Team Building Venues: The Palace Hotel, Manchester

Struggling to find the perfect venue for your team building event in Manchester? CCC are here to help! Over the past 20 years, we have run events at literally thousands of venues across the UK and offer a free venue finding service to all of our clients. Our Venue Profiles series takes a look at some of our favourites.

The Palace Hotel, Manchester

At A Glance

• Situated in the centre of Manchester
• 19 meeting and training rooms, with the largest seating up to 1000 delegates
• Purpose-built business centre with full business support
• 252 Bedrooms
• Recent £7 million refurbishment

Why We Love It

The Palace Hotel boasts the largest hotel conference space in Manchester - at a huge 2,500m², the aptly-named Grand Room seats up to 1000 delegates theatre-style, or 850 banquet style, with The Buckingham Suite and The Whitworth Suite also offering ample space. As well as being perfect for conferences, gala dinners and awards ceremonies, huge rooms such as these are also the answer to your team building prayers. Practically any team building event that is usually run outdoors (such as our Cryptic Challenge or the fabulous Monte Carlo or Bust) can be run in these spaces, meaning that you don't need to leave the city, your team will stay warm and dry, and the stylish hotel bar is nearby for post-team building drinks!

If you're not deterred by the great outdoors and want to explore your surroundings, The Palace Hotel's central Manchester location means that it is perfect for a Treasure Hunt, which is a great way to brush off the cobwebs and take in Manchester's most popular landmarks after a morning of meetings.

"My favourite ever team building event in Manchester has to be the Enigma Challenge we ran for the Team GB Water Polo guys before the Olympics. They had so much energy and the Palace Hotel's huge Buckingham Suite was the perfect space for them to let off some steam!" - Zoe Taylor, CCC Event Manager

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #4

This week's Easy Office-Based Team Building Idea takes a classic family game that everyone is familiar with and turns it into the perfect brainstorming or icebreaker tool - whether you are a new team, or just want to get to know each other better.

Conversation Jenga

Sometimes icebreaker sessions can be difficult to structure and as a result can seem forced, making people shy and guarded - which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Take the pressure off and make it into a game by playing Conversation Jenga - it's just as you would play it at home, except each block has a question on it which must be answered by the person who pulls it out.

Before the session, source a Jenga set (use the classic version or go for a giant garden set for extra impact) and either write directly onto the blocks or print off labels to stick on. It's up to you what you ask, but we'd suggest a mixture of work-centred and personal questions (without getting too personal!) Some examples are:

• What skill would you like to learn?
• Whose career do you most admire?
• Where is your favourite place you have travelled to?
• If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
• If you could have one super power, what would it be?

NB: It almost goes without saying, but the words "...and why?" should be assumed after each question - you're after interesting information, not a one-word answer.

To avoid putting people on the spot, have each person pull out a piece each before going back to the first person for their answer - this gives everyone time to think about what they want to say. After listening to their response, make it the start of a broader conversation by opening up the question to everyone, before moving onto the next person.

As well as being great for icebreaker sessions, Conversation Jenga is also perfect for brainstorming. If you have an issue or upcoming project which isn't resolving itself, no matter how many meetings you call, have a think about what you really want your team to reflect upon, and add them to the blocks as before. For example:

• How can we manage our time better?
• How can we ensure that we come in under budget?
• What past examples are there of when we performed best as a team?
• Under what circumstances do we work best together?
• If you could re-structure your day, what would it look like?

In this way, you make resolving issues into a fun team building activity, whilst ensuring that the topics you want to address are approached. Keeping the discussion points limited to what is already on the blocks means that your session will be more structured, and you will avoid going off-topic.

If you want to take your team building further, call in the professionals at CCC Events! Visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 for more information.

Team Building Venues: The Grosvenor, Central London

Choosing the perfect venue for your team building event can be a daunting task - but CCC are here to help! As a mobile company, we have produced events at thousands of venues across the UK and Europe and offer a free venue finding service to all of our clients. This week we are profiling The Grosvenor, an ideal venue for team building events in London.

The Grosvenor, London

At a Glance

• Central London location near Victoria Station
• Nine meeting and event rooms, with the largest catering for up to 150 delegates 
• Free super-fast Wi-Fi throughout
• Recent multi-million-pound refrubishment

Why We Love It

If you are looking to treat your delegates to something a little special, the recently-refurbished Grosvenor would be the perfect location for your team building event. A spectacular blend of period features and modern luxury, this 4-star, Grade II listed hotel is the ideal way to 'wow' your team or your clients.

