business 15 Spring/Summer 2019 CORPORATE MEETINGS & EVENTS EVENT PLANNERS Team-building Events Companies can find event planners across the country that provide a wide range of services for corporate team building. CM&E has spoken to four such companies to get a sampling of what’s available. BEYOND THE BOX Beyond the Box is headquartered in Toronto and offers many differing sessions on team building. Their 11 session leaders specialize in customizing sessions based on the needs of their clients. The best received corporate sessions focus on the creativity of people within the team environment, developing active listening and how to “win” as a team. When asked for a tip on team building, BTB President Bob Presner said, “Put your smartphone away and concentrate on the person in front of you.” He feels there is a serious need for team members to recognize the value of face-to-face relationships with other team members. For more info on Beyond the Box, go to www.beyondthebox.ca . EVENTOLOGY Eventology is part of a worldwide business partnership called Catalyst Team Building. The Canadian company is based in Vancouver and offers more than 120 products that cater to the individual needs of their corporate clients. Their most popular events focus on collaboration between team members, communications between sectors in a company and a fun approach to team building versus “training.” Eventology owner Alex Pett’s tip on team building is “get past the team-building traditional norms, work outside of your comfort zone and use simple exercises to build effective teams.” As equally important is having the team revisit what has been learned and practised on a regular basis to ensure objectives are still on target. For more on Eventology, go to www.eventology.ca . LEVEL 12 Level 12 is based in Toronto and provides team-building sessions that focus on improving performance using strategies based on psychology and neurosciences. Currently, their most popular session is a Bike Building Team Building seminar that uses human emotion and strategic thinking to change how team members view their customers and become top performers. When asked for a tip on team building, President of Level 12 Dan Perdue said, “in the long term to have successful, sustainable and top-performing teams you need an intellectual focus wrapped in an emotional commitment.” He feels that the future of team building needs to be redefined around these principles. For more on Level 12, go to www.level12.com . SLIXER Based in B.C. with locations across North America, Slixer provides a wide array of sessions for corporate clients that focus on team engagement, how to be more effective in the workplace and learning through meaningful and relevant activities. A key to their sessions is use of technology such as virtual reality, GPS and image recognition. Slixer President Chris Hill offered this tip: “Collaboration is the most important aspect of team building. Team members need to understand that they are not competing within their team or with other teams in the company.” The secret of team success is understanding that teams have to work together to reach their goals. For more on Slixer, go to www.slixer.com .