On July 5^th, 6^th and 7^th 2011, Borderlands Group organized workshop on “Negotiation and Interpersonal skills” for Unilever Nepal. Participants from different departments from Unilever took part in the training held at Park Village Resort, Kathmandu.

Day one focused on the fundamental elements of Negotiation and terms of negotiation. The team started with some ice breaking session enabling them to explore ‘safe space’ prior to the indoor session and group work based on case studies. To articulate the learning from group work exercise, practical outdoor team activities were also organized. This enabled the team to implement the skills learned from internal session to solve problems using tactics and basics of negotiation from previous sessions. Despite the heavy rainfall the enthusiasm and energetic participation from all members of Unilever team was worth praising.

On the second day some important elements of Interpersonal skills were discussed. Following a brief session on ‘getting to know each other’ outside the office and work environment, the rest of the day remained focused on Listening, Inquiring and giving Feedback. The required skills along with core values, body language etc and its importance were also highlighted. In order to make the workshop more realistic different case studies were discussed. Participants were led into a group discussion session whereby collective teams compact were also drafted. Problem solving to resolve conflict, paying attention, listening to one another, adaptation and having an open mind were some of the learning that were emphasized during the latter part of the day.

Eventually, a reflection on the program held at The Borderlands Resort last month which was rated as a highly successful program by the staffs at Unilever. A slide show to refresh their memory with the theme ‘I know what you did this summer’ started off the internal session. The indoor gathering was conducted by Unilever Nepal while Borderlands facilitators assisted in fine tuning the conversation highlighting the usefulness and knowledge gained from the program.

A 2 day Team building program with indoor workshop was also organized at the same time for Ncell Commercial Department at Himalayan Horizon Hotel in Dhulikhel on the 1^st – 2^nd July 2011. There were a total of 26 participants who represented Ncell Marketing, Sales and Customer Support. All the participants were very enthusiastic and contributed wholeheartedly towards the overall success of the program.

The program started after breakfast with some ice breaker activities whereby the participants were encouraged to find commonalties and professional background of one another. Indoor sessions on internal communication, visioning and goal setting highlighted the need for cooperation and mutual respect among the participants while defining the underlying basics of team building and interpersonal communication.

The outdoor activities included some exciting problem solving initiatives and were preformed in 3 sub groups with some collective de briefing session in the end to draw out the learning and the importance of merging as a bigger team for better performance.

The event was much appreciated by all members of the team; they expressed their gratitude and said that the event had helped them to understand each other better while enhancing trust, communication, planning and solving problems effectively and efficiently.

The Borderlands PDP organized one day Retreat Program for staffs of Ncell- Core team from the ICT department at Club Himalaya Resort, on 1st July 2011. There were a total of 38 members in the group and an active and supportive participation was seen from all Ncell staffs.

Speaking during and after the program, the participants said that the program was a fun-filled event yet focused on the fundamental issues related to team building and binding environment. They further said that they understood each other better and also felt that the retreat was successful in enhancing their trust amongst each other, verbal and non-verbal communication, team work, leadership skills, planning and implementation and coordination among other things.

Ncell team appreciated the efforts of the Borderlands team and said that the retreat was a good one. The participants said that they learned a lot of things that would better assist them to carry out their day to day work.