~sort of ~just about to retire. ~Um,~ and you might have... I mean, ~you know,~ you [00:31:00] might also have a 70-year-old that's the fittest in the group as well.
~Um,~ but yeah, that's right. But, you know, we-- and we've got in amongst all of that, ~you know,~ that age range, you've got physical ability levels, you've got different cultural backgrounds. ~Um, ~and so all of our events,~ um,~ and I've sort of always maintained this over the years, that we, ~um,~ don't wanna have a program on our menu that requires anyone to sign a waiver.
I-if it's risky enough that the insurance company says that ~y- you know,~ they'll need to sign a waiver to do this activity, things like bubble soccer or Segways,~ you know, I-- we, ~we don't put those things on our menu because I don't want for anyone to feel that they're in any danger when they're doing these activities, that there is any,~ um, ~risk to them.
So they've got to feel entirely safe in the program that they're doing. It's got to be at a physical ability level that if they've got a bad knee or a bad back or they're seven months pregnant, then they feel that they can participate in that program without putting themselves, ~uh,~ i-in danger. But if you have these high-risk programs, [00:32:00] then what we've seen is that you might get out of a group of 50, 40 people will sign the waiver and do the activity, and 10 people will sit it out for whatever personal reason.
But you're then not really team building. You've got 40 people that are doing it and 10 that are excluded. So it's, again, it's all in what programs we have on the menu, and we're all about inclusivity and making sure that all of our programs can accommodate everyone in the team.
Candice: That's really an important part of making sure that everyone can be part of this. So I wanna bring it back into admins, 'cause this is an admin podcast, and we are talking about companies that make admins' lives easier. So admin professionals are often asked to organize exactly what we've been talking about, these team days out, ~um, ~with little more direction than find something fun.
~You know? ~Thanks for the brief. What, what kind of questions should they be asking before? Do you go through, like, a planning session with them?
Will Mason: We do go through a planning session with them. And look, I guess that this is the, ~you know,~ [00:33:00] if when that admin professional gets given that brief, find something fun, the key question that I'd encourage them to ask back is: what's the purpose of this session? What are your outcomes? And a great way that you can, ~um,~ as the admin professional speaking to whoever has given you this brief, is to say to them, "What would it look like for you on the day?"
~You know, ~what's the outcome and what would it look like for you on the day? Because that then might help to give a little bit of scope around it would look like an outdoor activity in a park or on a beach. It would look like an indoor program in our training room here in the office. If you can ask them what would it look like to them on the day, you might find ~that ~that question helps to get you a little bit more of the material that we need.
Because we often see this, that the admin professional will come to us with, "I haven't really been given much of a brief, and I'm really sorry about this, but they've just asked me to go out and get three quotes." And what we [00:34:00] then find is that it's a bit of time-wasting then on their behalf, because we'll present to them, "Well, here's three outdoor options, here's three indoor options, here's a few options that would achieve this, and here's a few options that would achieve that."
They take it back to the powers that be, and it's then that they're able to have that conversation around, "Oh, no, I definitely wanted something that was indoors, and I want the outcome to be this." So I think that they're the, the key things to ask is, ~you know, ~what's the outcome, what's the purpose, what are you looking to get out of this, and what would it look like to you on the day?
Where would it be,~ you know? ~And that will then really help when we have our briefing conversation with the EA or the PA that's sort of, ~um,~ organizing this on behalf of that team. And that's when we then dive into all of the other logistics as well. What's the date? What's the time slot? What's the number of people that you've got?
~You know, uh,~ are we linking to any company,~ um,~ sort of values? Are we linking to any conference themes? ~Um, you know,~ how can we tailor this program to suit your team? Are there any specific needs that we need to [00:35:00] know about? Have you got any participants in a wheelchair?~ Um, you know, um,~ have we got people flying in?
Have we got logistical details that we need to be aware of? So all of that we can, ~um, ~we can sort of get to, but I think the key question is: ~what's the, uh,~ what's the purpose here? What's the outcome, and what would it look like to you? And once they've got that information, they're then able to give us a really great brief.
Candice: and then you guys can recommend the right experiences rather than overwhelming them with options
Will Mason: That's right. 'Cause we've got, ~you know,~ I think we've got on, on the menu around sort of 80 to 100 programs, and we certainly don't wanna present to our clients a, a proposal with 80 to 100 options. We'd love to be able to narrow that down ~to,~ to two, maybe three, you know, that really fit your brief. So the better the brief, the better our proposal.
Yeah
Candice: So what, what are the most common mistakes organizations make when planning team activities, and what should admins be looking for when comparing providers, I guess?
