The winter holidays are one of the best times to give. The help offered to the disadvantaged can have a beneficial impact on the employees. A corporation’s initiatives in terms of social responsibility help to increase awareness. Either on the effects produced on the environment or on social well-being.

Social responsibility has become an important and present trend in the corporate events industry in recent years. More and more companies have adopted this trend through different methods: cross-country races, charity balls or event sponsorships. We propose the following teambuilding activities with a CSR twist for this year’s Christmas:

FLAT OUT: Sleigh Ride

Flat Out is a team building activity where your team becomes a Formula 1 crew, pirates or car builders. However, in the “Sleigh Ride” version, they will have the opportunity to create together the perfect sleigh for Santa Claus. The teams will have the challenge of designing models of sleds that they will then build using their communication, inventiveness and teamwork skills. Once the sleds are finished, the teams will decorate their creations with Christmas ornaments and start the race to test their machines. The CSR twist can be ensured through various methods. By donating equipment to schools or philanthropic organizations or by winning bets and donating them later.

TOY FACTORY / BIKE CHALLENGE

These two types of activities target disadvantaged children from certain communities. The participants will create either toys or bicycles that will be donated to children’s homes, the activity thus contributing to the joy of those who receive the gifts and to the satisfaction of those who created them. However, in order to complete the creations, each team will receive a series of puzzles to solve, codes to decipher and secrets. A few must be revealed to obtain the elements needed to build the bike or the toy.

COOKING SHOW< /h4>
In this activity, the teams will have the opportunity to experience cooking under the guidance of an experienced chef. Obviously, in the style of the famous show Master Chef. The Cooking Show benefits both individual and team participation. Having at their disposal all the necessary ingredients and utensils, the participants will create dishes specific to the Holidays, which can later be donated to charitable organizations.

 

 

BIG PICTURE< /h4>
Creativity can be the right opportunity to bring cooperation, communication and interaction between team members to the fore during the Winter Holidays. Thus, the participants will collaborate to paint a large Christmas-themed masterpiece. This is often donated to cheer up the walls of asylums or children’s homes. But the most popular CSR twist remains auctioning the painting and donating the money thus collected to an underprivileged community.

 

HORSES FOR CAUSES
Another CSR activity is the race between rocking horses. The Christmas twist can be to decorate them to become Santa’s reindeer. The participants are challenged to follow the specific instructions to create the perfect rocking horse of each individual team. The races with these horses are a carousel of emotions, adrenaline and suspense. For those who will compete, as well as for the spectators who will encourage them. The activity will end with the sale of the horses to the participant who bids the most. Including betting during the race is a fantastic way to raise money for charity.

 

BARKITECTURE

Barkitecture is a team building activity designed to contribute to improving the creative skills, collaboration and communication of the participants. All through the construction and decoration of dog houses. These houses can be donated to puppy adoption agencies. Or they can be auctioned with the aim of donating the money thus collected to animal shelters.

FUNK THE JUNK

This activity will offer a unique musical experience to those who will be participants. Musical instruments made from recycled materials will be used, which will contribute to the completion of a real show. The Christmas twist is ensured by the fact that the show can be easily modified to have the specific theme of the winter holidays. Funk the Junk is specifically aimed at bringing the subject of recycling and inventiveness to the agenda of organizations. This all-inclusive energizer offers the opportunity for any type of personality to express itself.

CSR activities involve a large effort and some short-term costs that do not produce an immediate financial benefit. But, instead, it promotes continuous positive social change. The advantages of these activities can be seen in the long term. In the sense of a stronger reputation, a higher employee retention rate, their motivation, a very good relationship with public organizations, as well as differentiation as a brand, innovation or employee engagement.

by Anna Maza, Event Ambassador

Organizing events is about solutions, people and ideas. The people who coordinate them know that no event is like another, and the strict rules are lost in the face of clients with complex requests, last-minute problems or capricious weather that takes everyone by surprise on the day of the event.

