Last week we welcomed Darcy to Mocean HQ to learn about all things marketing, events and internal comms. Here’s what she had to say about her experience… 
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Introduce yourself…
I’m currently a second year psychology student at University of the West of England (UWE). One of my modules this year is about careers and self development and requires work-based learning in an industry you’d like to go into. I’m interested in marketing as a future career because it’s creative and heavily linked to understanding people - my favourite thing about psychology! Mocean welcomed me a couple of years ago to help with a few team building events and I knew they’d be the best people to talk to about marketing, employee engagement and  internal communications.

What have you learned about Mocean this week? 
I have learned so much about Mocean this week - the importance of workplace culture and engagement and how they directly affect productivity. I’ve gained insight into the variety of employee engagement programmes they run including hybrid / live events, conferences, storytelling and shared experiences. I’ve also learned a lot about their company values, including their ‘Plan-It First’ policy. This helps to minimise their contribution to environmental damage by encouraging sustainable thinking and events including their zero tolerance to single-use plastic at events. I was delighted to discover their carbon off-setting initiative that they do through the charity Temwa for any unavoidable travel. 

What insights have you gained in marketing and events?
In terms of social media marketing, I’ve learned about the four social platforms Mocean use (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and how to make effective posts, what media / content gets the best engagement rates and how to source stock photos. I was also introduced to ‘know, like, trust’, the idea that through social media potential clients can get to know your business. The more authentic and human you are (e.g. ‘behind the scenes’ content), the more they’ll like and therefore trust your business and want to work with you in the future. I also learned about their Customer relationship management (CRM) platform ‘Hubspot’ and wrote my own template outreach email to new and potential clients. I learned about getting the right balance between being informative about their services whilst also maintaining Mocean’s tone of voice and authenticity.

What have you enjoyed the most?
I think my favourite part of this week has been learning about the social media side of marketing because it’s really relevant and it was so interesting to use a social media platform in a business context. It really got me thinking about the connections between marketing and psychology - the effects of posts on people’s thought processes. It was incredible to think about how one post can have so much thought behind it. I also loved the focus on ‘Plan-It First’- it’s so relevant and it’s amazing to see a company putting so much effort into creating more sustainable events.

Thanks for having me Mocean! 

Here at Mocean we are hugely concerned about the impact humans are having on the planet. Our commitment to minimising waste in the industry is why we think it’s vital to share our own commitment and environmental story. We can think of no better time to share this than during Zero Waste Week.

Zero Waste Week (6-10 September 2021) is a week long campaign raising awareness about the environmental impact of waste. Their mission statement is “No-one can do everything, everyone can do something, Together we can do anything.” Campaigns such as this serve as a reminder about how vital it is that individuals, businesses and organisations play a part in reducing waste and helping protect our planet.  

We can’t hide from the fact that some of our core business activities such as live events may have a negative impact on the planet. And we’ve developed a whole new way of working that minimises our impact on every level including our contribution to environmental damage. We call this Plan-it First. 

Plan-it First’s basic principles are…

• Always plan to create greener, more sustainable events.
• Always think: How can we do this better? 

• Avoid single-use collateral or use alternative, less harmful materials.
• Provide more sustainable travel arrangements. 
• Influence buying decisions of clients so they become more sustainable. 
• Influence supply chain to be more sustainable. 
• Use LED lighting to help reduce electricity usage. 
• Off-set unavoidable travel and carbon impact.
• Offer high quality digital alternative to live events.
• Zero single-use plastic.​

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​Our ultimate goal is to be 100% carbon neutral by 2025 and we encourage all staff, suppliers and clients to contribute to a more sustainable world by planning events that don’t harm the planet.  Now more than ever businesses are understanding the importance of this especially in light of corporate social responsibility (CSR) changing. Company’s are now rightly being measured on environment, social, governance (ESG) and doing better business.

We believe in a strong commitment to ESG and can help organisations and businesses invest in their commitment also. We’d love to explore how we can support your business in your commitment and help you have brilliant days at work.

Written by Siena Taylor.

