Adventures in living with outward bound
Hera Diani and Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jatiluhur, West Java
"Is there any toilet around here?" asked a trainee flight attendant for Garuda Indonesia Airlines to her outward bound instructors.
What she meant by "here" were the rugged hills of Jatiluhur in Purwakarta, West Java, a two-hour drive east of Jakarta.
"No toilet? So ... that means we have to do it behind the bush? But, what if there is a snake?" she said, obviously worried.
One of her colleagues, meanwhile, was complaining about the abundant and vicious mosquitoes.
It probably never crossed the minds of the 18 trainees that, in preparing to take to a life in the skies, they would have to undergo a bit of the life of Robinson Crusoe.
Living in the wild for three days and two nights, confronting their fears and problem solving in outdoor activities, including hiking and canoeing, sleeping in a tent, with no bed and no toilet, is not what most people would list when it comes to "job training".
These days, however, it has become a trend for companies to send off trembling employees on outward bound courses in a bid to empower their workforce.
Why outdoors? Because nature reveals what a person is really like, whether they will wilt under pressure or show they are made of sterner stuff (remember the Burt Reynolds' movie Deliverance?)
"It is aimed at changing the way of thinking. For example, employees think they have a nice job by working from 8 to 5, that has to be changed. They have to be ready anytime they're needed," said Mulyanto, director of Pelopor Adventure Camp (PAC).
Mulyanto, a former mountain guide, established PAC in the early 1990s along with fellow graduates of Bandung's Parahyangan Catholic University.
He first attended personal development programs in Singapore and New Zealand.
"At that time, an adventure camp, or what people like to call outward bound, was not popular at all. We were among the very first institutions to conduct the program," Mulyanto said.
Slowly, the program attracted clients, which include big companies like Bank Indonesia and Caltex, and also university and other institution.
The program takes place on 8.5 hectares at the PAC base camp in Jatiluhur, lasting from three days to seven days. The cost varies, from Rp 50,000 (US$4.50) to over Rp 2 million per person, depending on the client's capability.
The program consists of a precourse, the course and postcourse. The first course is conducted in the office, where the participants are given information about what kind of activities they will do.
The postcourse, which is optional, is also held in the company's office to review the program they have completed.
The course itself consists of several activities, starting with "breaking the ice".
"We play games which are aimed at building trust among participants and eliminating the gap between bosses and employees. When else can a security officer touch a president director's head if not in a program like this?" said instructor Hermawan Susilo.
The first activity is hiking, which Mulyanto said was good at stirring up conflict and seeing how people react.
"The participants are given a map and compass to go to a point. First, things go well but soon, as they get tired, they will be frustrated and conflict will arise," he said.
Those deep-down characteristics you can hide in the office maze come to the fore when the pressure rises. It is clear who tends to give up easily, who likes to avoid conflict and who is trying to be the mediator.
The participants are then given a higher challenge: canoeing in nearby Jatiluhur Lake, an exercise aimed at determining the group's coordination, problems and what they lack.
"There are employees who don't do their job well, who are lazy and not disciplined. It will be seen in this activity," Mulyanto said.
After canoeing, they will sit together and discuss their experience, criticizing each other if things went wrong.
"There will be some lessons to learn, like authority, delegating and sharing responsibilities," Mulyanto said.
Other activities are rappelling or descending a cliff and crossing with high ropes.
The first activities, done individually, are aimed at controlling fear so that people are able to get out of their settled situation and find a solution to the challenge before them.
"If people want to change, they have to dare to take risks, but also think rationally to count the possible risks," Mulyanto said.
Crossing the high ropes, meanwhile, is done with a partner, to learn mutual trust and responsibility.
All of the activities are observed by instructors and a psychologist. The activities vary, depending on the profession. An activity is followed by a discussion to review earlier activity.
At the end of the program, they are given a final project, which is usually making a raft, rowing it and then building a tower, with a limited supply of resources.
"It is aimed at having the participants make a good plan, and then changing one's paradigm from competition to a win-win solution. It's quite difficult, though, especially for marketing people as they are used to competiting," laughed Mulyanto.
Some programs work, others fail and there was even a group which left the location before they finished.
"Well, it really depends on the participant on how to make it work," Mulyanto said.
Hilda, one of the trainee flight attendants, said that she believed the program was useful.
"It was quite a shock, frankly. I have never been camping before, but, you know, accidents can happen, and flight attendants have to face things like this," she said.
Pelopor Adventure Camp http://www.pelopor-adventure.co.id