Will Mason: ~I,~ I always encourage the, ~um,~ whenever they're ~sort of, you know,~ o-on [00:36:00] the journey, and I appreciate that often they've got to get three quotes. And I think probably the biggest mistake is to just think that,~ um~ That just because an event might be named the same, for example, you might be, ~um,~ looking for an Amazing Race in Melbourne CBD, and that because one provider has given a quote for an Amazing Race at $50 per head, another one's given ~a, a,~ a quote at $80 per head, and another one at $100 per head.
~Um, ~it's all about getting into the detail of what's actually provided in that Amazing Race because the $40 per head program might have a facilitator that comes along, and it's all like an app-based Amazing Race on the telephone, and there's no other facilitated, ~you know,~ sort of checkpoint activities, and it's a very bare basics program.
Yes, that group might call it an Amazing Race, but it would be very different to the $80 a head one and the $110 a head one. So I think the thing that I always encourage is, and we're really transparent in our proposals, is [00:37:00] this is the number of staff that we would send along to this program. This is the number of,~ you know,~ checkpoint activities.
These are all of the activities that you'd be undertaking. These are all of the inclusions. You get, ~you know,~ team kits with team-colored bandanas and gold medal medallion prizes and all of these things. So we really try to provide as much information as we can in the proposal, and that's, I guess, what I'd encourage, ~um,~ people to do when they're booking these experiences is to really compare apples and apples, as the saying goes, so that you can get a good understanding of what is actually being provided on the day by each of the different, ~um, ~team-building suppliers.
And then I think the other thing,~ um,~ that sort of goes along with that is to don't just do it all over email.~ It's a,~ it's a big thing. You're asking ~s-~ an external supplier to come in and to support your team in building their culture and to be a part of their culture. You sort of want to make sure that you're engaging with a team that are the right fit for you.
So I'd in- totally encourage you that when you've narrowed it [00:38:00] down to your final two, ask them for a Teams call. "Hey, can we jump on a Teams call with, ~you know,~ with the director or with one of the lead facilitators, ~um,~ that would be running the program so that we can have a conversation with them and get to know them and make sure that they're going to be a fit for our team?"
~Um, ~I am having those sorts of meetings. My team are having those sorts of meetings all the time because we're, ~uh,~ we're encouraging our clients to have those meetings with us and with any other potential provider so that they can make sure that they're selecting a provider that they know that they're really comfortable with, and the way that they're gonna facilitate this on the day is gonna fit in with our team and our company culture.
And we're not gonna book someone who's gonna put someone out the front of the room, and everyone in the audience rolls their eyes because of the provider that we've engaged with. So, ~um, you know,~ don't just book the cheapest provider. Compare apples with apples ~and,~ and meet them. ~Um, you know, ~jump on a Zoom call or a Teams call.
It's so easy now just to have a 15-minute call and make sure that you're comfortable [00:39:00] with who it is that you're booking
Candice: I cannot say how important that is because if you book the wrong speaker, guess who it falls back on? Guess who goes, "Hey, you booked a shit speaker." ~They, ~they didn't feel the room. They had no idea what we were talking... They missed the, missed the point. They're complete wrong vibe. It's the same with these.
Like, if you have a bad facilitator, it's gonna ruin your event
Will Mason: That's right. And we, I guess, ~you know,~ our goal is to make that EA or that PA that booked us, we want them ~to,~ to be the hero. They come up to us at the end and they give us a high five and they're like, "You know what? We are so glad that we booked you because you have just made me look so good in front of this group of 300 people here, because somehow~ I've- ~I'm getting all the kudos because I found you," you know?
That's the feedback that we're getting from our EAs and PAs all the time that are booking us, that it's like, "Thanks so much. You've made me look like a hero today purely because I found you and booked you
Candice: I love
that.
Will Mason: that's what it should be. Yeah
Candice: Speaking of, Beyond The Boardroom [00:40:00] and Pinnacle Team Events are joining us as national sponsors across our Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane
Will Mason: Very excited
Candice: gonna make us look really great. ~Uh,~ so, you know, what made you realize that this was the best decision of your year?
Will Mason: ~Uh,~ well, look, ~uh,~ I mean, we spend a lot of,~ um, ~effort in making sure that we are out in the,~ um...~ You know, attending things like AIME and,~ you know,~ I know that you and I are gonna be sort of bumping into each other at another, ~um,~ event next week up in Brisbane. ~Um,~ we are really aware that you can't just rely on search engine optimization and Google.
~Um,~ it is a relationship-based business, and so I love making relationships with the,~ um,~ with the clients, the people that are booking us in. And the format, ~um,~ of the way that you run your conferences really appeal to me because I could see that as a, as an exhibitor, that it gave me an opportunity to build that relationship with the,~ um,~ admin professionals that are coming along to attend.
