CASE STUDY · EXPERIENTIAL TEAM BUILDING & OFFSITES
Designing participation at scale
How Salt created a coordinated, high-participation offsite experience for approximately 1,300 people across two large cohorts.
1,300 participants · 2 cohorts · 40 teams per cohort · 4 delivery days · 14-person execution team
Client profile: Global professional-services organisation
Engagement: Large-scale corporate offsite
Location: India
Representative imagery used to protect client and participant confidentiality.
The requirement
The organisation was bringing together approximately 1,300 employees across two large offsite cohorts.
The requirement went beyond entertainment.
The experience needed to:
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create energy and connection across a very large audience;
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involve participants rather than leave them watching from the sidelines;
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work within a tightly managed corporate agenda;
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remain clear and coordinated for approximately 650 people at a time; and
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deliver a consistent experience across both cohorts.
The final format combined a one-hour energiser and a two-hour anchor team challenge for each cohort, delivered across four program days.
The real challenge
A large audience is not automatically a participating audience
At this scale, even a strong activity can fail when:
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instructions are unclear;
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team allocation takes too long;
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participants cannot see or hear the facilitator;
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material distribution creates delays;
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movement is poorly planned;
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judging becomes inconsistent; or
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the experience feels fragmented across the room.
Salt therefore treated the requirement as an experience-design and operating challenge, not simply an activity-selection exercise.
The central question was:
How do we make approximately 650 people feel actively involved in one coherent experience?
What Salt designed
A connected two-stage journey
The experience was deliberately structured across two days for each cohort.
Stage one: build readiness
A one-hour energiser moved participants from arrival and observation into active involvement.
It helped establish:
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shared energy;
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familiarity with the facilitation style;
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lower hesitation;
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participation norms; and
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readiness for the larger challenge.
Stage two: create collective action
The second-day anchor experience used a Gladiator-style challenge designed around:
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team identity;
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coordination;
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competition;
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visible progress;
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multiple participation points;
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physical and mental involvement; and
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a shared finale.
The design created one recognisable participant journey that could be repeated across both large cohorts.
Designing the operating architecture
Forty teams. One common rhythm.
Each cohort was organised into 40 simultaneous teams.
Salt designed the room and participant flow around:
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40 numbered team zones;
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advance floor demarcation;
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team flags;
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pre-planned group allocation;
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clearly identified material areas;
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controlled peripheral seating;
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facilitator and judge positions;
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common audio-visual cues; and
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coordinated briefing and handover points.
The room was prepared before participants entered, allowing the cohort to move from briefing to active participation without a lengthy team-formation process.
Communication at scale
For hundreds of people to act together, instructions must remain clear throughout the room.
Salt worked with the event and venue teams to specify:
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central display infrastructure;
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four handheld microphones;
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a lapel microphone for the lead facilitator;
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a separate audio input for music;
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host introductions and handovers;
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coordinated cues;
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judging requirements; and
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result and prize protocols.
These details helped the ballroom operate as one connected environment rather than 40 disconnected groups.
The execution team
Central design control with strong on-ground support
Salt deployed a 14-person execution team, combining travelling facilitators with locally based associates.
The team supported:
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advance preparation;
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venue coordination;
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team-zone setup;
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activity-material handling;
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participant briefing;
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facilitation;
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judging and scoring;
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event-host handovers;
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prize coordination;
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reset between cohorts; and
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real-time problem-solving.
The engagement required coordination across multiple client stakeholders, including talent, procurement, administration, travel and event operations.
Adapting as the requirement evolved
The initial brief explored energisers, facilitated breakout discussions, short value-based modules and a large team challenge.
As the wider offsite agenda and commercial parameters changed, Salt refined the structure around the moments that would contribute most strongly to the participant experience.
The final design retained:
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a meaningful first-day energiser; and
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a substantial second-day anchor experience.
This allowed the engagement to become simpler without becoming smaller in impact or ambition.
What participants experienced
The operating complexity remained behind the scenes.
From the participant’s perspective, the journey was clear:
Arrive
Enter a visibly organised experience.
Locate
Move into a pre-assigned, clearly marked team zone.
Understand
Receive one coordinated briefing supported by suitable AV.
Participate
Work through a challenge with a clear role, objective and team identity.
Compete
Experience momentum, progress and collective effort.
Conclude
Reconnect as one cohort for recognition and a shared finish.
Good large-scale design made a complex production feel straightforward.
What made the engagement work
Design before delivery
The participant journey, room layout and facilitation structure were planned together.
Staffing proportionate to scale
The execution model reflected the number of teams and operational requirements.
Integration with the wider event
Salt coordinated with the host, venue, judges and client teams rather than operating as an isolated activity vendor.
One architecture across both cohorts
The experience could be repeated consistently without feeling improvised.
Advance participant allocation
Pre-planned grouping reduced confusion and protected activity time.
End-to-end ownership
Salt's role included design, facilitation, materials, staffing and on-ground execution.
What this engagement demonstrates
Large-scale participation is a design discipline
This engagement demonstrates Salt’s ability to:
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design experiences for hundreds of participants at one time;
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organise 40 simultaneous teams;
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integrate room design with facilitation;
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coordinate multiple enterprise stakeholders;
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mobilise a blended delivery team;
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manage materials, AV, judging and participant movement;
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repeat one structure across large cohorts; and
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protect participant experience while handling substantial complexity.
The headline was approximately 1,300 participants.
The deeper capability was making that scale feel organised, participative and intentional.
1,300
Approximate participants across the engagement
650
Approximate participants per cohort
40
Simultaneous teams in each cohort
14
Facilitators and execution-team members
4
Consecutive program-delivery days
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Planning an offsite for hundreds—or thousands—of people?
Large-group experiences require a different level of design, staffing and operational preparation.
Share the participant count, venue, available time and intended experience. Salt will recommend a delivery structure that is realistic for the scale and meaningful for the people in the room.