The jewel in The Grosvenor's conferencing crown is undoubtedly The Orient Suite. With its dramatic marble pillars and glittering chandeliers, your conference or team building event will be laced with a large dose of glamour. The atmospheric space would be perfect for a Murder Mystery evening - you'll feel transported back in time to an age of sophistication and grandeur.

If you're after a more intimate setting for a smaller group, The Grosvenor also boasts another eight meeting rooms in which you can dine, hold meetings or entertain clients. The central London location (it's walking distance from Buckingham Palace) means that these rooms would also be the perfect base for a Treasure Hunt. After a morning of meetings at The Grosvenor, use a Treasure Hunt to boost motivation, get outside and explore London, or simply show off our capital city to your international delegates.

"The Grosvenor is the epitome of elegance and luxury -  a perfect oasis in the hubbub of the capital. Guoman venues are always brilliant for meetings and team building events, and The Grosvenor is no exception" - Tamara Nasser, CCC Event Manager

To find out more about team building in Central London, call 0845 006 06 06 or visit our website.

Team Motivation: Art for your Office #2

This week's free team building poster is a quote from Henry Ford, and will give your office a much-needed burst of colour in the winter months. "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success" - Henry Ford

Click here for a free, printable version of this poster.

Need a bigger dose of motivation at work? Call 0845 006 06 06 to discuss the many team building events on offer with CCC Events.

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #3

This week's Easy Office-Based Team Building Idea is inspired by The Farnsworth Family, who used it to build friendships and unity within a local youth group - but we reckon it would work brilliantly as a motivation-booster at work, too.

The idea is to have one person sit with their back to a whiteboard, and allow everyone else to come forward and write a positive adjective about that person without letting them see. You can then take a picture of each person with 'their' whiteboard, giving everyone a lovely memento to keep.

To translate this into an Easy Office Team Build, we'd suggest having the whiteboard set up in a separate room and allowing people to go in and write their adjective one at a time, keeping things anonymous to avoid any shyness.

It's a great way of promoting positive feelings with your team - and if you want to go the extra mile, you could even blow up the photos to display around your workplace as a constant reminder of what you value in each other.

If you want to take your team building to the next level, check out our website for ideas or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to our fabulous team.

Indoor Team Building at it's Best: The Enigma Challenge

The Brief:

Create an innovative, animated team building event that boosts motivation and encourages participants to work together. It must have plenty of challenges, with something to suit everyone, whether they are a brainteaser-loving whiz-kid, an aspiring creative, or an active ball of energy.

Oh, and just one more thing: it must be completely winter-proof, allowing our clients to inject excitement and fun into their working day without leaving the warm comfort of the conference room.

The Solution?

The awesome Enigma Challenge!

Boasting over 100 different and varied challenges within one unique event, the Enigma Challenge is a race against time as teams frantically complete as much possible before our Giant Countdown Clock runs out!

Individual challenges are split into four categories, which enables participants to delegate and play to their team member's strengths. There's a wealth of tasks to suit every taste - are you feeling creative? Compose a 'replica' Mona Lisa to earn yourself 40 points! Enjoy the Sunday crossword? Get stuck into the Brainteaser category to solve our fiendish  puzzles. Maybe you're feeling energetic - try capturing a photo of your entire team jumping in the air!  Or if you're simply great at sniffing out answers, head to the Aroma area to try and decipher our mystery scents.

You'll be having too much fun to realise it at the time, but the Enigma Challenge carries huge potential benefits for your working relationships. Because everyone - no matter their interests or strengths - can play a valuable part in getting their team to victory, every participant will come away with a sense of achievement and value. You'll also see sides to your colleagues you never knew existed, which breaks the ice and provides office banter material for years to come.

With our dynamic scoring system, we are able to break down your scores into categories - so as well as there being one overall winning team, you'll also get feedback on who completed the most challenges, which groups worked best together, the team that was the most creative or observant, and the champions of puzzles and brainteasers. As well as allowing victories to more than one team, this is also a great way of assessing how people think and work - many of our clients take this feedback and use it to implement changes in how they operate as a team.

As many of the challenges involve you taking photographic proof of success, you'll end up with a brilliant collection of hilarious team photos to decorate your office with, allowing you to re-live the day to your heart's content!

If you'd like to find out more about this brilliant event, call 0845 006 06 06 for a chat.

Team Motivation: Art for your Office #1

If it's been a while since your last team building event and you need some motivation, try decorating your desk area with this week's free, printable poster. Instant office chic and a good motto to live by, all in one.