Here at Mocean we think it’s important to support and celebrate communities and we have always passionately believed that all organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact. 

Which is why we love getting involved with communities to help them thrive and grow. We think it’s important to support communities any way possible. This may take many different forms and often a small act of kindness can mean a great deal to small community projects. We also work between communities and businesses, encouraging them to work together, raising awareness of community projects, providing resources and forging long lasting relationships and the impact of these initiatives can been seen many years on.

Our current community programme supports The Woolacombe Skatepark Project as they embark on their journey to create a space which gives skating fanatics a place for freedom, creative expression and happiness.

We have helped this project by creating a number of high quality films to help with stakeholder engagement and fund-raising initiatives. We are also guiding them on creating a social media presence. This will sit alongside their mission to help to fund the project. Our expertise will allow for the reach and professionalism that the project deserves and ensure the project achieves its goals. 

Mick Lindsay, Managing Director of Mocean said “I’ve always believed that a business should do more than make money. I’m interested in Mocean leaving a positive trail behind it which is why we actively support community projects and environmental improvement. The Woolacombe Skatepark fits perfectly with this thinking and I’m delighted that we can support such a brilliant and positive community project”.  

If you would like to know how you could support the project either through donation of time or sponsorship then please follow on all socials @woolacombeskatepark or get in touch with us at team@m-ocean.co.uk

At the beginning of the year we watched the US presidential inauguration as President Biden set out his vision for a new era of ‘unity and togetherness’. The changes seen to the top level leadership at the Whitehouse was a marker for the rest of the world to step up and change the way we see others.

Diversity and inclusion means being welcome to all people regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification or disability. A diverse and inclusive workforce inspires fresh ideas, different opinions, new vision and enables innovation. A strong commitment to D&I is a fundamental strength of a modern business.

Here at Mocean we believe that success comes when everyone feels included and valued because inclusion is the very foundation of team cohesion. Being part of ‘something’ is energising and inspiring but if one person is ignored then we cannot truly achieve greatness. If someone is different in some way, we shouldn’t feel threatened. We should accept them into our world and celebrate the richness they bring to our culture and everything we can achieve together. By having open minds we can open up a world of possibilities and seeing things differently to others can be hugely powerful.

We did some great work on D&I at the end of last year for our friends at Babcock Marine as part of their culture change programme. Everyone has the right for psychological safety at work and a stronger sense of belonging comes by building a more inclusive culture. The right to feel safe in your working environment, to feel accepted for who you are and to feel respected for your contributions. It's about being valued as a member of the team and it’s great to see traditional companies like this taking a modern and progressive approach to Diversity and Inclusion.

“Inclusion is no longer a mandate, it’s an opportunity instead of mandate, we should consider inclusion as an opportunity to on-board talent without any boundaries and limitations - cross-geography, cross domain, multi-generational and across genders” - People Matters.

D&I makes great business sense especially for employee engagement and experience - employees in diverse businesses are typically happier and more productive, they attract better talent, they are more innovative and are favoured by customers and investors alike. Diverse companies also win more business, grow faster and are more profitable than less diverse businesses. In short, diverse businesses perform better in almost every single way. We need to celebrate our differences and recognise those differences truly make us better as people and as a business. 

We can support your shift towards becoming a more inclusive company so please get in touch to discuss how e can help.

I think everyone will be saying good riddance to Covid when we finally come out the other side. 2020 was a shocker of a year and 2021 hasn't been much better so far. 

This time last year we were all blissfully unaware of words like Coronavirus and Covid.  For most of us, it’s the first time in our lives we have not been able to say ‘oh that sort of thing doesn’t affect me’. It’s affected all of us!

And while it’s affected young and old alike, the changes its necessitated in the workplace have been monumental. There we were, happily evolving our way into things like  the concept of non-presenteeism, flexible working and beginning to become aware of platforms like Teams and Workplace.  (And for many of us Zoom meant either an ice lolly or the 80’s classic from Fat Larry’s Band.) Then bang! Out of necessity evolution became revolution and what would probably have taken 5 years to achieve in normal times got compressed into months.

