Objective: 

Following a particularly busy quarter, this top London law firm tasked Red Blaze, an award winning UK Corporate Retreat Agency to bring together Lawyers, Partners, Associates and trainees with a 2-day experience that got them out of the city. 

The aim was to create a bespoke corporate retreat that would strengthen relationships across different levels of the firm, break down communication silos, encourage genuine team bonding and a switch off from the busy period that would allow the team to recharge all under one immersive, high impact team retreat. 

Solution: 

Finding the perfect balance of creating a varied programme that combined unconventional team-building activities, wellness and private dining experience. 

Day One: Team Building 

The retreat kicked off with an unexpected activity of Duck herding and Ferret racing.  

For this team building activity, the entire group were split into two, the first half were trained by a qualified instructor (and a sheep dog) to herd the flock around a duck-friendly obstacle course. The course had tunnels, seesaws and weave poles! 

The second half of the group simultaneously hedged their bets with ferret racing with the Ferret Meister passing on top tips to the participating teams and individuals.  Once everyone is briefed, teams are allowed a few minutes to work out team tactics, and then the racing tubes were loaded with live ferrets. With every winning bet, the team will win more money (or ferret bucks). The split groups then swapped over to the respective activities. The medal ceremony then commenced with the fastest duck herding team taking the gold and the richest ferret-betters won.  

After a buffet lunch the guests had free time as they wished with some taking the chance to use the gorgeous boutique spa whilst others caught up on pressing emails. The onsite Red Blaze team set up the pre-drinks for their 3-course private meal. After a fantastic dinner the team then played ‘Guess Who: Fridge Edition’ where players got an interesting insight into their colleagues homelives. The team then headed to their private barn for an after party to celebrate all their hard work. 

Day Two: 

The following morning saw a relaxed breakfast in sunny Retreat East. We then orchestrated an ‘Office’ themed competition where the team had numerous timed tasks. From logo puzzles, bean bags, space hoppers and three-legged races, the group had a lot to keep them competitive. We then returned to the great barn where everyone enjoyed a final delicious lunch and then departed to the organised group transport.    

The Result: 

The retreat gave the firm the chance to bring together colleagues from different roles and offices in an environment that is very different to their day to day life.  

The shared challenges, informal socialising, chance for wellness and celebration found natural opportunities for colleagues to communicate in a way that cannot be achieved in the office.