"None of us is as smart as all of us. Work together, achieve more"

Click here for a printable version of this poster. Alternatively, give us a call on 0845 006 06 06 to discuss how to boost motivation through team building.

Team Building Venues: New Place, Southampton

Choosing the perfect venue for your team building event can be a daunting task - but CCC are here to help! As a mobile team building company, we have produced events at thousands of venues across the UK  and Europe and offer a free venue finding service to all of our clients. We'll be profiling a range of venues to provide an at-a-glance guide to what's on offer.

New Place, Southampton

At a Glance

• 40 meeting and training rooms, with the largest catering for up to 110 delegates
• 110 bedrooms with the latest mod cons
• Free WiFi and internet access throughout
• Refreshment stations with free-flowing coffee, tea and snacks
• 32 acres of outdoor space and parkland, including a motorised vehicle circuit

Why We Love It

New Place's ample outdoor space means that we've enjoyed many a sunny summer's day running Cryptic Challenges and Time Trackers in their grounds, while the Grade I listed manor house at the heart of the venue is the perfect setting for a Murder Mystery. The free-flowing coffee stations are brilliant because it means that our clients can extend their meetings and events at leisure, without having to comply to set 'refreshment break' time slots. The meeting rooms are light and airy and more often than not, groups will stay for a few days, incorporating conferences, team building and leisure time in the pool, steam room and sauna.

"Being a De Vere venue, New Place is fully geared towards meetings, conferences and team building events. My favourite event to run there would have to be an Activity Day as their motorised vehicle circuit is perfect for our quad bikes and rage buggies" - Zoe Taylor, Senior Event Manager

To find out more about team building in Southampton, call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to our  lovely team.

iSpy - High-Tech Team Building in London

We had a brilliant time basking in both the sunshine and the atmosphere in London last week, running an iSpy for a fantastic group of clients.

One of our newest events, iSpy was created with high-tech gadgetry in mind - each team is armed with an iPad, radio, video camera and digital camera and tasked with a quest around their local city, tackling a range of entertaining challenges.

The teams had a great time playing with their new toys - the radio in particular providing the chance to indulge in childhood dreams of being a 'cop' - before the competitive streaks took over and they began their adventure.

As well as completing radio, video and photo challenges, the teams used GPS tracking on their iPads to locate costumed characters at popular London landmarks, who were ready and waiting with bonus clues:

London itself was looking fabulous - with the city still buzzing from the Games, it was the perfect backdrop for some competitive fun:

When the teams had tackled as many challenges as possible in the time they were given, we finished up at Browns in Covent Garden, where everyone was treated to some well-deserved drinks before the winners were announced - ending the day on a massive high.

If you'd like to hold your own iSpy, call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to the CCC Team.

Sports Day Team Build at Old Deer Park, Richmond

Our clients gave the professionals a run for their money on Friday, taking part in a Sports Day event at Old Deer Park in Richmond, Surrey - whilst the London Welsh rugby team trained alongside them! It was only a matter of time before our sporty set up attracted the attention of the players, and as soon as training was over they headed straight for a go on our Free Kick Frenzy:

Old Deer Park is a favourite venue of ours as it offers plenty of outside space whilst being only a stone's throw from Central London. Add to that the friendly staff and the clubhouse bar and you have the perfect venue for London-based clients after an outdoor team building day. Being home to the London Welsh Rugby Club, working at Old Deer Park means that we often get to see the players in action - although in this instance, our clients were the superior athletes of course:

As well as the Free Kick Frenzy, the six teams competed in a host of other challenges, including the always-hilarious 4x400ml Relay:

The whole group gave it their all, but at the end of the day there could only be one winning team - and they were delighted with their victory!

We left the group to enjoy some well-earned drinks at the bar, but not before promising to come back with another sporting event so that the winners could defend their title.

If you'd like to claim victory in your very own Sports Day, visit our website or call us on 0845 006 06 06.

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #2

If you're looking for a small team build you can run yourselves, from your office, with minimum planning or fuss, look no further than our Easy Office Based Team Building Ideas!

Creation Through Communication

The aim of this activity is for each team member to create a piece of origami by being given only verbal instructions by their team leader. It is beneficial for groups who are having communication issues, as it encourages everyone to assess how they listen to instructions, how they interpret them and how they implement them. It's also a great way of looking at the art of giving instructions, and is a fantastic DIY team build because the only equipment it requires is paper.

