Very often we hear about events such as team outings in corporate,   inter corporate sports competition -cricket or soccer matches, quizzes and business plan competitions and so on .  In today’s open  market , when skill is in short supply , corporate world struggle to retain its talents and attempt to create a unified workforce. While there are many ways to forge this, corporate team outing has become a very effective means of building solidarity amongst the employees . These outings help  employees to connect well with each other and develop a spirit  of togetherness at times sharing both fun and challenges during such outings. This promotes a spirit of camaraderie even to face difficult times together .  In this context ,  I must  mention an article Of the Melt Down & IT Jobs by Subroto Bagchi "…The first time ever the Indian IT industry tasted a downturn was in 2001. That is when 9/11 sealed the doubt over whether the dot.com and telecom busts as well as a recession were all real. At that time, at MindTree, we were a less than 500 people. We did two things immediately: the internal board took a 25% salary cut and everyone else took a 10% cut. Those steps were not enough. So, we seriously considered asking the “bottom 5%”, formally assessed as “non-performers”, to be let go. That was when we had a lesson in people caring. The middle-management team walked in to Chairman Ashok Soota’s room and said they were willing to volunteer an additional 2.5% reduction in salary so that the bottom 5% could be retained until the market rebounded. Their logic was simple: do not let go of poor performers at a time when jobs are difficult to come by in any case. We listened to them and we all survived. .." .This is an example of one such corporate solidarity when all associates are ready to face consequences together while facing a crisis.

With the current economic slowdown it may not be  always possible to have corporate outings to exotic locations with five star accommodation. It is not always necessary to have an outing  to any exotic locations, theme parks or holiday resorts.They are mere formalities . What is essential is to pick up the spirit of togetherness. It could be in the form of attending a concert or a music festival together, playing a game of beach volley or beach cricket on a Sunday morning,  organizing   potluck lunches or even watching  "Dostana", "Fashion" and the likes.  

What is important  is sharing some good moments of fun and  being together .