Our clients, like many businesses have had to fast track their technology plans to move to new ways of working, sweeping aside the challenges and obstructions that they would have encountered pre-pandemic.

So, good for technology, but what about the people? How have employees coped with the enforced change. Before the second lockdown, I think the answer would have been some like it, some don’t. Many of us really liked the opportunity to work from home with the flexibility it afforded us and the opportunity to more easily balance our family and work lives. And the amazing weather in the UK probably helped. Some people however hated it. They hated the isolation and the lack of a physical work community.

And arguably the second wave was harder. And the the third lockdown is darker, colder and whatever the novelty might have been, its worn off long ago.  Some of those who were advocates of the new ways are  beginning to feel the strain. It’s getting harder, but with a vaccine rollout in full flow, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and from a health perspective, things are going to get better. 

But Pandora’s box has been opened and some things, like the way we work, won’t go back to the way they were. This brings about a whole new set of challenges for businesses and their employees.

We believe that businesses with a strong culture that places the interests of their employees front and centre are the ones that have fared the best during the pandemic and will also be in a strong position to tackle the new challenges going forward.

So what do we mean by culture? For us culture means creating a safe and rewarding workplace that encourages and recognises boundary pushing effort, creativity and achievement. And it is made up of a number of key components that include:

• Purpose, a singular vision that unites your people.
• A clear set of values that drive your behaviours.
• A strong commitment to fair and consistent recognition. 
• Enlightened leadership - Leading with empathy and intelligence.
• An emphatic commitment to employee well being.

Keeping people motivated. Leading and inspiring remotely. Understanding that different people will cope (or not) in different ways. Understanding the  new responsibilities of leaders and above all maintaining a focus on your employees mental health and well being. E.g. How are they dealing with the isolation? Do they need virtual ‘water-cooler’ moments? Are they suffering from video burnout or a never ending barrage of online meetings?

New situations demand new protocols such as maybe a ban on scheduling meetings over lunchtime. And when people do inevitably start to return to office working, what will that environment look like? Maybe the working environment needs to change like the one at Runway East in Bristol pictured above. They've been pioneering the shared collaboration space. 

Businesses are different and everyone needs to find their way. And that’s where we come in!

For clients such as Babcock International, Microsoft, BT and RBS, we help them to define the workplace culture they want, devise programmes of sustainable change and then we bring it to life for their employees in a vivid and compelling way with creative internal communications.  We do this by getting to know the business - throughly - through the eyes of the leadership and  more importantly through the eyes of the employees. Only then can we help deliver what’s right for the business.

The workplace is evolving and one thing’s for certain, there will always be new and different demands to challenge your leaders and your people. The right culture can be instrumental in successfully navigating these changes. And remember,  if you look after your culture, it will look after you.

Have you considered the impact of Covid-19 on your employees health and wellbeing?

How comfortable will they be returning to the office? Have you considered employee engagement when returning to the office  following a long period of furlough or working from home? And what will the working environment even look like post-Covid? 

These are some of the many questions being debated as we look ahead to a post-Covid era. Inevitably, Covid-19 has massively impacted employee health and wellbeing and not necessary in a good way. Increased isolation and loneliness, less distinction between work and personal life and a lack of human connection are just some of the many side effects.

Whilst part of your workforce may be experiencing burnout, others, who may have been furloughed, will feel underworked. It’s important to bring these two halves back together in the return ‘back to normal’ and we need to ensure this is done in an engaging and healing way. An important factor to consider when bringing a disjointed workforce together is what the future workplace will look like and how it will function. Working environments impact employee health, wellbeing and engagement and the question is, do companies still need to be leasing vast office space lined with hundreds of desks or is there a more beneficial way of working? A trend that is likely to emerge is the increased use of co-working spaces. According to Co-Working resources and Coworker, 5 million people will be working from co-working spaces by 2024, an increase of 158% compared to 2020. 