To prepare this activity, trim some A4 paper into squares and print off some Origami diagrams. There are plenty of resources online but ideally you want something easy and without written instructions, so that the instructor describes what they see in their own words. We like Origami Diagram - try the Flutter Fly as it's nice and simple.

If you have a small group (ten or fewer), this activity can be run as one large group, with the person running the activity giving instructions. For more people, divide the group into teams of about four to six people and ask them to nominate a team leader who will be giving out instructions.

Give each person a piece of paper (using coloured paper is nice but not essential) and explain the activity. Ask the team leaders to give out a series of instructions to best describe the diagrams you have given them, which everyone should follow. People should avoid asking questions, but they can ask for instructions to be repeated or re-phrased. Do not let people know exactly what they will be making, although you should have one example already made up to reveal at the end.

Give the teams a time limit, depending on the difficulty of the design you have given them (fifteen to twenty minutes for the Flutter Fly would be ideal).

If you are working in teams, when the time is up come back together to de-brief.  Reveal your "Here's one I made earlier" example, and explain that it's okay if not everybody's is perfect - that's the whole point of the exercise!

Some points for discussion to consider are:

• How do the end products compare to each other? If there are noticeable differences, why do you think this might be?
• What did people find challenging about this exercise? Are these challenges similar to those you have when communicating at work?
• Do you think that if you could see diagrams of the instructions, or have an example of the end result, your product would look the same? This would have meant relying less on yourselves and your own understanding of the instructions - would that have been a good thing?
• Participants had to trust the person giving instructions - how did this feel?
• What can you feed back about how the instructions were given? Did those giving instructions speak clearly and slowly enough, waiting for everybody to be ready before they moved on to the next point, or not? You may find it's beneficial to repeat the exercise with different people giving out different instructions, so that everyone has the chance to work on these skills.
• What have we learned about communication - both listening and instructing - that we can transfer to our working lives?

If you want to take your team building further, check out our website for ideas or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to our fabulous team.

Team Building at Cannizaro House, Wimbledon

Last week Event Managers Kate and Kye ran an epic Monte Carlo or Bust team build at the gorgeous Cannizaro House in Wimbledon. Teams went head-to-head in the race to design, build and race life-sized concept cars, letting their imaginations run riot and their inner F1 drivers come to life!

Cannizaro House was the perfect backdrop - glamorous, sophisticated and boasting beautiful grounds, it wouldn't look out of place in Monaco.

After building their chassis, the group was let loose on the CCC Shop, which was bursting with materials for the body of the car. As always, the teams came up with a plethora of wacky designs - including a Flintstones-themed car, a Batmobile, and even a riff on the Pope-mobile!

We threw a spanner in the works when we announced that as well as designing the car itself, teams would also be required to make matching costumes - a task which everyone threw themselves into, with hilarious results.

Once the designs had been paraded and presented to the rest of the group, the cars were put to the test in a race of speed and agility, prompting much competitive banter between teams.

The day finished on a high when the winners were announced and the champagne prize awarded - and like true F1 drivers, the team couldn't resist spraying it everywhere!

If you'd like us to run a Monte Carlo or Bust for you and your colleagues, call 0845 006 06 06 or have a look at our website for  more team building ideas.

Happy 5th Birthday Ann!

CCC HQ is abuzz with excitement as we celebrate the lovely Ann, who has been running our Venue Department for five years today!

Ann does a fantastic job of sourcing venues which meet all of our clients' needs - her hard work over the past five years has built up an extensive database of venues all over the UK, meaning that she can find and book the perfect location for any event, no matter the group size or budget - all at no extra cost to our clients.

More than that though, she is a fabulous lady to work with - Annie brightens everybody's day, and always has the office in stitches.

We'll be spending the day spoiling Lady Ann, kicking off with some goodies this morning!

So Happy CCC Birthday Annie, and a big thank you from all of us for the past five years!

Going for Gold: Team Building in London

After an amazing fortnight in London, we've all been suffering from withdrawal symptoms and eagerly awaiting the Paralympics. Luckily, we needn't have felt so blue - only a few days after the closing ceremony, CCC Events was running its own 2012 -themed day in London!

We began the day with an opening ceremony to rival anything Danny Boyle could come up with, including an inaugural lighting of the flame. The group then got competitive with jazzed-up versions of traditonal sports, including Giant Shot-put, Junkyard Javelin, Giant Penalty Shoot-Out and the ever-hilarious Water-less Synchronised Swimming!