But nothing compares to the satisfaction in the soul of an organizer when the event turned out perfectly, and the client becomes a collaborator, even a long-term partner, because he managed to feel the necessary trust. So, in event management, even if the people for whom you have to come up with solutions may seem demanding, they are, in reality, vital for the extensive development of both you and the company.

The client with complex requests and high expectations has become a leitmotif present in the lives of all those who work with people, but we tend to believe that things don’t have to be so complicated. The solution is always communication and the way it is applied to each individual situation. Initially, the pressure may seem to be too much to work with a client who is difficult to please. But, after going through this experience, you will notice that in fact it has brought you more advantages and benefits than you would have thought, while communicating with easy-to-please people can become a challenge-free routine.

Although it may seem that a client who asks you for impossible things will completely exhaust you, this experience will actually make you develop, in that you will become more flexible and adapt to his needs. These clients will demand so much from you that you will end up changing your personal communication techniques to accommodate their interests. And the more you communicate, the better you will become. When you are faced with a complicated relationship with a client, you actually have only two options: either become more flexible or withdraw. Considering that the second option is not really a happy option to consider in communication with clients, it is necessary to look for as many means as possible to improve communication techniques. This way you can end up conveying exactly what you intend and make yourself completely understood by the interlocutor.

In psychology, there is a long discussion about the principle of mirrors, which says something like this: the relationships established between people represent a reflection in the mirror of their own person. In the case of a relationship with a more demanding client, it’s interesting to see what happens when we mirror their way of communication, adjusting our tone of voice, vocabulary, maybe even body language, to get on the same wavelength as theirs. Thus, the client gets to feel understood and appreciated by you, creating a favorable relationship between you.

In communication, perspective plays a major role: people’s opinions are based on their experiences up to that moment. By constantly referring to their level of knowledge and expertise, you will be able to understand the differences between your perspective and that of the client, being able to communicate better with him. In fact, you learn to be an empathetic person.

However, to gain trust when negotiating with a complicated client, you won’t be able to rely on feelings alone. Real data and facts will become your true friends, because they will help you strengthen your arguments and value.

Many times, patience can be an ally of the event organizer, because by actively listening, you understand the message behind the words. Thus, you can offer exactly that element that the collaborator failed to express. Dealing with this type of customers can bring you to the point where you want to give up and quickly get rid of the problems. However, if you manage to stay in position without getting beat, you will leave behind this experience with many personal development lessons that you have already assimilated. And besides that, you didn’t even have to pay for this coaching 🙂

Looking at things from the client’s perspective, it becomes obvious that he first of all wants to be understood. It is necessary for him to feel that his needs have been understood and fulfilled and that, in the end, the solution found is the right one. In addition, he will come to trust you, through the prism of your efforts and your communication, and will become a long-term partner.

de Loredana Stancu, Business Developer Evenimente Custom

You might think that event organizers never get bored. Or that they experience new things all the time or get in contact with new people and challenges and all their days are packed with meetings, emails and phone calls. Also, you might think that they have loooots of fun.

And you wouldn’t be wrong at all ?

But I got to understand through my own experience that there is so much more than this.

Yes, indeed, we never get bored. No two days are the same for me and generally, in the world of event organizers – when we have our peak times, we stay in the office from the crack of dawn (not me, though, I am not a morning person) till very late hours (sooo me). And meanwhile… we have calls with our clients and collaborators, we discuss proposals and event scenarios, we have meet ups with our clients to get the best out of their events, we research for new ideas we can implement, sourcing locations and sharing the latest event incentives.

One of my favorite times is when we are brainstorming – maybe only to add a little something in order to customize concepts from our teambuilding license (the biggest in the world) and to better respond to client’s objectives or to find a whole concept that will be expressing the event theme, the visual & branding materials and all communication related to the event.

Because we spend so much time together in the office or at the events, I find the team to be very important. So many times, participants approached us just to let us know they admire the way we work and collaborate inside our team. And I know they mean it. Besides the advices we give to each other, the support when things don’t go exactly as planned (pun intended), the fact that we all look to improve the way we do things and that we have each other’s back (and also the clients’) it’s very important for me.