Another suggestion for the future workplace is ‘the 15 minute city’, a concept created by Carlos Moreno that goes against modern urbanism. This is the design or redesign of cities so that within the distance of a 15 minute walk or bike ride people should be able to access work, housing, food, health, education, culture and leisure. This would also help tackle climate change and reduce carbon footprint. According to Moreno, modern cities are currently a “bubble of illusionary acceleration” and aren’t working to our benefit, we need cities to adapt to human needs rather than the other way around and this has become even more apparent during Covid times. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that community and locality are very important to human needs and were vital during lockdown. So could this be the solution for a post-Covid recovery? 

There’s reason to believe existing offices will be used for hybrid and flexible working. Paul Dunn, Executive Director at CallisonRTKL has gone as far to say “there won’t ever be a generation looking to return to an office 5 days a week 9-5”. According to an article by ‘All work’ explaining workplace trends in 2021, the office will be a place where workers pass through and collaborate with their colleagues rather than sit and work which is likely to result in a stronger and more resilient workplace culture. Companies will need to make office spaces more vibrant and inspiring in order to achieve this collaborative environment.

Co working, 15 minute cities, hybrid and flexible working or a full return to the office. Whatever the future of the workplace might look like it’s clear that times are changing.

The one thing we do know is that the way we communicate with our employee has never been more crucial.  Talk to us about how we can craft your internal comms and help make that transition a little smoother. 

Here at Mocean, we have always passionately believed that any organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact. That’s why we are delighted to announce our partnership with Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) as we become a member of their ‘250 Club’. We’re joining a network of brilliant and likeminded organisations and ocean activists to help drive forward a movement for change. SAS are a community dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife and are a grassroots movement that has become one of the UK’s most active and successful environmental campaigns. 

We’ve always been concerned about the negative impact that running employee engagement events can have on the environment and acknowledge that some of our business activities, left unchecked, could be harmful to the planet. This does not sit well with our ethos and values and that’s why we have our 'Think Green' policy. This mindset shift is all about understanding best practice for running events but also promoting a culture that challenges bad practice and is always thinking: How can we do this better for the environment? Every time we produce events or comms collateral, we make sure we minimise our impact on the environment and we actively encourage all staff, suppliers and clients to think sustainably. This is the basis of our day-to-day business and ensures we are always thinking and acting sustainably.

As a member of the ‘250 Club’, we will help to protect the UK’s unique coastal environment in SAS’s fight against plastic pollution, pushing government for change, holding brands to account and inspiring the next generation to protect the ocean. We are constantly evolving to become a more sustainable business and our partnership with SAS supports and upholds this. 

Drum roll…..
Mocean

Not a bad place to start when writing a blog on culture.

The Lotus Award recognised our own culture as a business as well as the work we do for our clients in the areas of employee engagement and employee experience. So first a bit about our workplace culture. Our mantra is ‘Be more Mocean’. We have four simple behaviours that we created between us that ‘nail’ how we want to exist for each other, our clients and the planet.

• Shake things up
• Behave with integrity
• Protect the planet
• Do brilliant things

That’s it. And these behaviours are driven by a simple purpose - to give people more enjoyable days at work.

That’s us. But it’s not the same for everybody and 2020 has shown us not only how important it is to define your own culture but also that  if you look after it, it will look after you. In fact we would suggest that the businesses that have fared the best during the pandemic are those that have maintained their investment in the components that go to make up a strong culture.

So what do we mean by culture? For us culture means creating a safe and rewarding workplace that encourages and recognises boundary pushing effort, creativity and achievement. And it is made up of a number of key components that include:

Purpose - What is the singular vision that everyone believes in. 

• A clear set of values that drive the behaviours that define  how the business operates.
• A strong culture of recognition - celebrating good and calling out unacceptable
• A diverse and inclusive workforce.
• Enlightened leadership - Leading with empathy and intelligence.
• An emphatic commitment to employee well being.

All of these components are key ingredients . Particularly in challenging times. There is a greater need for them when for many the working community has been reduced to a set of squares on a Teams or Zoom call. 
Keeping people motivated. Leading and inspiring remotely. Understanding that different people will cope (or not) in different ways. Understanding the  new responsibilities of leaders and above all maintaining a focus on your employees mental health and well being.  All these things will determine the nature of your business’s culture. 

