We’re already on the last few weeks of the year but the excitement continues at GrowthScout SEO Services. Last October 25, 26, and 27, our company held its annual team building in Baguio City. The 3-day event was, as usual, filled with fun, food, prizes, and exciting adventures. But more importantly, the team building activities have opened opportunities for everyone in the team to gain new learnings and get to know each other better.

GrowthScout SEO Service’s Annual Team Building

Since its founding, GrowthScout SEO Services has made it a point to include team building in its schedule of activities. Every year, we scout venues to find the perfect setting for an important event that doesn’t only make way for relaxation, but effectively renews team spirit and strengthens ties among the members of the company.

For 2018, we have chosen Baguio as our team building venue. The cold weather, the relaxing view of nature, and the fresh vibe are some of the factors that we have considered in the selection to finally decide that it’s worth the 4-6 hour drive.

To share with you the experience, below are some of the highlights of our 3-day team building in the city of Pines.

Day 1:

The team left Manila early to avoid traffic and to still have enough time to rest and prepare for our scheduled activities for the day. Upon reaching the unit that we have booked at 87 Guesthouse, we just rest for awhile and headed out to explore some of Baguio’s famous spots.

It’s a good thing that our place is just a few minutes away from the city’s attractions. Our 1st stop was Mines View Park. There, we took no time to do just what a typical Baguio tourist does–taste the mouthwatering ube and strawberry taho, visit shops, throw coins in the wishing well, take pictures with the prettified horses and even more pictures with the scenic view as our backdrop before we decided to proceed to our 2nd stop.

Just a few minutes from Mines View Park, we drove to Burnham Park, aka the “Mother of all Parks in Baguio”, where we decided to spend our remaining leisure time. There, some of us rented the go-kart like bikes that are popular in the area, while the rest just enjoyed the scenery and took the opportunity to rest and relax.

Before it got dark, we have already returned to our place. The assigned group took their turn in preparing our meal for the night. After dinner, the team just rested for a while before we started our indoor team building activities which are all aimed at building trust, communication and strategic skills, and collaborative work among the members of the team. The activities were fun and fostered camaraderie–but the best parts are the learnings that have been imparted through the games we’ve played.

Day 2:

The day once again started early for the SEO team. After a hearty breakfast, we left our place to be in Camp John Hay at 9am. This year, we have chosen Tree Top Adventure in Baguio as the main venue of our team building activities. This is the second time for us to try Tree Top, as last year, the team went to its Subic branch for the same company event.

The venue is already a delight to be in, adding to that is the friendly staff and facilitators who have made us feel welcomed ever since we arrived in the place. 10 team building activities have been prepared for our team and though there are a few that we have already tried in Subic, the excitement has been high all the same.

Here’s a sneak peek of our team building activities in Tree Top Adventure, Baguio.

Skywalk Tour

Guess what? The first part of our team building activities took place above the trees! Here, we enjoyed the view of the majestic mountains and took the chance to take some pics while on an elevated platform with a clear view of the trees underneath.

ABC Game

It was also on the skywalk where we had our 1st team building activity, the ABC Game. While it sounded simple, it required concentration for all the members of the GrowthScout SEO Services’ team to complete the alphabet in proper sequence.

Gem Drop

The only activity that we weren’t able to successfully complete! It challenges leadership and communication skills to perfectly pick and drop 3 gems using push and pull strategies.

Pipeline

The rule is simple. Transfer the ping pong balls through the pipes given to each team member without letting it fall to the ground. While it sounded easy, the speed of the ball and timing made this a bit difficult. Thankfully, after a few tries, we completed this activity!

Loop Lifts

Another test of coordination and strategic skills, the challenge is to transfer and lower a loop to another loop up to a certain height.

Bar Lifter Balancer

A test of coordination and patience, this challenge requires all team members to lift their bars up to a certain point at the same time without letting any of the marbles drop.

Team Seesaw

How fast can you balance a seesaw with the entire SEO team on it? Seems easy but this activity will definitely test your patience, leadership, and communication skills

Boodle Fight

The trek to the activity venue was a rocky climb and the games as well can drain one’s energy. It was a treat to be served generous servings of meals for lunch, the boodle fight way, before resuming with our activities.

Plank Step

Strategy is a major factor in this activity. Using 4 planks as stations, each team members must travel from one station to another until a certain point is reached. This has to be done with all members of the SEO team on the plank and with feet not touching the floor.

Treasure Hunt

For the last part of the team building activities, we were given pieces of a map that we need to put together to see the location of the treasure. We easily located the ‘bolol’ and later on deciphered its hidden message: Ready for Anything!

We ended the team building activities sharing our insights–the learnings that we all can remember and apply in everyday work, and life as well. But of course, before leaving Tree Top, some of the members of the GrowthScout SEO Services team had to try the Tree Drop through random draw lots! 🙂

Side Trips:

As if our energies were not yet drained, we dropped by Chocolate de Batirol for some sugar rush and checked out Mile Hi Camp John Jay for some great finds.

The day ain’t over yet for the GrowthScout SEO Services team. After dinner, we started our sharing session which is a yearly team building tradition that allows each one of us to know the members of our team deeper and better. It was an eventful day, indeed. But still, some of us still had the energy to cap off the day by visiting the night market in Session Road to make the most of our stay in Baguio City.

Day 3:

The first two days of our team building have drained a lot of our energy and since it’s time to go back home, we spent the early part of the day getting added sleep, packing our things, and preparing breakfast and lunch before we drive back home to Manila. But of course, a Baguio trip won’t be complete without visiting Good Shepherd (and the highway tiangges!) for Pasalubong shopping. Our boss was even generous enough to make sure that we are given free pasalubong goodies for our families back home.

It was already dark when we safely arrived at GrowthScout SEO Services’ office in Timog, everyone eager to get home and take some rest. While our company’s 3-day team building event could have drained our energies, one thing’s for sure, it has bonded us together to become a stronger team, with deeper understanding of our individualities, and with renewed spirits that can make us ready for anything!

ALSO READ: A 3-Day Summer Rendezvous with Nature for Our SEO Team

Learn more about the GrowthScout SEO Services’ team and what we do by browsing through our website. You can also check out our blog for the latest updates and information about the SEO industry.