Another thing that I like is the process of organizing the event. Since I am part of the team that brings new clients in the Universum universe ^_^, I get to have the joy many times to watch amazing events blossom from simple and plain objectives, stated somehow vague like “we want to have fun” to complex events, that bring real impact in our clients’ organizations. Also, I get to collaborate with clients that know exactly what they want, and I become their consultant in how to put this more efficiently into scene and how to bring the “wow effect”.

Then, we elaborate a presentation, to expose the ideas that our team analyzed and tested in so many previous events (or not, which is sooo cool), we build the budget and we meet the client to share our ideas. The whole process is amazing, it brings challenges and we often find ourselves in situations when we make the impossible possible. And then there’s never just one offer. One call you are negotiating a location to get the best deal for one of your clients, the next one you are contacting an international speaker to put the cherry on top of your activity, then you give a brief to your colleagues from the Graphic Design dept. and also start a conversation with other colleagues about this new concept that you thought would work for one of your clients and so on. Does it sound crazy? Well – it is! ? But it’s also sooooo much fun!

I was starting at the beginning that you might think that event organizers also have fun. This is maybe the reason most of us are doing this and will keep doing it – putting aside all the professional rewards – it’s important to have fun, play, enjoy the events you are organizing. We are having fun at least as much as the participants are, since we are energizing them as well during the event and keeping the stakes high at all times. Also, when fatigue kicks in, it’s important to have the back up of your colleagues, to cheer you up and give you energy for one more day (or weekend, or week – depending on the complexity of the events coming up).

And then…there are the events. Like one of my favorite Project Managers ever, Sabina, said – “if you are stressed in the day of the event, you are doing something wrong.” I especially like full day teambuilding events – I love the way participants gather one bus by one… how we wait for them with full energy, perfectly loud music, dancing and how the voice of the event (the Main Facilitator) subtly “lures” the participants into being part of this amazing experience. I enjoy the reluctance on some of the participants at the beginning and I cherish the enthusiasm on the other ones… and mostly I like it how the reluctant people become enthusiastic as well by the end of the day.

That’s when, besides the fact that your client is happy, and you know everything is super ok, you actually feel your mission is accomplished. When, at the end of the day, they feel transformed, even just a little bit – and it’s all over their faces and in their attitudes.

To close this little story in an optimistic way – Jung Lee (a famous event planner) once said “Just because you have planned something, it doesn’t mean it is going to happen.” – sometimes, things do turn out better that you expected/planned and that’s the absolute beauty of it!

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Stii care este cea mai mare greseala in organizarea petrecerii de Craciun? Alegerea tarzie a locatiei.
Pe langa faptul ca sunt companii care isi rezerva locatia cu un an de zile inainte, alegerea intarziata poate genera un buget crescut, compromisuri sau procese intarziate de organizare a petrecerii.

Este bine cunoscut ca locatia este unul dintre cele mai importante elemente in reusita petrecerii.

Inainte sa incepi cautarile de locatie asigura-te ca sunt stabilitate:

• Bugetul
• Numarul de participanti
• Tipul evenimentului

Experienta ne-a invatat ca perioada optima de rezervare a locatiei este de 4-6 luni. Cu cat este mai devreme, cu atat este mai bine, avand timp si spatiu mental pentru pregatirea detaliilor care depind de locatie.

De ce este locatia importanta, totusi?

• Costul locatiei

Indiferent de natura evenimentului, locatia are un semnificativ din bugetul intregului eveniment. De aceea, cum mentionam si mai sus locatia este unul dintre cele mai importante elemente in reusita unei petreceri.

• Serviciile suplimentare

Este important ca locatia sa ofere intreg suportul pentru reusita evenimentului, de la servicii de catering pana la muzica & dj.

• Spatiul Outdoor

Daca evenimentul tau este conditionat si de activare sau activitati outdoor, acest aspect trebuie luat in calcul inca de la inceput. De aceea, vizionarea ar trebui sa se faca in timpul in care va avea loc si evenimentul, tocmai pentru a vedea si potentialele interferente, nivelul de zgomot sau traficul din zona respectiva.

