As I took this "rainy day for the coathanger" snap on on the way to a Sydney Team DNA last week (which was an indoor event thank heavens), it got me to thinking about just how often rain seems to impact events these days.
Weather patterns for most capital cities do seem a little less predictable, and of course when planning outdoor team building it can cause many headaches for the organisers.
Team building is typically associated with the "outdoors" especially for modern office workers quite keen to escape the confines of the 4 walls of a conference venue for a few hours. The "catch 22" is that people also are not too keen on getting wet and uncomfortable.
So just what do you do when it rains?
The disposable poncho / raincoat option is an obvious one, but even then we all know that heavy rain will dampen the spirits of even the most enthusiastic group after a while.
If you are genuinely concerned about the impact of wet weather on an event then there are really 3 main options....
1. Arrange for a prepared wet weather back up?
There are a number of affordable options that Sabre can prepare for indoor options that can be deployed at relatively short notice and often using existing meeting spaces. Naturally these options need to be packed and tailored in advance for the group size and your aims so there is a small cost involved, but it's a nice safe option to have up the sleeve.
2. Just go for an indoor option from the start?
Some clients, particularly those that have been rained out before, will just select a purely indoor option from the start so that weather is simply not an issue. This removes all event planner stress around the changes of weather that can otherwise haunt them during the lead up to an event (as they habitually scan the Bureau of Meteorology website and chew their fingernails).
3. Pick an event that will work both indoors and outdoors?
We do actually have some great event constructs that are flexible enough to incorporate indoor and outdoor elements. This is a great "cake and eat it" solution for an event planner.
Why not have a look at this page of the Sabre Team Building website that features some popular options based on whether they are outdoor, indoor or both?