David's Blackburn's Seafin Diary
Seafin bestows “absolute joy and wonderment”
“I first booked Seafin when I was a new head of HR. I had responsibility for a totally restructured IT team and I wanted to build a sense of family among them. It worked as the day showed that they could all get involved.
I’ve chartered Seafin four times now: three times here [at Shepherds Bush Housing Group] and once to share with my friends because I love it so much.
“Once aboard, there is a huge amount of cross fertilisation and business brokered”
Nowadays, I ask our supplier partners to come along. That means half of the 30 people onboard are from my team and the other half are our suppliers. We talk more with suppliers than anyone else: telecoms, stationers, etc. I want those partners to feel part of our team and to show that we regard them as key relationships.
The day is a business opportunity for many suppliers. It also enables my staff to talk to suppliers they might not otherwise talk to, which improves their understanding of our organisation. Once aboard, there is a huge amount of cross fertilisation and business brokered.
When my guests climb aboard Seafin for the first time, I can see their absolute joy and wonderment that they’re on a great big motor cruiser where people are serving them free drinks. I call it the Floating Gin Palace, but that doesn’t convey the usefulness of a day onboard Seafin.
“Last year, teams did business exercises before even one glass of Pimms had been drunk”
It’s great that the boat is fully equipped as it allows us to run presentations. Last year, we split into teams and did business exercises for the first hour before even one glass of Pimms had been drunk. A day on Seafin provides a much more creative and energising environment than another dry day with a flip chart.
My guests feel that they’re doing something different with an added sense of adventure. We drop anchor in the afternoon – that’s usually when I start singing karaoke and the swimmers dive off the boat, but I can assure you that the two events are totally unconnected!
In the morning the boat takes us to some lovely places including Buckler’s Hard on Beaulieu river, which is a wonderful place to visit in its own right. Seafin is based in Port Hamble, near Southampton, so a fast 8.35am train from London means we’re onboard by 10am – and we all travel down en masse.
Seafin is so simple to charter. I just look up my preferred dates online (www.seafin.co.uk), make a reservation and then call Warwick for a quick chat to confirm. Once onboard, I always find the experienced crew to be absolutely fantastic: nothing is too much trouble.
“Being on Seafin is completely different from being stuck in a hotel and it’s actually more cost effective”
For an away day, I think it’s really important to get away from the office environment. People say I must be spending lots of money to make that happen, but Seafin has a perceived value well over what it actually costs per head.
Being on Seafin is completely different from being stuck in a hotel and – once I’ve factored in a typical hotel’s food and drinks bill – it’s actually more cost effective.”
David Blackburn is director of HR & business support at Shepherds Bush Housing Group. He was speaking to freelance journalist Dominic Wood