• Spatiul de Parcare

Parcarea este un punct usor sensibil, mai ales in cazul locatiilor centrale din orasele mari. De cele mai multe ori detin un numar limitat de locuri de parcare, insa exista si exceptii.

• Relevanta Locatiei pentru Conceptul evenimentului

De cele mai multe ori, petrecerile de Craciun sunt cu tematica. O locatie precum Biavati este potrivita pentru un B&W Party, club ONE pentru Alice in Wonderland sau Fire&Ice, Rockstars sau Hollywood ne trimit cu gandul la HardRock, dar sunt doar cateva exemple.

Cu siguranță un număr limitat de locații se potrivesc cu evenimentul tau și un număr și mai mic ajung să fie pe short list pentru vizionare, ca în final o să fie cea mai potrivită.[/vc_column_text][mk_button_gradient dimension=”flat” size= “x-large” corner_style=”rounded” grandient_color_from=”#8224e3″ grandient_color_to=”#ffffff” grandient_color_angle=”horizontal” text_color=”dark” url=”https://www.universum.ro/corporate-party/” target=”_blank” align=”center”]Alege tema petrecerii tale[/mk_button_gradient][/vc_column][/vc_row]

de Nicole Ungureanu, Business Developer Custom Events

“My story with Universum starts in fact a few years ago, to be precise in 2014 when I arrived in Bucharest for a short stay, after a 10-11 years period in Doha, Qatar. So first, let me tell a few words about my Doha adventures. So, bear with me for a while…

While in Doha, I was planning global conferences such as World Petroleum Congress, Coliseum (Sport venues of the world), Qatar Foundation’s events and many others… Not to brag but I had a great career experience, a great life experience full of “adventures” if I can so call them. I’ve met and interacted with a wide cultural diversity, I’ve met people that I’ve never dreamt I would of, such as Michio Kaku (seriously?!? You don’t know who he is? Oh, come on! Look it up) or having a chat with the president of Trinidad and Tobago about my political opinion on Qatar… who could have dreamt of that?!?

All these amazing people, yet so humble, they were so accessible and looked so normal in Qatar, not like they are in the rest of the world. There was no stiffness, no stuck-ups nor arrogant people there, everyone was respectful and humble. I learned that there’s no such thing as just one right way of getting things done. It’s just a matter of creativity and set of minds.
Now fast forward into the moment when I was checking the possibility of relocating to Bucharest in 2014 and I was surfing the market analyzing what event agencies are like, here. Made a research, checked all agencies out and so I came across Universum Events. I loved the fact that, there was an agency that does interesting events and I was amazed that we have such one in Romania. I checked their website a few times and I wrote to them that I’m interested in collaborating; again, and again, and again. I did that, for a few times during 2 years… (I so wanted to work with Universum!!!) Later on, (last year) I even got a reply! Was from the managing partner “Cristian Hossu” saying, that they are looking forward to collaborate but guess what?!? That wasn’t the right moment for me, since I wasn’t in Bucharest anymore at that time. Therefore, my chance to work with this awesome organization that I was following with high interest, went out the window…! Sad and disappointed, I started receiving offers in Europe and decided to relocate in France for another life adventure, which it was! Fun and yet boring I found myself in Aix-En-Provence having a hard time accommodating there and so I decided to move and apply for Australia or Netherlands. Had lots of interviews, yet none was what I’ve expected, when, out of the blue, I received a veeery beeery ? late reply to one of my mails sent to Universum the previous year or so ?))

The mail was sent at 6am, again, from “Sir” Cristian Hossu, apologizing for his late reply and the fact that he / Universum is so busy, given fact that he was still at the office at that time O.o.
Funny how life doesn’t let you go astray for too long, before it grabs you and pulls you back on the right track.

That moment when you think you know what you want but life knows it better!

