Diageo

Background

Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wine and beer categories. These brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, trading in over 180 markets around the world. The company is listed both on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, employing over 24,000 talented people worldwide with offices and manufacturing facilities in around 80 countries.

BlueSky Experiences, the award-winning team building and events management specialists have worked with Diageo for a number of years organising their team building events.

The Brief

The brief was to create a fun, unique, exhilarating and rewarding team building day for the Diageo staff from the grain distilling and warehousing sites in the central belt. The format for the event had to be exciting as well as engaging and create a sense of anticipation amongst the group prior to the day. Post event there had to be tangible business benefits from the company's perspective.

An internal panel of people from Diageo were appointed to manage this brief and they invited a number of event providers to pitch for this project, of which BlueSky subsequently won.

The Team Building Event

The format of the day consisted of a morning strategy meeting for 80 people at BlueSky's purpose-built team development and conference centre in Perthshire.

Following lunch, BlueSky ran a totally bespoke event for Diageo called "Team Formula". A Formula One team is the "ultimate team", having only seconds to work together at their best under extreme conditions to ensure success. Every person in that team knows what each other has to do, where they have to be and the role they play and how to interact with each other to perform efficiently.

Staff were split in to eight teams of ten and had to do a number of tasks in order for them to build their own human-powered vehicle. Each of these vehicles had to be branded with one of Diageo's drinks brands. As well as branding the vehicles, each team had to devise a team identity and race strategy. Each of these vehicles had to pass the BlueSky MOT test where they would be tested and given their MOT certificate.

They then had some challenges to complete during this process including pit stop tasks, drag racing and driving whilst blindfolded! The teams then progressed in to the race stages. Completed over two heats, the top two teams met in the final race for a showdown!

This activity was designed to be both hugely enjoyable but very applicable to the business. The tasks carried out enabled the staff to use all the skills necessary to work well as a team. Being the best at what they do is at the core of Diageo and that is why this activity was created specifically for them.

BlueSky were responsible for organising the entire event from venue and activities to providing the AV equipment and onsite technical support for the morning meeting as well as catering and refreshments.