essentially the helping hands for our insurance broking network, providing support for our 150 broking branches across Australia who in turn help to protect the interests of their clients. Lending a hand is core to Ausure’s values, something everyone in the company can identify with.” Key selling points for the company were that as an indoor, non-physical activity it meant all employees could participate without any apprehension; working in teams of three to four allowed them to mix the employee groups in order to build relationships; and it had a tangible benefit for those receiving the hands. “If you want genuine learning in the workplace and to challenge people’s working behavior, challenge people’s level of personal accountability, or challenge the extent to which they cope with change in the workplace, you need something really powerful and I think that’s why the Helping Hands program has been successful to date,” says Henricks, who is a psychologist by training. “It touches people at such a deep level that it enables us to have conversations in the work place that they wouldn’t let us otherwise.”
At the heart of things Corporate social responsibility is close to the heart of the Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB) team, with team members seeing firsthand the positive mutual benefits that such activities can bring when companies or organisations decide to include a CSR component in their conference, incentive or event held in the Northern Territory. “We see so many benefits in facilitating engagement with our local communities for conferences and incentives held in the NT,” says Scott Lovett, director of Business Events for the NTCB. “CSR engagement can make a real difference, bring about positive change and leave behind a lasting legacy. It provides an unforgettable opportunity for event participants to engage with the local community, enjoy a one-onone exchange, learn more about
Australia’s ancient culture and make a strong connection with the land and its people. “It gives participants a reason to venture out into the
environment, sometimes a little off the usual beaten track, to gain invaluable insights and experiences through worthwhile and genuine teambuilding activities. They end up departing the NT happy in the knowledge that their time here has made a positive impact that extends well beyond the business event itself.” Amongst the NTCB’s partners
for creative teambuilding with a conscience are Bindi, an Alice Springs-based cross-cultural organisation which provides employment opportunities for adults with disabilities producing high quality corporate merchandise including handmade name badges, delegate satchels and bags, calendars, caps and shirts as well as table centerpieces and artworks for NT conferences and events. Another organisation also working closely with the business events sector is the Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation, known locally as The Purple House. This non-government not-for-profit organisation operates a kidney dialysis centre in Alice Springs which services patients and their families who come to Alice Springs for lifelong dialysis treatments.
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42 Convention & Incentive Marketing, February 2014 www.cimmagazine.com
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