But as I said, businesses are different and everyone needs to find their way. And that’s where we come in!

For clients such as Babcock International, Microsoft, BT and RBS, we help them to define the workplace culture they want, devise programmes of workplace culture change and then we bring it to life for their employees in a vivid and compelling way with creative internal communications.  How, by getting to know the business - throughly - through the eyes of the leadership and  more importantly through the eyes of the employees. Only then can we help deliver what’s right for the business.

At the end of the day your culture will define and deliver the overall employee experience and it won’t be a surprise to learn that a happy workplace is a productive workplace. If you would like us to help you on your culture journey, we’d love to chat.

Mocean, making waves in employee engagement since 2014. #makingwaves

As specialists in employee engagement and employee engagement events, we understand the power and energy of  live events but the current reality is that for now, they are off the table. But life has to go on and when it became clear that for most people business gatherings would be reduced to a grid of boxes on a Teams or Zoom screen, we realised that some interactions needed to transcend the virtual meeting format and deliver something better, more significant. The digital version of a live event if you like.

So we came up with Live Studio.

Live Studio is a hybrid bundle of technology, employee engagement know-how and powerful creative execution that can deliver a range of interactions. From product launches to a complete digital conference Live Studio can deliver the punch of a live event without the need to put your delegates or customers at risk by bringing them all together in one place.

How does it work?

Mocean: Live Studio is a portable broadcast studio enabling you to stage your event as you would any live conference. You get the professional production values of a conference with quality lighting, sound, animation, film, and slide packs. Think of it as a cross between a live conference and a TV studio - all being broadcast direct to your audience and facilitated by a professional host. Presenters and guest speakers come to the studio and present as they would at any live event - under covid controlled conditions, of course. This is broadcast live via your preferred platform where the delegates can dial in from anywhere in the world. These ‘as live’ shows allow delegates to have a worthwhile and memorable experience without putting them at risk with no loss of interaction with their colleagues.

So, we’ve got the technical capability to deliver a virtual event. Job done, right? In fact wrong. That’s just part of the story. It’s like having a well equipped recording studio with no musicians. Getting the content right is essential. 
Mocean are a creative agency with extensive experience in developing effective employment engagement strategies and delivering cracking creative communications for the likes of Microsoft, Babcock International and BT. For all these clients we’ve combined our experience and technical capability to deliver effective events throughout the pandemic and even during lockdown. With brilliant results.

And Live Studio is not just about offering a solution for the pandemic. There are some clear advantages that Live Studio has over the traditional live event.

• Cheaper - No more hiring of expensive venues. No accommodation and catering costs. No travel costs.
• More inclusive - No limits to the numbers who can take part so more people in your organisation might be included. Also easier for overseas delegates to take part.
• Better for the environment without all the travel normally incurred..
  
  

So, Live Studio is for life, not just for Covid. Either on it’s own or alongside live events It can add frequency, inclusivity  and a richness to your comms strategy and could make your comms budget go a lot further in the process.

Call us to find out more. Mocean. Making Waves since 2014.

We are excited to launch our new ground-breaking packages of team building with social purpose.

​As a business we have always lived by a set of values that reflect fairness to people and kindness to the environment so combining our core business activity with our values seems like a natural progression for us. The basic premise is that these awesome team building packages will result in a positive outcome for the communities in which we operate or for the environment. We have already delivered some brilliant social purpose events for Microsoft and we hope to develop more innovative concepts that reflects our social purpose agenda. This will also support the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments of our customers so if you would like to know more about these exciting packages then please >> get in touch <<. 

We are delighted to announce that we have become a fully on-boarded preferred supplier to Microsoft. We have already produced some amazing events with them and they have already shown us that they will be a brilliant client to work with. Microsoft were particularly interested in our team building with social purpose and this is an area that we hope to develop further. We plan to produce even more exciting team building and employee engagement events for them which will be delivered at conferences and stand alone venues, globally. 

