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Before you get your meeting started, don’t underestimate the time-honored tradition of a good icebreaker. This first edition of Ignite’s Spark is dedicated to warm beginnings for your next conference or team event. |
Here are our five favourite ideas for breaking the ice. |
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Puzzle matchmakers: When you want people to mix and mingle or get into working groups, give them the “pieces” to find each other in a crowd. Puzzles are easy: create your own with five or six parts, to be reassembled as team members identify each other. |
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Hardware handshakes: For a more physical meet-and-greet, one of Ignite’s enterprising event planners once ransacked hardware store shelves to find one pair of every possible combination of nut and bolt to hand out to guests – you can imagine the rest. |
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Human bingo: Turn random mingling into more meaningful teambuilding, with this tried-and-true “get-to-know-you.” Create a bingo card grid of interesting or surprising trivia about unnamed people in the room. The goal is to identify a row of five names to win “bingo” or to complete as many as possible in the time allotted. Use this Word template to get started. |
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Energizers: Take a cue from the home team, and hire the local sports pep squad to create a rousing crowd-starter. We can’t resist the youthful energy of the Raptor’s Dance Pak
in Toronto, but you can look up links to amateur teams coast-to-coast through the listings on www.powercheerleading.com |
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Mood-enhancers: As good medicine in troubled times, a session of laughter yoga could be just the kick-off for a productive mood. No mats or spandex required, this training exercise is almost guaranteed to turn “fake” laughter into the real thing. Certified practitioner Wendy Woods from Watershed Training
explains more in this video. |
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Walkie-Talkie
Wristwatch
for a free hand when working the event floor.
Spotted here.
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The ACTE Global Education Conference, 5-7 April in Washington, D.C.,
Who should attend: Anyone with responsibility for corporate travel policies, procurement or budgets.
Why go: Provide your company with critical benchmarking data and exchange cost-cutting strategies with peers and industry experts. Meet travel vendors to build stronger relationships in challenging economic times.
What’s in it for you: Increase your value to your organization, and more importantly, help save money. More info: www.acte.org.
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CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Car allowance rates hold at 52 cents per kilometre
While the price at the gas pump may have its ups and downs, Revenue Canada’s maximum allowable car expense reimbursement rate is holding steady for 2009. The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes will remain at 52 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 46 cents for each additional kilometre. |
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CORPORATE GIFTS + REWARDS
Morale-boosters key tool for tough times
Even in a slowing economy, retaining employees has been cited as the top staffing concern by 35% of Canadian executives in a recent survey, followed by recruitment (22%) and morale (17%). Mike Gooley, Canadian manager of employment firm Robert Half International which commissioned the survey of 100 top executives, suggests the numbers call for more motivation from the top. “Maintaining employee morale will assist with retention efforts,” he says. “One of the best ways to accomplish this is through effective communication, making it is essential for executives to engage in frequent dialogue with staff to keep them updated on company news and offer praise and encouragement.” |
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INCENTIVES + MEETINGS
US destinations aiming to fill newer hotels
While luxury and extended-stay hotels have held the line on prices, figures from Smith Travel Research could suggest looking at destinations with newer hotels, for more flexible availability for groups. Phoenix, for example, had 36 hotels open in the 12 months up to November 2008, adding 6,000 new rooms and contributing to a drop in occupancy of about 10%, according to the research. New York City had the most openings for the period, with 54 new hotels adding nearly 8,000 rooms. In the Miami area, 20 hotels opened. Chicago, Houston, and San Antonio each had 39 hotels open. |
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Equine event planner. A new, 12-week equine event planning course is available online through the University of Guelph for those who want to cater to the four-legged, horsey set. "Equine events, whether a horse show, sale, clinic, fair or any of the wide variety of events held each year, require planning and consideration for both people and horses," says Gayle Ecker, senior manager, Equine Guelph.
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