The final activity was a brilliant 4x400ml Relay, in which we swapped out the traditional baton for water-soaked sponges! Teams raced to gather as much water in their team container as possible by tossing the sponges to one another - trying not to get too soaked themselves:

Event manager Kye commented,

"The 2012 spirit is still going strong today - there's been plenty of banter and the teams are even more competitive than Team GB!"

If you'd like to hold your own Games or Sports Day, visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to Team CCC.

Activity Day - Team Building in Devon

Last week we headed to the seaside for an Activity Day at the fabulous Langstone Cliff Hotel. Our clients got to grips with Archery, Rage Buggies, Laser Clay Pigeon Shooting and Geese Herding, with magnificent sea views as a backdrop. Starting off with Archery, CCC staff were extremely impressed with the skills of everyone involved - including one sharp shooter, who managed to split his first arrow with his second!

We then moved on to Geese Herding, which involves directing a real sheepdog and geese around the course, often with hilarious results!

Next was Rage Buggies to kick adrenaline levels up a gear - a fast-paced thrill ride which had the teams buzzing.

We finished the day in a slightly more gentrified manner, with a spot of Laser Clay Pigeon shooting. Team GB's recent success in Shooting events at London 2012 inspired the teams to give it all they had, and we saw some brilliant scores as a result.

All in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon by the sea - for our clients, and for us! Event Manager Steve commented:

"I love this event because it's a chance for our clients to get to do activities they might not otherwise. There's always plenty of banter about highest scores and who's going to win, and it's always fun to get out of the meeting room and into the great outdoors."

If you fancy holding your own Activity Day, visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to our amazing team.

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas - #1

Here at CCC Events we understand that it's not always possible to get your whole team out of the office for an 'official' Team Build as often as you'd like. That's why we're proud to introduce our new blog series, Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas! Whether it's your first foray into the world of team building, or you are looking for something to tide you over until your next away day, we'll be posting a series of small team builds that you can run yourselves, from your office, with minimum planning or fuss.

The Scavenger Hunt

A Scavenger Hunt is an easy way to get everybody working together in a fun frenzy of activity. Use it to get over the mid-day slump or before a meeting and your staff will be buzzing with excitement - especially the winning team.

The aim of The Scavenger Hunt is for each team to try and find as many of the items on the list as possible within a set time limit. This is an office-based activity, but if you work in a city or near a park, you may want to allow teams to get out and about as they search for items (if you trust them to come back!)

Begin by dividing the group into teams - three to six people per team is perfect. A mixture of senior/junior, male/female and different age groups in each team is a great way of getting people to mix with those they might not otherwise. Alternatively, simply pick names from a hat.

Once everybody has found their team, hand out a list of Scavenger Hunt Items. A range of easy and difficult items is good - here are some of our favourites:

• Coin dated 1999
• Cassette Tape
• Picture of the MD
• Your company logo
• Safety pin
• Stress Ball
• The Queen
• Novelty hat
• Stuffed animal
• Golf Tee
• Balloon
• Promotional Item
• Company Award

Encourage teams to think outside of the box - items don't have to be literal. A hand-drawn caricature of the MD, for example, is more creative and will provide more laughs than a printed photo from your website! Give the teams a time limit - 15 minutes if you're looking for a quick motivator, or up to an hour if if you really want to get the teams working together (adjust the number of items on the list accordingly).

When everyone has returned, get the teams to present the items they managed to find - the team that got the most is the winner!

Award a small prize or treat to the winning team, and if you want to get your office looking ship-shape again, consider giving another prize to the first team to return all of their items to where they found them.

If you want to take your team building further, take a look at our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to one of our fabulous team.

Back to School: Team Building at Down Hall, Hertfordshire

Last week our clients were taken Back to School  for a fun-packed trip down memory lane at the beautiful Down Hall Hotel in Hertfordshire.  After sitting assembly with our terrifying Headmaster, the group was split into 'classes' and embarked on a school day with a difference - breaking plenty of rules and avoiding their teachers at all costs!

Much more fun than you remember from your former years, our Back to School event is all your favourite lessons with a twist - think decorating cakes whilst blindfolded for Home Economics, giant footballs for Sports Day and hilarious renditions of your favourite songs in Music.

Event Manager Steve Scott had this to say about the day:

"It's always amazing how quickly the teams regress to schoolchildren and start acting up! Everyone spends the day in stitches, but not only is this event masses of fun, it strengthens bonds and encourages teamwork in a situation everyone can relate to."

Fancy going Back to School for your team building event this summer? Visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to one of our amazing sales team.