We are delighted to launch our new marketing campaign: #DoSomethingToday

​We appreciate that this isn't the usual approach when a leading events company launches a marketing campaign but we're just too concerned about the impact that humans are having on the planet to stand by and do nothing. So we decided to divert our marketing budget and use it to be a force for change by promoting small, easily achievable tasks that will help make the planet a little bit better, one act at a time.

We believe that these small acts can have an enormous effect over a period of time. It's based on the Japanese Kaisen Theory of continual improvement and we want to get as many people as possible on board. And if you're sceptical about the impact that these small actions can have - with over 7.5 billion people living on earth, just imagine if everyone did one thing, every day. So, what will you do today? ​

What's the problem anyway?
Humans are having a devastating impact on the planet and there are all of kinds issues that need addressing before it’s too late. Take the palm oil issue, deforestation or the pollution being generated every day across the world. And, of course, there is the single use plastics that are ending up in the ocean and choking our seas life. Put simply, the search for global profits has had a devastating effect on the planet. It’s time to act before it’s too late and you can do your bit by changing your behaviours. As a company that believes all organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact, it’s time we asked you to join us in doing something positive to help save our delicate environment.

It is our hope that by promoting these acts of kindness towards the environment (however small they may be), we inspire you to do the same. If you are interested in collaborating with us on our #DoSomethingToday venture, please get in touch to see how we can help each other.

We are delighted to announce the launch of a brand video series called Mocean Pictures.
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Team building and employee engagement doesn't always have to be complicated and costly which is why we want to share some experiences and ideas that business leaders have tried and found successful. We will be releasing a regular series of short videos crammed full of useful advice and tips on how you can better engage and motivate your employees. We will be interviewing many industry leading experts and discussing the many of the issues businesses face daily. 

We want the Mocean Pictures series to be as interactive as possible and we would encourage you to get in touch with any comments, feedback or general request for topics. 

​Yesterday we ran our fourth Netwalking event and the BBC World Service were there to record a 3 minute article for the broadcast on the radio. Wahoo!

Once a month, we run our Netwalking sessions which are a wonderful mix of casual networking and hill walking on the Mendips guided by our very own mountain leaders Mick and Tom. 

We started the idea to demonstrate the awesome team building and employee engagement events that we offer our clients but it soon became clear that there was a real appetite for these events and we started to offer them out to the wider business community in and around Bristol. 

Yesterday, everyone was in a jolly mood from the start. I guess it must have been the combination of getting out of the office for the afternoon, the fact that the weather had brightened up after a whole day of rain or it may have been something to do with the awesome goodie bags that they were given with their very own Mocean T-shirt and GoBites from Go Faster Food! 

We were joined by BBC journalist Claire Forestier who took time to understand the concept of Netwalking and also recorded the thoughts of the walkers representing companies such as Excalibur Communications, Teacher Hub, Skanska, Artemis Clarke, Halcyan, Sales Alliance, Global Vans and Claire Stone Nutrition. 

After the beautiful walk in the stunning Mendip Hills we headed to a lovely traditional country pub for some well-earned ‘rehydration’. 
What a great way to network!

​Thanks to all those who attended. We will look forward to our next event on August 16th. If you would like to book a place please contact us on team@m-ocean.co.uk

It’s a simple formula isn’t it. Put simply, the more a team works together, the better they perform. When teams work together something incredible happens, you find yourself working faster, smarter, more efficiently and more committed. This approach to team building really does help build better performing teams. Why? Because,  employee engagement has clear benefits to your team and the wider business and simple team building activities can really help improve your productivity. A happy and engaged employee is much better for any team. We know that team building is often over-looked by leadership teams but there is clear and proven evidence that teamwork = success. To help inspire you and your team to collaborate and work together, here are ten quotes that celebrate the awesomeness of teamwork and team building.

Top ten quotes on the power of team building, teamwork & collaboration

1. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
2. “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
3. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
4. “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.” – Michael Jordan
5. “Teamwork begins by building trust” – Patrick Lencioni
6. “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn
7. “The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.” – Lewis B. Ergen 
8. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” – Reid Hoffman 
9. “Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." – Steve Jobs 
10. "Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there." – Virginia Burden

Visit our TEAM BUILDING page to find out more about how we can help build better performing teams for your business. 

