After a buyout last fall, the employees at public relations firm Carter Ryley Thomas decided they needed time away from the office to reintroduce themselves to each other. They wanted to focus on what the next step with the company would be - but they also wanted to have fun together. One employee suggested the Challenge Discovery Outdoor Adventures Program. The requirements and restrictions make the task difficult, and in order to succeed, the teams must use innovative ideas and good communication skills. Companies such as Carter Ryley Thomas are discovering increasing options available to them for employee training programs.
Some businesses send their employees outdoors, while others bring teams together by playing games.
Others, more comfortable with the conventional version of training courses, add a new twist to the program with trainers brought in to work with the business. Challenge Discovery, which has an of-fice in Richmond, usually operates its outdoor programs in Doswell, near King's Dominion. With Carter Ryley Thomas, Challenge Discovery president Greg Huber brought his program to the firm's two-day retreat in Shrinemont. Before Huber begins a program, he assesses the needs of each group. Hipple and his employees wanted a chance outside the office setting to demonstrate how everyone could work together to accomplish a task.