A fantastic two-day event was enjoyed by all (despite the weather which didn’t dampen spirits!) when we met just outside Birmingham on 13 & 14 June.
The Lea Marston Hotel, Sutton Coldfield, played host to our joint teams, all of whom were excited to have the opportunity to spend time catching-up with colleagues old and new. The theme was ‘two companies, one team’, which resonated with each and every one of us.
Day one began with lunch and introductions where interesting facts were shared, which certainly didn’t disappoint. Various unknowns were revealed - from childhood stories of meeting sports heroes (including a personal tour of Wembley from Bobby Robson no less) to sporting accomplishments (lots of martial artists in our midst!), proud parental moments (including the unashamed father waiting to live off the skills of the kids!) to some more risky reveals, which shall remain just between us!
An update on the combined Group vision was shared. Starting with a recap of our history which stretches back more than 40 years, then looking to an exciting future, building out from our end-to-end data management services and solutions. Our core mission remains the same - to continue to provide data confidence, quality, and integrity for all our healthcare and public sector customers and we also discussed our shared portfolio, which includes innovations and fresh approaches to address current industry challenges and enable new opportunities.
Each division provided short and snappy updates from their area, before breaking for a team activity based on the Crystal Maze. The rain did not stop play as we quickly realised most of us are very competitive. So, ponchos on, and we were off – building cranes with poles and ropes, completing jigsaws blindfolded and finding 15 items all of which had to fit in a match box!
Well done to Team 7 who won – demonstrating that age is no barrier to achievement! With a special mention to Mo Dingwall who (quite literally) threw herself into the occasion (and onto the muddy grass!) – Go Mo!
An indoor BBQ and dancing whiled the evening away, where yet more talents were revealed. Jim Marshall demonstrated his penchant for singing, i.e., we couldn’t get him off the karaoke, we had some dancers doing it their way and much fun was had by all.
On Day Two, we were joined by motivational speaker, Peter Collins, who gave us an insightful talk, using some interactive tasks, on creating effective teams. Guess how many uses for an ordinary paper cup you can come up with alone and then as a group? Littered with football analogies in the run up to the Euros, we all learnt some interesting thoughts and ideas on building trusted teams, which will not only benefit us internally, but translates into our customer working, where we already strive to be true partners, not just suppliers.
Thanks to everyone who attended, participated and organised what was a memorable, enjoyable and incredibly useful two days. Here’s to the next one!