Happy employees are more productive and much better for your business. There’s a growing mountain of research on the subject but all too often the working environment doesn’t encourage happiness and wellbeing. In fact some leaders’ behaviours actively cause stress and anxiety and this is bad for the efficiency of your team. Here are three simple day-to-day things that you can do to spread a little happiness at work. You’ll soon be reaping the rewards. 

Earlier this year we published an article about staying cool in the outdoors - We had some great feedback as we were experiencing some lovely hot weather. Those scorching days and balmy nights seem a longtime past but our team building and employee engagement activities don't stop for the winter months. So, we thought we’d have a look at staying warm and dry if you're heading outdoors over the next few months. For more information on team building and employment engagement, particularly if you're in Bristol and London, please go to www.m-ocean.co.uk/ ​

Nutrition 
Whenever you head outdoors, whether it’s for one of our team building / employee engagement activities or just for a solo adventure, you need to be prepared. That preparation starts before you leave home because your body will use a lot of energy simply staying warm so getting your nutrition right is vital. We’re big fans of doing things naturally and you won't find advice on energy gels and protein shakes in this blog. Instead start the day with some slow release energy sources - porridge, bananas with nuts and seeds are all really good. Topping up the energy levels along the way is also important so that you don’t reach the stage where your body goes into self-preservation mode known as ‘bonking’ - take plenty of carb-rich snacks that are easy and quick to consume. Sources like seeds, nuts and natural energy balls all all good. Our friends over at Go Faster Food have some amazing recipes and they’ve just released some delicious and natural energy balls that will be great on the hills. When you’ve finished reading this blog head over to www.gofasterfood.com​. Here are a few of our favourites:

- Festive Flapjacks - Great to share on your team building event
- Ethiopian-Style Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup with Chilli & Lime
- Smoky Black Bean & Chorizo Chilli

Hydration
Hydration is not just for hot sunny days and is absolutely critical to your survival in the outdoors whatever the weather. Even if it’s cold and wet you’ll be losing valuable water which will hinder your performance. Drink water even if you don’t feel thirsty because being fully-hydrated helps the flow of oxygen around the body which is very good for performance and staying warm.

Stop for a cuppa
There’s nothing better to lift the spirits than a hot drink at the top of the mountain and it’s easy to carry a small flask so that you can enjoy a cuppa of your choice on your adventure. It’s also very handy in an emergency and if you find yourself or others going into a hypothermic state then a few sips of a hot drink will really help. If coffee is your thing then our friends over at TrueStart Coffee manufacture a caffeine controlled coffee which will control the amount of caffeine in each cup - perfect for a day outdoors. Visit www.truestartcoffee.com for more info.

Think like an onion
Wainwright said “There’s no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothing”. He’s right, with that correct clothing you’ll enjoy your day outdoors so much better. The secret is layers so that you can adapt your clothing to your situation and it’s a simple formula: When you’re moving - fewer layers. When you’re stopped - more layers. Simples!

Quality counts
You get what you pay for and this is totally true with outdoor clothing. The bigger brands have years of development time behind them and if you splash out on anything this year then make it a really decent Gortex jacket. Whilst nothing can ever claim to be totally waterproof (water has a habit of getting places you don't want it!), the better the jacket, the more chance you have of staying dry.

It’s a cover-up job
This is fairly obvious but you need to cover up all parts of your body at certain times. Hat, gloves and neck scarves are all essential winter kit. Even a balaclava is useful in severe conditions. 

Boots are made for walking…
And not wading through wet ground and rivers. As good as modern boots are they are not totally waterproof. Wet feet can be the worse thing when trying to get back to civilisation. Bring some spare socks so that you can change them should your feet get wet. 

Arrrgh! It’s all gone wrong!
So what happens when you get overtaken by events and it all goes wrong? The first thing we said in this BLOG was that it’s all about preparation and this is very true when it all goes wrong. Did you pack and emergency shelter (essential kit for any outdoor activity)? Did you pack the first aid kit? Did you put all of your kit into dry bags inside your backpack? Did you pack spare clothes and a change of socks? Did you charge the mobile? Did you tell someone where you were going? Hopefully you won’t ever be in this situation but it really is all about the preparation. 

