Desert Survival Simulation

Stranded in the Urban Desert

A Toronto Urban Sarfari for Team Building or Team Recreation

Desert Survival: Stranded in the Urban Desert is an urban safari that will boost team spirit and help you build more cohesive departmental and cross functional teams. This team building session is available as a:

• full day, simulation with business related debriefing
• half day, strictly recreational simulation or event to help team members get to know each other better

The Context

From time immemorial, lonely travelers have wandered the desert in search of the next oasis to refuel, re-chart their course and find the strength to continue their journey. Now more than ever, the members of your team need a chance to pause, build relationships, reflect, and generate strategies to tackle the demands they face on a day to day basis.

This unique team building experience, an urban safari, is a simulation of a trek across a desert. It is a cross between a car rally, scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt. It will the members of your team a chance to get to improve their relationships in a non-threatening environment.

This unique team building experience, an urban safari, is a simulation of a trek across a desert. It is a cross between a car rally, scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt. It will the members of your team a chance to get to improve their relationships in a non-threatening environment. This team building session involves competitions with other teams as your team moves from place to place, collecting objects, taking photos and answering trivia in the urban desert of Toronto or rural/urban desert of York region (or a location near you). Explore Chinatown, Kensington Market, The Distilery District, the Downtown Core, Toronto's Underground city, and more.

Taken at J-Town, Toronto's Only Japanese Shopping Centre

"A great team building event! Well developed and well executed!"

David Peneycad, Chief Administrative Officer, Grant Thornton

"Super fun day. Full of Surprises and learning new things about Toronto"

Krista, ABAS Manager, Grant Thornton

"An exciting and fun-filled day! Great way to bond with my colleauges and see interesting sights of the city."

David Au, National HR Consultant, Grant Thornton

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"I thought it was amazing! It really builds team morale and helps colleagues from different departments learn more about each other. It was a lot of fun and a great adventure.

Tamar Assadourian, Senior Graphic Designer, Grant Thornton

"Great Fun!! An excellent day of team buiding and cooperative strategic planning. This would most certainly work for even larger companies.

Joshua Reynolds, National Analyst, Grant Thornton

"Going to new parts of the city - seeing areas I normally wouldn't take the time to explore. What a wonderful way to spend a summer day. Laughs, sunshine and exploring the city. ."

Katie Fines, OD Consultant, Grant Thornton

Pre-Safari

Prior to your team building session, you can arrange to provide each participant with a 1 day TTC passo or identify 1 team member for every 6 participants who has an SUV that can serve as a makeshift jeep or dune buggy for the day. If you have the budget for it, we can even rent luxury SUVs, limousines, rickshaws, or segways for part of the safari. We will then form your group into teams of 4 - 6. To determine the optimal mix for each team we will take into consideration:

• Cross functional team dynamics
• Team members who don’t know each other very well
• Team members who have difficulty working together
• Team members at different locations who need to improve their ability to communicate

We will give each team a colour (or letter for large groups). Two weeks prior to your team building session, each participant will receive an invitation with the names of their team members. During the two weeks pre-safari, they will have an opportunity to connect and arrange a place to meet so that they can travel to their first stop together if you are using SUVs. Each team will be invited to come up with a name and a theme for their team and, if they desire, some costumes incorporating their team colour to reflect the theme.

At the Edge of the Desert

A member of The Training Oasis, Inc. team will meets your party at a pre-specified location in York Region or Toronto. We'll start off with an icebreaker, a briefing session and a team competition. The winning team will be given a head start. Each team will get their first clue and a one day TTC pass so that they can begin their journey and off they go.

Teams can explore downtown Toronto including the underground city, Chinatown, Kensington Market (on foot only), The Distillery, Centre Island (on bicycle or by foot), or York Region (HIGHLY recommended). If you have the budget for it, in some areas we can also arrange transportation by Segways or rickshaws. Just stay on course and you won't get lost.

At The Oasis

The first team to reach the oasis gets bonus points. Then, depending on your budget, you'll be served lunch, dinner or light refreshments. We can even arrange an interactive demo and dine experience. After we score your trivia and view your photos and collected objects, prizes will be awarded.

For recreational sessions, teams will have a chance to relax, compare notes and share the highlights of their day.

Business Related Team Building Benefits

In today's turbulent business climate, many organizations operate at such a break neck speed that there is little time to forge alliances within teams or across functions. The fast pace at which people operate can lead to misunderstandings and friction. As the environment becomes increasingly demanding, this can lead to apathy, reduced responsiveness, and resistance to change.

You and your team will:

• Fine-tune your marketing and sales strategy
• Identify new sources of business
• Forge stronger links between geographically dispersed teams
• Identify and eliminate communication barriers
• Break free from the silo mentality

For business related team building, a full debriefing will take place at the oasis to link your desert survival urban safari to the business challenges that confront your team.

We'll uncover important lessons about:

• improving teamwork in a fast paced organization
• change management and dealing with change
• dealing with uncertainty
• tolerating ambiguity

To help you plan your corporate team building session, please check out:

Our Corporate Team Building Primer

Spice of the Month: Accelerated Learning Ezine

Our payment terms are 50% at the time of booking and the balance 1 calendar month prior to the session.

Events and sessions booked less than 1 calendar month in advance must be paid in full at the time of booking. There will be a 10% late booking surcharge due to the compressed timeframe for logistics. NO EXCEPTIONS.

To describe your requirements and find out how we can help you achieve your objectives, please submit the Booking Request Form that you can access through the Book Services tabs or links.

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