They're there to learn ~all of the,~ all of the tools that they need to be [00:41:00] able to excel at their role, and that gives me an opportunity to be able to build a relationship with them.~ Um,~ and often we get clients that come back to us~ year after year after~ year after year because we've got that relationship with them, and for us, that's super
Candice: Hands down. Absolutely. And this is why we only allow companies to exhibit at Admin Avenue's conferences that actually are going to give value to our guests. We have randos that want to exhibit because they want to crack our, our community. Of course they do. ~Um,~ but we say no, because we only want companies that are, one, going to add value and make admin's lives easier, but two, they're invested in these people and invested in trying to make their lives easier.
~Their,~ their businesses are modeled on... Like, y- you, you work at the conference shop, Karla, at the conference shop. ~You know, ~they're about taking this burden off you. Your company is about taking the event experience off people and delivering it all, ~like, and,~ and just making it a dream for the admin [00:42:00] that usually gets dumped this job.
So-
Will Mason: right. We want them to participate and not feel as though they need to be stressing around, you know, around the back. It's like, "Hey, we've got this. So now that it's all booked in, why don't you jump in a team and come along and enjoy it knowing that we've got all of this under control, and you can just come along and have a great time like the rest of the team
Candice: And unless you're s- got an hour to listen to this podcast and actually hear about this, you, you need to be able to have those conversations with these exhibitors to be able to understand, "Oh, is that what your business does? Oh, can you do that for me? Oh, wow, that sounds amazing. What do you mean you do that?
I thought you only did this." You don't get that from a website. You don't get that from a Google ad. You get that from in-person conversation. And if people like you and people feel they've got a rapport with you, it, it... They trust you. Like you said right at the beginning, ~it's,~ it's that impact piece where people go, "Oh, I love working with them, and I'm gonna keep working with them because it's always such a great experience."
Will Mason: That's right. And it does. It all comes back to [00:43:00] trust, and that's how, ~you know, so,~ so many of the, the clients that book us year after year after year, it's purely because they trust that we will come along and do a fantastic job and make them look great in front of this audience who doesn't matter what the weather was, doesn't matter what, ~you know,~ other things had gone on, is that we were there to be able to deliver an amazing program, ~um, and, and, ~and bring that group together and support that, ~um, you know,~ key outcome that they had.
~Uh,~ 'cause sometimes it does rain and,~ you know, as,~ as an admin professional, as the, you know, the event organizer, ~um,~ the EA, the PA, you can't control the weather,
you know?
Candice: I've tried.
Will Mason: yeah, that's right. I mean, well, if, if you crack that code, please let me know because that would come in very handy in my organization.
But, ~you know,~ we always come with a wet weather backup program that we can do indoors in case it's raining, and it's all of that is organized well ahead of time so that there is no, ~um, you know, th-~ th- there's no missing piece on the day. You know? Everything is set and ready to go.~ Um,~ and that's, I think, what,~ um, a,~ a lot of the clients that work with us year after year after year is they just feel very relaxed that [00:44:00] once they've booked us in, that everything's gonna go to plan.
Yeah.
Candice: And that, ~uh,~ that you can't, can't put a price on that, of being able to have reliable people to work with.
Will Mason: Reliable suppliers, that's right. And look, I mean, there's so many little tricks to that, that we sort of do. But we know that, ~you know, ~as soon as we arrive on site, it's usually a, a few hours before the event kicks off. The first thing that we do is we send a message to the EA that's booked us or to the, you know, whoever's booked us in.
"Hey, just wanted to let you know it's Will from Pinnacle Team Events here. I've arrived on site and I'm getting set up. ~Um, you know, ~good news, the sun is shining, so ~we'll get, ~we'll get started setting up outdoors." They're in the conference. Of course they're thinking about what's next and what's next and what's next, and for them it's like, "Great.
Okay, that piece of the puzzle is in play as it should be." So it's all of those really simple little things that we can do to make sure that they feel supported, ~um, ~along the way and that we've got this. You've booked us in and we're in control. This is gonna be great. So don't stress about this bit, cause there's enough, there, there's enough other, [00:45:00] other stuff to stress about
Candice: those stress bits away, especially for these e- events that there's so much pressure and there's so much to do. It's like we can take this one burden off you,
Will Mason: That's right.
Candice: is amazing. So without giving too much away, you're going to be opening each of our conferences with an high impact icebreaker.
So what can people expect? And for those that I'm gonna say might feel nervous about participating, it's first thing in the morning, they're a little bit tired. Like, how, how you put that fear-based, ~uh,~ anticipation to
Will Mason: no need to be nervous, ~you know? It, ~it is ~a, uh,~ a really fun session. ~Um, ~and look, really my goal is to make sure that everyone... It, this is, ~um,~ it's all about networking and connecting, and so that will be what my session's about, is making sure that you are feeling comfortable and familiar with the people that are going to be ~sort of, um, sort of~ joining y- you at your table for the day.