Again packing my things and moving back to Bucharest was a huge challenge of adaptation but I was so excited to work in a great 60 people team and start a new chapter and new challenge of life!
Now, here I am, learning to challenge myself while challenging life in new adventures!

Message approved by NicOwl”

by Ioana Neagu, Business Developer Custom Events

The days of those in the world of events are roughly divided into two types, ordinary days and extraordinary days – said Marius in tabs from his diary.

That’s how it is today, extraordinary, when after a long and beautiful Wednesday, I have dinner with a friend from my teenage years and enjoy with nostalgia relaxing discussions and troubleshooting memories.

She asks me what organizing events means to me.

I start by telling him how I discovered the hashtag #life_at_universum and how it didn’t take long until I understood what it means… friendship, support, care, creativity, effort, trust, laughter with tears, joy and dedication. It also means stress, tight deadlines, harder times and lack of sleep… but they are a package that is well worth it… for the beauty and joy of seeing the results of your work…

Until now, we have summed up thousands of smiles of the participants for which we have outlined more and more colorful, colorful and cheerful stories. I collect sincere thanks, not as a trophy but as the happiness of giving. I frantically collect 10 marks, not because I lacked them in my studies, but because I know that I have brought thanks beyond expectations.

Have you eaten anything today? Are you ok? How was your day? These are not only my mother’s questions, but also those of the Universum family. To each colleague with whom I shared so many special moments – was the answer to the question “How are the colleagues?”

Continuing the evening, my friend asked me what I do when I have a hard day and I told her that from time to time, I write down the wonderful moments at the end of the day.

Continuing the story, I discover that the notes were mostly related to the friendships at the office, the help given, the trust offered, the energy transmitted, the support and the sense of humor. Browsing through my memories, I also found testimonials in which we were likened to Santa’s helpers for the joy we offered in the events around the Holidays or words like “you offered experiences that no one thought they could live”.

Smiling and very excited, my friend entered our website and excitedly asked me what event architecture means.

I smiled beautifully and said that it means joy, energy, creativity, work, understanding strong> needs, listening, questions, analysis, smiles, happiness, goals, fun, attention, work in < strong>team,

However, I explained even more concretely than that. For me, my piece of event architecture means the process from the brief “we want something WOW” to the feedback “it was beyond our expectations, sincerely thank you for everything!”.

It means analyzing the objectives in detail, questions to reveal undiscovered or uninterpreted needs as pain points.

It means listening, friendship, openness, flexibility, creativity and malleability. It means help and goodwill. It means understanding when changes occur and respect for everyone’s work.

I explained to him that we take each requirement from the client’s brief and turn it into reality, like a skilled director. It means building a story in which the participants enter as skeptics and leave as friends, having a common experience that they tell everyone about long after the event has ended.

He found it very interesting and asked me to tell him more.

I told him that each requirement is different and each client has specific needs. All must be treated with care in order to produce long-lasting effects.

Then I told him how much I like to go to the projects outlined by me to see the story that I built with laughter and jokes together with my clients, with ideas generated in the office and anywhere outside of it, put on stage.

After I talked about my student days and demanding teachers, I found myself looking lost at the beams in the restaurant where we were and how we could organize an event there. Asking me if I was thinking about work, I answered:

From the very beginning, it didn’t feel like work because it’s with you all the time. Go out to a bohemian cafe and see such a cute place for a Big Picture or go to a swimming pool where a Flat Out: Afloat would fit so well. You can’t detach yourself and that’s the beauty of it. You are never alone, you are full of ideas and you feel how creativity intertwines with feasible solutions to be able to satisfy all requirements.

I also tell him that it’s hard for me to say that I have a client because I don’t have… I have friends who ask me how my vacation was, what I visited, if I’m going to a concert on the weekend or if I’ve found an apartment . Just as I ask them how Rares’ first day of school was or if baby Sofia was fine.

