Behind the success of any business whether it’s a startup or a big enterprise, there is always a great team. At Private Safaris (EA), we are no exception to this rule. We are a tribe of safari titans that go out of our own way to see to it that our dear and esteemed safari guests get nothing short of exceptional safari experiences with a lasting impact. It is due to the strict adherence to this principle among others that has seen Private Safaris (EA) earn its top position as a Destination Management Company (DMC) in East Africa.
In the world of today, how would you look at play? Is it the work of children or as way of living? Regardless of how you look at it, here at Private Safaris (EA), we take no sides. This is because for a start, we are a team that celebrates its diversity especially in terms of age. Whether young or old, we believe each one of us has their own inner younger version of themselves that is always ready to come out and play. What’s more, play gives life to our team, and maybe that’s why our safari guests keep coming back to us to create more lasting safari memories. We as Private Safaris (EA) Team, believe that it was these two concepts of play that led our CEO, Alexander Spiro to announce in a meeting that was held on 31st March 2023, that the entire team of Private Safaris – all staff drawn from Nairobi and Mombasa will congregate on 29th April 2023 at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel for a Razz Matazzed Team building event.
The announcement was later followed by an official email from the HR department on 25th April 2023 to all the staff detailing further details of the event. The event would incorporate three sessions; one in the morning, another in the afternoon culminating with a dinner party later in the evening.
On 29th April 2023, Saturday, the morning started off just like any other day. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful with a few patches of dark clouds hanging beneath the sky. Joseph is excited to leave home early in order to arrive at the venue (Safari Park Hotel) much earlier than the rest of the team. This was to give him ample time to acquaint himself with the grounds as he was the one to take photos for the team-building event that day. At about 8.15 am, some members of the staff – those that did not use the staff bus transport provided by the company for the staff hailing from the Nairobi office started trickling in at the venue one by one. By 9.00 am, almost everyone had arrived, had their breakfast, and assembled – awaiting to begin the first session of the team building session.
A few moments later, bursts of laughter and excitement began to float in the air around the Safari Park Hotel backgrounds. This was coming from no other place than the Kumbaya Hall where all the Private Safaris (EA) Team with staff drawn from Nairobi and Mombasa had congregated. They were getting acquainted with one another as they participated in a series of different inhouse activities led by the comic colleagues of Human Asset team of Team-building facilitators. If it wasn’t for the ignorance, then this must have been the first time that the Private Safaris (EA) team heard about the phrase, ‘Razz Matazz’. After 2 hours the morning in-house session was called to a close. The Human Asset team led the entire congregation outside the hall for another riveting session of bonding activities out in the fields.
Imagine following the directives of a team-building facilitator, and whenever you fail to adhere to either of them, you are ordered off the stage while others remain to continue with the challenge! Isn’t that fun? ….‘Going on safari, going on safari, going on safari…teams, watch the wildlife!’ This challenge was the one among many that got many participants disqualified for failing to adhere to the directives issued by the facilitators. The challenge dictates that for any person to remain active at the stage, they have to form a group of 3 people whereby 2 of the three people must be facing one another whilst interlocking their arms sideways over the shoulders of the third person who should be at their center. The third person’s duty is to watch the wildlife as if on a real safari whenever the facilitator initiates the last part of the challenge by uttering either the words, ‘watch the wildlife, or ‘load the vehicle’. The endless challenges continued on and on until the evening, leaving the team no other option but to bring the activities of the day to a close. This paved way for the team to break from the activities, go and prepare for dinner – the final event.
For any company, its biggest asset is always the staff. For Alex, our CEO, every member of staff means a lot to him as they form part of a big chain that makes the heavy wheel of Private Safaris (EA) to keep turning. During the dinner event that evening, Alex took it upon himself to acknowledge Private Safaris (EA)’s team for its amazing contribution towards the growth of the organization. After a few hours of dining and merry-making, the team was at liberty to leave the hotel arena for home as they pleased…. all carrying happy memories of a wonderful day!