WHAT DOES CULTURE LOOK LIKE IN ACTION? A HAPPY SANDPIT THREE DAY FIELD TRIP An exclusive opportunity to experience three great South African organisations up-close and personal September 6, 7 and 8, 2016
What does culture look like in action? Happy Sandpit is proud to be pioneering a three-day field trip to experience, first hand, three unique and unusual South African organisational cultures. Creating and nurturing culture that drives employee engagement, performance and loyalty should be top of the list of goals for any organisation, but the challenge for leaders is to know what to do, and where to start doing it. In response to that, we re excited to offer an opportunity to come and not only see for yourself, what a trio of exceptional South African companies are doing, but to ask questions, kick the tyres and poke around under the bonnet. Our participating organisations are quite different, but they all have one thing in common: strong, evident culture has enabled them to achieve remarkable and unusual successes. There are only 12 places for the three-day field trip, which will run over September 6, 7 and 8, 2016
DAY ONE COMAIR: This airline operates two of the most well-known brands in the South African sky: Kulula and British Airways. The apparent differences in culture between them might lead you to believe that there are two different sets of employees, rules, and back-end systems, and you ll probably be surprised to learn that the airlines share staff across the board. CEO Erik Venter says Comair s ability to deliver different service offerings off the same platform is a testimony to one strong underlying culture that makes the subcultural differences between these two airlines interesting, but irrelevant. Erik Venter leads the tour and will answer your questions in an AMA* Q&A. COMAIR DAY TWO KING PRICE: This rapidly growing short-term insurance organisation has already made a name for itself with its quirky advertising and unusual customer policies, and not by accident. Founder and CEO Gideon Galloway says he wants King Price to be better known for its culture than for the products and services it provides, and that philosophy is reflected throughout the organisation. Yet King Price isn t just an unusual company; it is a very successful one. Galloway says that s because of culture. That s why we re KING PRICE going to see it. Gideon Galloway leads the tour and will answer your questions in an AMA** Q&A. DAY THREE MISSING LINK: This business strategy organisation works with large corporates to help them rethink their strategic direction. What you can expect from the Missing Linkers is smart conversation, deep thought and just about 20 years of experience in helping bright companies be a little brighter. What you can also expect is a playground of organised chaos where the rules of employee engagement are wildly different from anything you might have experienced and a workplace that challenges as much as it creates. Don Packett, who describes himself as Leader of his own Free World MISSING LINK leads the tour and will answer your questions in an AMA*** Q&A. *AMA: Ask Me Anything. **See above. ***Seriously? We ve been through this Disclosure: Happy Sandpit's relationships as an organisation and as individuals, with the organisations chosen as case studies, are strictly non-commercial. They have been selected based solely based on the work they have done in terms of people strategy, employee engagement and culture and the lessons we believe they are able to share.
Who should attend? Senior business leaders who are interested in organisational culture and its ability to build better engagement among employees. You will enjoy significant interaction with the CEO and other senior leaders of our case study organisations, so this is an opportunity suited to those right at the top. Don t let that stop you however if you re a small business owner, or senior leader of a smaller organisation. The criteria should be the level of decisions you are tasked with making, not the complexity of your balance sheet. When is it? September 6, 7 and 8, (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). The field trip sessions are full days, and to get the greatest benefit, you should do all three of them, so please plan for that. Who are we going to learn from? In order, the organisations we are going to visit are Comair, King Price Insurance, and Missing Link. Each of these remarkable organisations has been selected for their unusual cultural characteristics that have played a significant role in their great success. What should I bring? Your curiosity, a pair of comfortable shoes mostly your curiosity. We ll lay on everything from breakfast and lunch (and a celebratory dinner on the final night), transportation, materials, and everything else you ll need. How will this benefit me? You will learn how companies operating under the same labour law, tapping employees from the same pool as you, have built great culture that helps them to drive employee engagement that leads to performance and loyalty. The days will be full of practical lessons you can implement as soon as you get back to your office. You will be joined by 11 other like-minded business leaders (the field trip is limited to 12 participants), who have experienced many of the same challenges as you and have some interesting solutions. You ll spend three days together, with nonstop interaction so this is an invaluable opportunity to form new relationships. You ll have the time of your life. Really. This is going to change the way you think about employee engagement, culture and leadership forever.