Happy that she found me so happy after years of not seeing each other, my friend asked me what motivates me. I smiled and said that I enjoy the changes I can cause. I continued with a short story about how 6 months after a teambuilding I was called by an HR Manager who thanked us for everything because he had discovered that an important person in the company wanted to leave, and that teambuilding organized by us, made him to feel again belonging to the group and found the motivation and joy of being with his colleagues and not only chose to stay, but also had a series of innovative initiatives that produced changes in their turn. And then I realized that everything started from ”we want to communicate and get to know each other better”.

Every day is a challenge and I never get bored. I get agitated, I get stressed sometimes, I am happy, I laugh with tears or I listen to music at full volume in my headphones so that I can concentrate on the laughter of others. They are all so beautiful and make me happy every day.

Telling them about other plans of my life and how while I arrange my apartment and make it the way I want it to look, I think of Cristi’s words and smile because I realize that this is what I do every day: “The universe is the place where we build together the environment we want and how we want it to look”.

The evening ends on a good note and with something that I feel and want to pass on – Many people ask how much do you earn? I ask them… what do you gain? Because that’s what I feel I do daily… I gain friendship, trust, happiness, contentment and development.

by Marius Blajut, Project Manager & Senior Trainer in the Teambuilding Division
The days of those in the world of events are roughly divided into two types, ordinary days and extraordinary days.
The extraordinary ones are obviously the event days. Whether it’s a conference, party, company day, team-building or training, life becomes a stage, and acquires a different emotional register for all those involved – organizers, participants, clients, suppliers, collaborators.

That’s when you can see the spotlight and the result of the other days – the ordinary ones, which are actually very important and prepare the ground. And, although common, they don’t really resemble each other! Different projects with different clients, contexts and creative activities, this means that one day we can create a replica of the throne from “Game of Thrones” or a boat from “Pirates of the Caribbean”, on another we are repairing violins, buying masks, testing a new application, we create all kinds of visuals, or we think of the entire flow for a 2-day event. Obviously, we don’t do everything by ourselves, we have a bunch of collaborators, with whom we make things take shape.

However, all ordinary days have some common elements – we give emails, phone calls, visit locations, prepare presentations, logistics, event agendas, menus, etc. Obviously, we are in contact almost all the time with those for whom we prepare the events, our clients, as well as with those who help us bring it to life, our suppliers and collaborators. All this for a successful event, why not, even beyond expectations!

How was my day today Well, you can see in the collage below.

By Lavinia Sfetcu, Marketing Manager, Custom Events Division

For 3 years since I have been in the UNIVERSUM team, not a single day has passed without learning something, without meeting at least one beautiful person and working with professionals, but something is constant, namely that no day is the same.

With this in mind… let’s start the 4-day adventure that I experienced with part of the Custom Events team.

July 12 – 13, Romania – Serbia – Croatia – Slovenia

“The meeting point was our headquarters. Time 5.30 AM. With good spirits, coffee, music and… of course a selfie, I left for Bled, Slovenia.
The road was superb, with jokes, with tears of laughter, with benches, with stories from adolescence, with stories from projects, with stops to regroup the team – being many, we split into 2 cars. I left Romania by visiting the Danube Boilers, a wonderful place to have a meal as well.”

The roadtrip was full of adventures (which we still talk about today with a big smile on our face), photos, stories about us and the projects we worked on, countless songs hummed and danced, lessons learned, benches told and hours of sleep in the car.

“We arrived in Bled somewhere close to midnight, we checked in and went to eat something at a terrace in the city center. At the table we made a plan to get as much as possible from the experience of the Catalyst Global EuroMeeting Zone Conference. It didn’t take long for us to fall asleep, being tired from the long road of 19 hours.”

The conference came with quality content for every participant in the room. In addition to new products added to the license, existing and improved products, tips & tricks on how to facilitate the activities… besides all this, we also have the people. Extraordinary people with the most diverse functions, from CEOs of the largest teambuilding agencies in Europe, to Project Managers, Business Developers and Marketers. Every discussion we had brought added value.

“After the first day of the conference ended, the people from Catalyst Global prepared for us a boat ride to Bled Island and then a dinner at Bled Castle. The dinner was filled with surprises, including the Gala for the best performing agencies in the European network.