We hope that you don't stop exploring during the winter months. These are some of the best times to get outdoors. So why don't you tell us about your fun times by using our hashtag #ExploreMore. Or if you want to get involved in some of our team building and professional development activities then please visit www.m-ocean.co.uk. 

Here's a little video of a team building event that we ran for a long-term client last week. We received some great feedback including comments such as "This is the best team building event we've ever done". Team building has a really beneficial affect on your business including a more productive employee group. Visit out team building page for MORE INFO

Team building doesn't have to be structured and run through business channels. In fact employee wellbeing comes in all kinds of guises so here's some advice on helping your employees enjoy the hot weather we're experiencing.

​With temperatures almost hitting a staggering 35 degree here in Bristol we started thinking about being outdoors and the dangers that being too hot can bring. In the UK we're often more concerned with keeping dry and warm so we thought it would help if we compiled some top tips and best advice for surviving if you're heading into the mountains this week. 

1. Start Early
Early mornings in the outdoors are wondrous. Whether you're trekking or mountain biking it can be the best time of day to enjoy these special environments. If you start early enough it can also mean that you'll miss the hottest part of the day - around midday. You should be able to climb most mountains before lunch leaving the afternoon for the mad dogs and Englishmen. 

2. Cover Up
This may seem a little counterintuitive, but long sleeves and a hat are actually your friend it the hot weather. The more of your body you can shield from the sun, the better. Loose-fitting long sleeves and trousers with a wide-brimmed hat will do wonders on a summer hike. Remember to shield your eyes with some UV-blocking sunglasses and slather that sunscreen on every exposed part of your body – especially if you’re hiking at altitude. The sun is stronger up there and you’ll get burned faster – even more so if you’re constantly sweating it all off. 

3. Hydrate
Pretty obvious but remember that your body can be losing between 1 and 2 lire an hour so it's vitally important. Be sure to bring more water than you think you’d need – and remember to sip often. BONUS PRO-TIP: When you’re done sipping from a hydration bladder, blow back into the mouth piece so the water doesn’t stay in the drinking tube. Beats getting a drink of hot, sun-soaked water on your next sip. It's also worth pre-hydrating - make sure you drink enough water the day before and in the morning before you leave. 

4. Stay Salty
It’s not enough to replace the water your body’s losing – you also have to rebalance those electrolytes while you’re at it. Sodium and potassium are the two big ones you’ll need to make sure you don’t run out of energy - pack some electrolyte drink mixes or tabs with your drinking water. 

5. Remember to Rest
While you’re eating those snacks and sipping that water, why not also find some time to sit down in the shade? Chilling out for a bit will give your muscles a chance to recover and also give your sweat some time to evaporate and cool down your body temperature.

6. Bring extra socks 
When hiking in hot weather, take an extra pair of of socks. Even if you don’t usually have a problem with blisters, if it's hot your feet are going to seat more than usual. When you feel hot spots in your boots - take a break in the shade and swap socks. 

7. Know the Signs of Heat Stroke
When your core body temperature gets too high, you run the risk of suffering from heat stroke – a potentially lethal condition. The most common early signs are:
– Throbbing headache
– Dizziness
– Muscle cramps
– Nausea
– Disorientation or confusion
– Lack of sweating, despite hot temperatures
If you or someone in your group thinks you’re getting heat stroke – stop, find shade, and cool down ASAP. Immediately start planning on getting off the hill and to medical attention - don’t hesitate to call emergency services..

8. Check the Weather
Although skies may be clear in the city, the mountains can make their own weather. Often when it’s very hot – the mountains can trigger surprise downpours - as ever - be prepared for all weathers when you head out.

9. Choose wisely
Pick a route that is achievable before 12. Also, one that offers shade and water sources. It's importantant  to keep out of direct sunlight and also to be able to cool yourself down - Soaking your t-shirt in cold mountain water and then putting it back on or over your head can work winders.