~Um,~ we're gonna have a bit of fun, and there'll also be some prizes up for grabs. So, ~uh, ~absolutely no [00:46:00] need to be nervous. We're just gonna have a bit of fun in my icebreaker session, and I'm excited to hang around all day. As I said, I'm really keen to sort of be there to build those relationships with people, so I'll sort of be,~ um,~ around all day at each of the different cities to make sure that we can have conversations with all of the attendees throughout the breaks
Candice: Perfect. Okay, so what is one small thing that you wish every workplace could do this week to help the people that feel... ~to, to,~ to feel more connected?
Will Mason: One small thing that they should do this week. I mean, other
Candice: obviously book a session with you guys.
Will Mason: it. But look, I th- ~you know, ~like I said, it, ~you know, um,~ be intentional, and it doesn't have to be huge, you know. Just things like, ~um, you know, ~having a, a lunch date. ~You know, ~our team, we have lunch together every day, ~you know, ~where everyone sort of sits down together and you have a lunch together.
You can organize to have a team coffee date where everyone comes together to have a cup of coffee, and generally, what's happening in that team coffee date is you're not talking about work. You're talking about other things, but that's [00:47:00] then what's building the trust so that then when you are back at work is you're a better team because of those really simple opportunities that you had to connect on a personal level.
So, ~you know, um,~ just organizing any little gathering for your team, and even if it's a, ~if, ~if you're a hybrid team, a virtual cup of coffee where it's like, "Hey, let's all just jump on Zoom for 15 minutes while we all have our cup of morning, ~um,~ morning tea or coffee." ~Um,~ it's really simple and, ~you know,~ often it doesn't have to cost a thing.
~Um, ~but you do have to be intentional about it. ~Um,~ so take that intent and keep that on your radar as a leader or, or, or as someone who's sort of, you know, organizing, ~um, ~on behalf of an organization, ~um,~ that it's, it- it's gotta be something that you keep doing.~ Um, ~you can't just book in that one team-building activity a year and think that our company culture is built off that.
It's an ongoing piece that you're gonna keep working on and keep fostering
Candice: It's that connection piece. Find that reason for the connection piece. It's so important. It's so important in this day and age. [00:48:00] It's-- Anyway, I could keep chatting about this all day, but I know we're up against the clock. So Will, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your experiences with us.
We are so thrilled to have you guys as our national, ~um,~ events partner to kick things off at all three conferences. ~Uh,~ we can't wait to see what you're going to be doing ~to, to,~ to get the party started, as I say, 'cause I'm in the same position. I'm the one that's gotta try and gee people up at eight in the morning where they're like, "Damn you for having it this early."
Will Mason: That's right. Why did we
Candice: exactly. So w-we'll both be there trying to like put toothpicks in people's eyes or we'll just pour them coffee, lots of things. But no, I'm really, really excited for it. ~Um, ~and anyone who is looking at planning a conference, a leadership offsite, team day, workplace celebration, corporate volunteering experiences, ~um,~ contact Will.
We'll put all his details of all three companies in the, ~uh,~ show notes. ~Um, ~we'll include the links for all of them as well, and also, ~uh,~ to connect with Will on LinkedIn. And if you're coming to any of the Urban Avenues conferences, arrive early, ~um,~ so you can make sure you're [00:49:00] there to laugh, have fun, meet some new people, ~uh,~ support Will as he's gonna be up on stage try, trying to get the party started, as I say.
~Um, ~but also just make sure you come and say hello, ~um,~ because he'll be there at all of them as well. So
Will Mason: That's right. Don't be a stranger.
Candice: much for joining us for this journey. We can't wait to introduce you to more of our community because these kind of, these kind of events are really important for a lot of these communities, and I think in a time where we're losing connection more and more and people are getting more and more annoyed with AI slop and things that are automated, it's like these are those one moments where we get to actually bring people together, and I think that that's just more and more important each, each day in, in keeping culture and things like that.
And so I'm really, really excited to bring, bring this to, ~uh,~ the conferences. But Will, thank you for joining me today, and everybody else, I hope that you look at joining us for the conferences and can learn more about these experiences.
Will Mason: My pleasure, Candice. Thanks for having me along. I've loved catching up with you and looking forward to all [00:50:00] three. ~Uh,~ bring it on. We're gonna have a bit of
Candice: Bring it on. Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks. Who, whose stupid decision was that?
Will Mason: Let's do it.
Candice: Let's do it. All right, thanks for joining us everyone, and we'll see you on the next episode.