Away day goes swimmingly for EMS staff
Staff at EMS swapped their office suits for wet suits as they battled the elements to complete a multitude of tasks on their annual summer ‘away day’.
Keith Austin
Published 10 August 2010
More than 40 employees from the UK’s leading marketing roadshow expert took part in a series of team-building challenges that took them on a testing tour of Cheshire and North Wales on July 30.
The summer away day was part of the company’s ongoing commitment to its employees’ personal development – EMS is one of just 36 North West businesses to hold the Silver Investors in People (IiP) Award, which recognises a company’s focus on the performance and well-being of its staff.
EMS Healthcare CEO, Keith Austin, said: “We work so hard all year round and our annual away day is a great way to get our people to relax and let their hair down.
“At EMS, we believe it’s really important to invest the time in our staff, even in the current economic climate. Events like this pay dividends both for the company and the staff - they help integrate people across the business and allow our new recruits to get to know their colleagues.”
The 2010 away day began with breakfast at the EMS offices in Ellesmere Port. The first stop of the day was a visit to the Maize Maze in Brimstage, Cheshire, where teams competed in a treasure hunt.
Next followed a picturesque drive to Bala Lake in Snowdonia – the largest area of water in Wales – where organisers revealed the main challenge of the day. Each team had to build a raft from scratch, and then four members of each team donned wetsuits and hauled them out on to the lake to test them.
A campfire beside a giant tepee and marquee welcomed the teams to the campsite at Porthmadog, where everyone enjoyed a fish and chip supper. Once the rain had stopped, the teams regrouped for games on the beach.
Keith Austin added: “Everyone pulled out all the stops to ensure it was another hugely successful and memorable summer away day.”