Top Reasons to Take a Corporate Fishing Trip
Through our travels to various fishing lodges across multiple continents, most of our fellow travelers have been couples, families or groups of friends. On multiple occasions, however, we’ve run into corporate groups on “team building” exercises. They’ve included construction companies, big tech executives, and groups representing everything from family businesses to Fortune 100 corporations.
It makes total sense from our perspective. Most of these ventures are to scenic places with great food and great service. Even if not all of the members of the group have prior fishing experience, by going to a fishery when the angling is expected to be off-the-charts, you’re likely ensuring that their first experience will be a good one – which means they’ll want to go again and again.
Here are our top reasons to make a trip like this happen:
By using these trips as incentive for top employees and top salespersons, you incentivize productivity.
If co-workers work remotely or in different locations, it brings them all together in a place where they’ll be having fun in close quarters. On a bass boat, for example, they won’t be able to get more than 20 feet away from each other.
It’s a great way to build relationships with contractors and subcontractors and cement those ties.
It’s a chance to further build friendships with top clients. They’ll remember your generosity and you’ll have time to informally assess their needs going forward.
It’s a chance to introduce your co-workers to your passion. Do you know Bob in accounting who just wants to talk about pickleball and his Siamese Cat? Now he’ll be comparing flipping sticks.
Golf sucks. I know some of you love it, but unless everyone in the group is already a seasoned golfer, a corporate outing becomes a series of haves and have-nots. At the right fishing lodge, everyone can be a success from the start.
It’s a great way to obtain office art. Promise the top angler or anglers from the trip a replica of their trophy catch, but only if they display it prominently at work.
You get to go fishing on the company’s dime. It may even be tax-deductible (be sure to check with your tax professional – we are anglers, not CPAs).
And our top warnings:
If you go on a trip like this, make sure that everyone has proper gear, especially clothing like raingear. Gertrude in HR may be annoying at times but we don’t want her to die of hypothermia.
Make sure you match the trip to group members’ level of physical fitness. Certain people are simply not fit to wade a fast-moving stream, pop for GTs or crank a 10XD all day.
Be sure that the parameters for participation are clear and be sure to avoid any inkling that employees are arbitrarily excluded, especially for reasons including gender, race or age.
Be sure to remind the attendees that this is a work event and rules related to general behavior and anti-harassment still apply. If Bob in accounting gets loaded on tequila and ends up sexually harassing Gertrude in HR, we have a problem.
Be generous, but be careful about the appearance of extravagance. If you’ve cut back on employees’ other benefits, an expensive trip to a luxury resort may be in bad taste. Similarly, clients may wonder if you’re overcharging them.
If you’re the boss – or you have direct access to the boss – you can make this happen. Reach out to Hanna and she’ll sketch out some best options to make your team happier and more productive.
