WHAT MAKES OUTBOUND AN EFFECTIVE TRAINING TOOL

In today's corporate world, the need of the hour is for smart thinking, swift action and effective people skills - qualities that are more effectively developed in an experiential setting than through classroom training.

Outbound programmes have been found to be particularly effective in areas that involve interpersonal relationships, trust and bonding, communication of shared vision and goals, motivation, behaviour modification in response to change, and personal effectiveness.

These programmes are usually conducted in wilderness sites far removed from human civilization. In a tranquil and informal environment, up close with nature, people are found to become more introspective and uninhibited, paving the way for a complete and effective learning process. After spending a few days in an outdoor situation, team members tend to bond together in a way that is impossible in an urban office atmosphere with its attendant worries and stress.

Additionally, in unfamiliar environments and unpredictable situations, stretched beyond their normal comfort zones, people tend to lose their inhibitions, shed their masks and become more receptive to learning. In the enviromnment thus created, it becomes possible for a sensitive and experienced facilitator to identify strengths and trouble areas, and suggest new coping behaviour.

Outbound training is particularly relevant to today's society as it demonstrates to people that they in fact do possess the necessary internal resources required of them; that in spite of differences in backgrounds they can live and work together; and that it is intrinsic to human nature to be helpful.

It has been repeatedly proven that the participants in a well-designed outbound programme always find the experience memorable, and the benefits significant and long-lasting. To hear it from participants themselves, visit our testimonials section now.

AREAS WHERE OUTBOUND IS MOST EFFECTIVE

Teambuilding/Teamwork
Building successful teams while focusing on problem-solving, communication, trust-building, change and conflict resolution.

Leadership Development
Identifying and developing traits successfully employed in situations involving strategy, goal setting, planning, resource allocation, empowerment, and decision-making.

Change Management
Enabling an organisation to build a shared culture, integrating new organizational structures, managing transitions, and expanding perceived limits of performance.

Conflict Resolution
Improving interpersonal skills, removing communication blocks, building abilities to express and resolve differences in an unstressed manner.

Personal and Professional Effectiveness
Improving self image through emphasis on personal and group achievements, encouragement to stretch beyond perceived limits, and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and commitment.

Interpersonal Skills
Develops abilities to relate meaningfully and with confidence in group and individual situations, working towards enhancing group dynamics.

Communication Skills
Builds effective communication skills that enables enhanced performance and productivity.

Induction/Orientation for Trainees
Reduces lead time in creating productive, effective employees and enables faster integration of corporate culture, values, and expectations.

Partnerships/Alliances
Creating more effective client, vendor, supplier, alliance, and partner relationships through shared experiences and goals and trust-building.

WHAT IS OUTBOUND TRAINING?

The concept of using the outdoors as a tool in management training was first developed in the 1940's by Dr. Kurt Hahn, a philosopher outdoorsman who believed that the outdoors has many lessons for city people which will enhance their personal thresholds as well as group thresholds. It was Dr. Hahn's belief that advancing civilizations and technology were depriving many persons the opportunities to develop self-reliance, physical fitness and a compassion for others.

An established corporate training tool in Western countries, Out Bound Training is gaining increasing popularity in India today as more and more corporate houses discover its ability to solve a number of issues that cannot be completely addressed in classroom training situations. The most obvious - and immediate - benefits of OBT is a building up of interpersonal relationships, trust and bonding.

The crux of OBT lies in taking a group of people away from their normal environment into the outdoors, and placing a new, unfamiliar set of challenges before them, in the solving of which a whole lot of new equations are thrown up. The programme works on the principle that when a team is thrown together in wilderness or adventure settings, where they have to fend for themselves and meet challenges together, there is growth in many directions.

At the operational level, outbound learning works on the following assumptions :

• People generally have more resources and are more capable than they think they are.
• A small heterogeneous group is capable of successfully coping with significant physical and mental challenges.
• Learning is more successful when problems are presented rather than solutions or methodologies.
• Stress and shared adventure serve as important catalysts in the discovery process.
• The single most important factor that determines a person's future is his idea of self.
• Significant, long-lasting learning can be achieved through an intensive, short-term experience.