How will the days be structured? Typically, they will look like this. We ll have a slightly different schedule on each day to accommodate the schedules of out host CEOs, and should there be an emergency that demands a change of schedule, we may have to restructure. Whatever happens, the content of each day will remain the same. General structure of each day When? What? Where? Notes 08h30 Breakfast At the starting point Hotel / Venue around Sandton to be confirmed 09h15 10h30 10h50 Seminar Part One Break Seminar Part Two On Days Two and Three: Review and discussion of the previous day. Shared insights increase the learning experience so we ll be inviting some vigorous discussion. On Day One, a deep dive into what we are going to experience and what you will learn from it. A broad look at how South African organisations, including our three case studies, have developed culture that drives engagement, performance, loyalty and engagement. Insights relevant to the day ahead. 12h00 Lunch At the Venue. Note: no alcohol will be served with lunch 12h45 Hit the road Chauffeur-driven mini buses. The group will be split in two for comfort and the journey will provide an excellent discussion / networking opportunity. Our visits will include a tour unique to the organisation. At Comair, we ll visit the training facility, where cabin crews are trained in an aircraft environment. 13h20 to 16h30 Field Trip At King Price, we ll tour the multiple floors of vibrant playground that characterises the head office facility including the contact centre and toy-filled CEO s desk. At Missing Link, we ll be able to see the whole thing including the legendary treehouse, onsite shooting range and tattoo parlour. You use the firepole at your own risk! Each of these tours will showcase unique culture to demonstrate how very differently successful businesses have built culture ideal for their needs. Each will be led by the CEO of the organisation. 17h15 Day ends That done, we ll have a Q&A with each CEO where you can ask your own questions directly. On Day Three, participants are invited to a celebratory closingoff dinner.
What else do you get? This is an immersive experience and we want you to consider the impact and the benefits of a wellconsidered organisational culture for the long term. With that in mind, each attendee will receive the following: Our recommended books: we re going to start building your culture library for you, with a set of five invaluable books. These are must read items for anyone with a thirst for innovation in people leadership and we ve put a great deal of thought into their selection. If we had to advise you on the best places to go for ideas Five specially selected books that will jump start your culture library and give you world-class insights far into the future! separate from this field trip, these would be them. The exclusive workbook: created specifically for this field trip, in a limited print run of just 12 copies, this workbook will give you all the insights and details you will need to make the most of this experience in the future. Let s face it: no matter how wow we make it, you re going to forget some things and need a reminder. Our workbook is designed to ensure you get the whole experience all over again. We recommend you use this as your principal place to take notes, to keep all your thoughts together in one place! Memorabilia: photos with the CEOs. You ve done something unique and interesting here. Keep the memory of it and show it to your colleagues, friends and family. Framed certificate: to hang on your wall as proof that Come on, you know it s fun! You ll get a photo op with the CEOs you meet so you can remember the experience! Pictured: Gideon Galloway, CEO of King Price and Colin Browne, your host for this Field Trip. you ve accelerated your understanding of people innovation and are a member of an elite group of people.
How much does it cost? Assuming you can get to the starting point under your own steam, the cost per attendee for the three days is R23 800, all-inclusive. Payment must be made in full, in advance of the field trip. If getting to us requires a flight or a long drive in, you will be responsible for airfare and accommodation costs. We can assist in arranging those for you at no additional cost, should that be a requirement. How do I book? Call Happy Sandpit on 011 705 1459 or email info@happysandpit.com.
Our credentials About Colin Browne Colin Browne will lead this three day field trip and be your host throughout the three days. Colin is the founder of Happy Sandpit and the author of the South African business book How to build a Happy Sandpit. About Happy Sandpit Happy Sandpit is a South African Think Tank on organisational culture, employee engagement and leadership. Established in 2013, it has earned a place as a thought leader in these fields and has worked with nearly 100 Southern African businesses to help build culture that creates high performing, self-managing teams and to expand leadership capabilities in the areas of people engagement. Happy Sandpit s Clients The list of great organisations we have worked with includes big and small companies, family-run, to publicly-listed. Among the names you will certainly recognise are the following: