Experiential Learning Approach

Learning By Doing: D.O. programs are highly effective. Why? The answer is in our distinctive use of experiential learning methods. Experiential learning is learning by doing - one learns as a result of direct, hands-on experience gained through guided exploration and problem solving. Activities are the heart of the experiential learning process.

Fully Engaged: Activities in our programs involve adventure, excitement, and heightened emotions. Participants inevitably find themselves absorbed in activities and deeply invested in outcomes - a perfect situation for learning. When individuals are fully engage -physically, intellectually, and emotionally - in discovering information, they learn more... and they retain more of what they learn.

An Ideal Context: Navigational exercises, high and low challenge courses, and our repertoire of challenging games / exercises, role plays & business simulations provide an ideal context for individuals to discover new information and try out new behaviors. Participants can experiment with solutions to real-life situations without real-life consequences. The learning process is accelerated because feedback is immediate, concrete, and visible to all.

Enduring Discoveries Lasting Results: Participants transfer their learning to their everyday lives with the help of facilitated discussions and other reflective activities. D.O.'s experienced staff guide the participants in their exploration. Shaping activities and helping participants reflect upon their experience, our facilitators work to ensure that participants derive the greatest possible benefit from a program and internalize the lessons learned. And discoveries endure when made in the midst of exhilarating, unforgettable accomplishments.

“Most outdoor training programmes are conducted for team initiative and group problem-solving exercises. Current research indicates that the focus of outbound/wilderness programmes is primarily on leadership and decision -making (60 percent and 40 percent respectively). In contrast, the objectives of outdoor - centred programmes are much more wide ranging. They include team building (90%), self-esteem (50%), leadership (40%), problem-solving (20%), decision-making (15%) and encouraging a sense of corporate ownership (2%).

For Destination Outdoors this type of training does work because we follow our process for every training programme. This process include “clear objectives, skilled facilitation, a plan to transfer the knowledge gained back to the job, credible evaluation and follow-up.”

Unique Destinations

Programme Success Reasons - Location, Location and Location

We choose an off-site facility away from work with a reputation for excellent hospitality standards. The site staff are also trained towards delivering our workshops and their deliverables aligned to our goals. The locations which are far from the maddening crowds are chosen keeping in mind the challanges required for administrating our exercises / simulations which revolve around water bodies, cliff faces and natural woods. All these beautiful surroundings are critical for our programme design and the challenge necessary for facilitating learning!!

“A birds eye view of the workplace from our unique destinations enables the participants to look at their workplace very objectively as we are away from our usual workplace and in a parallel micro-world.”

Outdoor Safety

Success Reason - Our people, our process, our equipment!!

People: Our outdoor staff are trained professionally in the field of "high rope high risk" simulations. Their mountaineering competencies are due to qualifications from the worlds best institutes with minimum experience of 10 years in the field. Every programme has an assigned Chief Adventure Co-ordinator, Safety Officer & Logistics Officer. These professionals administer the exercises and designed simulations which really form the mediums for learning for the participants.

Process: Our programmes ensure 100% safety because of a 3 line safety process followed for high rope simulations. The process for every other water based or navigational simulations is well designed and ensures complete safety of the participants and allows them to step out of their comfort zones in a non-threatening manner!!

Equipment: Our gear including our ropes, hardware, life jackets, rafts, exercise props, comprehensive medical gear, electronic & navigational tools are all from the world best manufacturers and this ensures a reliable audit for all outdoor gear. Our staff maintains logs on usage of all gear as a part of our safety process.

Diversified Clientele

Success Reasons – Experience across industry and across levels

Our interventions have been designed and executed for our FMCG, Insurance, Medical services, Power, Multilateral and Bilateral Development Organizations, Telecom(Service provider, Manufacturing, Networks and R & D), Banking and F.I’s, Consulting, Engineering and Construction, Textile, Pharmaceuticals, Not for profit Organizations, Hospitality, Agro Industry, Law, Multi-level marketing, Media(Print and Television), Advertising, BPO, Manufacturing clients, business schools and senior secondary schools.

Destination Outdoors has experience across industry and also across levels. This fact is highlighted in our client list and some workshop case studies where transformational changes in behavior have been mapped in participants during the post workshop period.

"Not just a flash in the pan".

Experienced Team

Our Business Success Reason - People, people & people!!

Our team of facilitators, counsellors, outdoor experts and backend support are from the best in their field. Our facilitators are from the corporate world with varied experience in human resources development, sales and marketing, entertainment and proficient back end and logistics management. Our outdoors experts are certified instructors from the best schools of mountaineering.

The team is a dedicated core team with exclusivity for Destination Outdoors and this ensures complete compliance of all our programme processes.

During the actual exercise, become a "psychological safety net" for participants as they process and focus on the process of the group vs. the task at hand. "

Our teams philosophy for participants includes:

" to keep a vigilant eye on participants as they engage in the initiative, spot when necessary, watch for and prevent any misuse of equipment or people "

Post Workshop Assistance

Destination Outdoors as a part of our process factors in a follow up session which could be refresher for a standard format workshop or help facilitate the institutionalization of learnings at the workshop.

No programme would be complete if the intervention does not measure an outcome and this stage is a very integral part of our process.