Early in the morning of 2019 November 17, throngs of SeidoPro employees made their way to Southville International School for the long-awaited SeidoPro Teambuilding. This year, SeidoPro promised its employees that the activities would not only be fun, but educational as well. Owing to the Philippine government’s issuance of Republic Act 11058: An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards and providing Penalties for Violations (R.A. 11058), SeidoPro decided this would make a unique and enjoyable way of getting the employees together, both in the spirit of OSH and of camaraderie and family.
Named after the Greek goddess of safety and salvation, deliverance, and preservation from harm, the theme of the 2019 SeidoPro team building is Soteria. This Amazing Race-style, Occupational Health and Safety (OSH)-themed, team building was crafted so that instead of sitting through an 8-hour lecture about Occupational Safety and Health, OSH training would be delivered OSH SeidoPro employees, while still having fun (and competing and winning prizes along the way too!). Together with fellow-TDG Member Company, Transnational Uyeno Safety Academy (TUSA), SeidoPro came up with the perfect blend between OSH Training and team building.
The morning started off with an invocation led by Oasis, SeidoPro’s Worship Team, followed by the Opening Remarks of SeidoPro’s Vice President, Mr. Gil Q. Galang. He thanked the employees of SeidoPro for taking time off their weekend schedules to be present in the annual team building. He also assured everyone that, while the thought of incorporating learning with team building may be previously unheard of, the activities lined up for the day will surely be enjoyable for everyone. After Mr. Galang’s speech, TUSA’s Chris Lim took over and administered the Oath of Sportsmanship, as well as discussed the Safety Arena Guidelines to ensure clean, sportsmanlike, and fair fun for all the teams involved. To finally get everyone pumped up for the morning activities, SPG-Force, SeidoPro’s Performing Arts Club, led the plenary in the morning exercise.
To be able to efficiently and effectively run the games, SeidoPro was divided into 3 clusters: Greek, Egyptian, and Norse. These clusters were further divided into teams named after gods and goddesses from their respective mythologies, such as Zeus and Hera in the Greek Cluster, Ra and Isis in the Egyptian Cluster, and Odin and Thor in the Norse Cluster. These clusters travel together throughout the games.
The morning activities were called the Safety Games, and the grounds on which they took place was called the Safety Arena. The Safety Arena was divided into different stations where each team would have to compete to complete the tasks, all related to occupational safety and health. As they complete each task, they earned points which would accumulate at the end of the day, ultimately determining the winner of the Safety Games.
Each of the stations in the Safety Arena was developed to be challenging, competitive, and educational, covering OSH-related topics such as personal protective equipment, first aid, fire safety, physical fitness, natural calamities an disasters, and health & wellness, to name a few. Popular games such as rock-paper-scissors, relay games, charades, and puzzles, were employed to reinforce lessons and allow teams to both experience and understand OSH concepts better.
After all the teams went through the Safety Arena, SeidoPro once again gathered to process the lessons learned from the games in a Safety Forum. As a well-deserved treat, lunch was served via food trucks, where employees were free to choose their meals and enjoy the break with their friends and teammates.
In the afternoon, teams once again gathered to plan for and practice their Safety Cheers, presenting to the panel of judges everything they have learned about OSH, and how they could apply it in the workplace.
One by one, each team took to the stage and gave it their all, complete with rambunctious cheers, interesting skits, and even the occasional pyramid. No employee was left behind as everyone was enjoined to participate and collaborate their team, truly rounding out the objective of fostering camaraderie and a sense of family among the employees of SeidoPro.
As Soteria drew to a close, the over-all winners were announced. Team Demeter of the Greek Cluster bagged the Championship followed by Team Helios of the Greek Cluster, Team Heimdall of the Norse Cluster, Team Artemis of the Greek Cluster, and Team Qebhet of the Egyptian Cluster. And while not all the teams could win, everyone went home full, happy, and fulfilled, a bit more knowledgeable on OSH, and a bit more like family.
While the day was hot and tiring, SeidoPro employees truly exceeded expectations by not only participating, but by pushing themselves to do their best, win the challenges, learn OSH, and have fun.
Such was the success of Soteria in the Metro Manila sites that the 1-day training and team building was also brought to SeidoPro’s Cebu branch, were the entire team took to Montebello Villa Hotel, Cebu City, to hold the same Safety Arena and Safety Forum. The Soteria team brought the same sense of energy, lessons, fun, and team play to Cebu, where SeidoPro employees enjoyed learning about OSH while bonding with their teammates.
Soteria has brought out the best of SeidoPro, showing that whether work or play, we lead with service, embrace the extraordinary, and create happyness.