“Guy Baker: And the award for Inspirational Marketing goes to… UNIVERSUM Events! […]”

An amalgam of emotions attacked me. Such great joy embraced me that the only thing I could say was a sincere “Thank you!”. I had placed the award I had received on the table and was looking at it, and in my mind the entire film of the Universum Inspiration Day preparation unfolded – brainstorming meetings with the team, planning meetings with Sabina, the materials created, the meetings and phone calls given by the girls from the Business Development department, the work to every detail of the entire team, the setup day, the preparation of every corner in TNB, the discussions with the photo-video team, a last dry-run with the team, the facilitators for Puppet Masters and Beatsworks excited, the curious participants who were greeted by mimes, speech of Mark and Yves, Cristi’s enthusiasm, the hugs at the end of the event and the joy of every person in the team.”

July 14, Slovenia

The second day of the conference was mostly about SMarketing (Sales + Marketing). I took part in the testing of new products and a brainstorming for how we can do things even better from the point of view of the relationship Sales & Marketing.

“The Conference Day ended in our style. On the terrace of the guesthouse where most of us were staying, we talked late into the night. The discussions were about what we took from the whole conference, how we can use the information received to take each process to the next level.

I think it’s brilliant the way we choose to learn. How we debate each topic. How every little detail ends up being a topic for a good few minutes, in which if it ends up standing up after being challenged by each of us, it’s definitely a good idea.”

July 15 – 16, Slovenia – Hungary – Romania

“Even from the morning I knew it would be a long day spent in the car, that’s why the last few hours I spent in Slovenia were about visits, photos and the experiences offered by Bled. Get in the car… we set off for Romania more motivated, more confident, stronger for our plans in Universum.”

For me, the experience in Slovenia was one that filled several pages of my diary – here I am recounting only fragments. It was an experience that I considered an initiatory journey, like that of the characters in the novels we studied at school.

by Tibi Grigore, Teambuilding Division Manager

“We knew the event would be a “WOW” for the participants, but the “Wow” was doubled / tripled.” I didn’t have a single participant who had anything negative to say about the event, it’s just a well-known saying “you can’t please everyone…”. Here’s how it can be done. I carefully observed the members of the Universum project team and was very impressed by the way they work together. Congratulations!”

And that’s how the thought flies away. It seems like it was yesterday, somewhere in Sinaia. Evening falls and the team begins to gather.
We greet each other, we are happy to be together again and plan tomorrow’s event. A day of outdoor Olympics with 100 participants.

The evening is just beginning. Bonding and discussions. The moment when the project team is formed. We often receive feedback that we understand each other by looking at each other, but rarely does anyone ask how this happens. The synergy of the team of facilitators is one of the unwritten objectives of any team building.

At the moment when 36 facilitators have to synchronize to the minute, beyond good planning, the technology that helps us make things easier and Main Faci aka the MC of the event, the last but not the last element in the puzzle is the degree of cohesion and energy of the facilitation team.

Another thought flies in the past when someone told me that the facilitators should not have more fun than the participants. One of the myths dismantled over time. The facilitators must feel at least as good as the participants. They are the hosts of the event and the ‘guests‘ must feel comfortable in their home.

We started telling stories and the evening fell. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but it’s morning.
The sun begins to rise over the beautiful clearing where the activities take place.

The logistics team works hard so that the workshops are ready long before the participants arrive.

The facilitators’ dry run begins and when everything seems to be going smoothly and we are too relaxed, a challenge appears – one of the buses that brought the participants to the event broke down.
I don’t know what an elevator speech means for others, but for me finding a bus in 10 minutes that would be in front of the hotel in 15 was an elevator speech.

To reach the Sinaia transport directorate in 2 minutes, for the manager to come in 5 and to have 3 more minutes to convince him to send a coach there in the next 3 sounds like an elevator speech.

If I learned one thing from this story, it’s that anything can be solved as long as you are open to solutions and have faith in what you want. And in people. As long as you are well-intentioned and have a solution-oriented attitude, problems become challenges that make the game more interesting.

