Q&A with the National Pest Management Association on their fun teambuilding activities and how they keep camaraderie strong among conference attendees

1. Teaming With Possibilities
Since 1995, the National Pest Management
Association has flipped the conventional
leadership conference model upside down,
successfully incorporating a contagious sense of
camaraderie and teamwork throughout its annual
Academy conference year after year. The event
is a combination of industry expert keynotes and
education with team tasks woven throughout for
300 owners and mid- to upper-level managers
of pest management companies, including Orkin
and Terminix.
Celebrating Academy’s 20th anniversary this
year, NPMA convenes July 15-17 at The Westin
Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, about 20 miles east
of the Las Vegas Strip. NPMA’s Chief Operating
Officer Dominique Stumpf, CMP, CAE, and Alexis
Wirtz, director of meetings and exhibits, joined
forces to plan the event, scouting social media for
fresh ideas and innovative teambuilding activities.
Connect’s Anna Dunn talked with the dynamic duo
to learn their tips and tricks for building strong
teams and encouraging a little healthy competition.
How are you switching up
teambuilding activities this year?
AW We try to come up with new Olympic-style
events every year. Since it’s our 20th anniversary,
we surveyed folks to come up with their top
activities from the past and do those with a new
twist. We saw a video on Facebook of a human
version of Hungry Hungry Hippos, where people are
on their stomachs on scooters and try to collect as
many balls as they can. We’re also doing a
slip ’n’ slide combined with [the team-based
drinking game] flip cup, calling it “slip ’n’ flip.” It
won’t involve alcohol, but they have to slide down
and then do a game of flip cup with water. We
are also doing a synchronized swimming contest.
Each team will put together a one- to three-minute
routine judged by our staff and the hotel staff.
What activities do you have
for attendees who aren’t
so competitive?
AW We have things that require different types
of skills, like putting a puzzle together as fast as
they can, creating something artistic for their
team or participating in a photo scavenger hunt.
It appeals to people’s abilities and what they feel
most comfortable doing. And we’ve gone to easy,
simple activities on the last night to allow people
to network. This year, we’re doing a ’90s theme for
the anniversary. Each team will do a ’90s lip-sync
routine, and we’ll have cutouts of ’90s celebrities,
like Michael Jordan, Kramer from “Seinfeld” and
Julia Roberts, for people to take selfies with.
How is the group broken
into teams?
DS We have six teams with 40 to 50 people
per team. We want them to have a high level of
participation and morale. We don’t create teams
that are so small that when a couple of people
decide not to participate it deflates the whole
team. We feel like this size allows for a handicap…
because 10 percent are going to find the pool a little
too alluring [and skip the games].
Who leads them?
DS Each team has three captains—one person from
our sponsor, Dow AgroSciences, and two people
from our leadership development group. We divide
them up alphabetically by company to get them
on teams without their peers. There are a lot of
people who you wouldn’t want on one team (really
competitive and aggressive), so we intentionally
try not to put them on the same team. Some teams
are amazingly fine-tuned right away; others have to
work a bit harder at it.
How do you get attendees to feel
committed to their teams?
DS What helps make it successful is [that the staff]
is in it just like they are. We’re the ones creating it
and out there building stuff. They see us working
and putting together a program for them. Being
active and involved goes a long way.
AW We’re playing songs like “Hip Hop Hooray”
and “Who Let the Dogs Out” between sessions,
and everyone can wear shorts and a T-shirt.
We do two-minute contests between sessions.
The environment has to be different than your
average meeting.
Read more of the interview, including how
NPMA incorporates sponsors into games,
at connectyourmeetings.com/NPMA.
“What helps make it
successful is [that the staff]
is in it just like they are.”
NPMA Academy attendees
form a conga line during the
luau-themed closing-night party.
—Dominique Stumpf, CMP, CAE
CLOSER LOOK
CONNECTYOURMEETINGS.COM 23
Alexis WirtzDominique
Stumpf