Again the evening catches us in Sinaia. We celebrate the day that just ended. The client is happy, the team is happy and only one thing is missing – What do we learn from here?
The fact that we had a challenge and were able to manage it quickly was because everything was in place long before the event started. It was because the team prepared before the event. It was because after each event we learn and want to surpass ourselves. It doesn’t matter that everything went perfectly, it’s important to see what went so well and what we could do even better.

Teambuildings must be fun. To energize us. And to respond to the learning objectives of the participants.

They all seem like common sense things and at first glance the thought appears that you don’t need a training / team building for this.
And yet, just as we recommend certain activities with confidence to our clients, we also implement them in our team.

Once every 3 months we have planning, once a week we have Superheros Academy where we run teambuilding and training activities for our team. And every time we are surprised. Because no matter how well you know the dynamics of an activity, a game with new rules makes us behave naturally and we are surprised because each activity grows us and that me from last week has learned something more and will react better in a situation nine.

A day in the life of an event organizer is always a story. With characters that gather. With intrigue and denouement. And every good story inspires us to surpass ourselves.
And let’s ask ourselves with whom we will write the next one. Until then, let’s have an excellent week, full of inspiration.

by Sabina Popârlan, Project Manager M.I.C.E. Division

The clock is ringing. It’s Thursday and it’s 5:45. I’m not a morning person at all, except that today is going to be a long day; tonight we are going to the event. While the kettle sizzles on the stove, still half asleep, I think about today’s to-do.

Mostly, it’s about the upcoming event, but I also slip in tasks for upcoming projects and clients who can’t wait for me to come back next week.
The whole day goes according to plan, with e-mails and phone calls, once again going through the whole event. One more time, that is, about three times, because if I have a flaw, it is OCD and the fact that I learned from the “event planner” that if you end up being stressed on the day of the event, it means that you didn’t do something good.

00:00: all materials, luggage and the project team are “loaded” into the cars. A good few hours of travel await us, but we are used to spending most of our lives in cars. We play loud music and dance, laugh, sleep or tell some details about the event. We always find occupations.

The day before the event is never friendly and keeps you busy from morning to night. He asks you the most questions and, sometimes, makes you doubt because many ideas still come to you and it is not an easy exercise to convince yourself that the decisions you have made so far are the best, of course, leaving room for small improvements.
Every detail that appears crosses your mind to leave it for the next morning, after which you realize that it is better to save that time for the unforeseen. Because there is no event that does not involve the unforeseen. No matter how much you plan and go through checklists, there will always be at least one element that you didn’t take into account or a change, so you need to be constantly on the alert.
Why so much attention to details? Doesn’t “and so” work? No. Your clients expect, as is normal, that you are more than an executor. You are a consultant, you are the specialist who offers the best solutions and ideas throughout the project. How comfortable would you feel just to implement, without having to make decisions and always look for other and other options, until you reach the best one? Where else would your footprint be?!

The day of the event passes without a moment of crisis, and as you get closer to the end, the smile spreads across your face. In the end, that’s what it’s all about. The joy of the participants, the satisfaction of the client and a happy implementation team are some of the things that cancel any sleepless nights, stress and moments of panic. All together because the event is not just about the Project Manager. You need a team with you that will go in the same direction, that will share the attention to details, because when it is necessary, they will show you details that, perhaps, have escaped you from the overall picture. You need to be with people who can offer you another perspective.
Events have this gift: when they go well, they wipe everything that came before with a sponge and leave you to keep only what you can do better next time.

Sunday, 12:00, we resume our seats in the car bound for Bucharest. And while you sleep you think about everything that follows and the projects you have at work. A successful event does not guarantee you that the others will be the same, so you start from the beginning and do dozens of to-dos, go through the checklist countless times and stay alert. Any moment of laxity can be fatal. And the goal is to deliver what you promise: custom, original events, with exceptional customer service and flawless implementation.

And if the title misleads you, yes, sometimes a day in the life of a PM starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday. Sometimes it starts in September and ends in January.