From Wimbledon to F1: Surprises for staff bringing their A-game

Corporate rewards and recognition (R&R) programmes are not about reward vouchers, gold cash, or a pat on the again. From Wimbledon to Components 1 and even cricket on ice in Switzerland, firms are more and more sending prime performers on all-expense-paid experiential journeys. Hero Future Energies, as an illustration, lately sponsored the winners of its ‘Chairman’s Problem’ to look at the Wimbledon Tennis Championship, whereas companies like Mankind Pharma and Sterlite Group are providing key staff luxurious journeys to worldwide locations and international sporting occasions.

Journey operators like Thomas Cook and SOTC say demand for such experiential R&R excursions to each home and worldwide places has surged in latest months. “Sports activities is proving to be a robust driver for the incentive-reward programmes,” mentioned Rajeev Kale, president and nation head – holidays, MICE, visa, at Thomas Prepare dinner (India).

This July, Hero Future Energies (HFE), Hero Group’s renewable vitality arm, despatched eight staff to London to look at Wimbledon for his or her “excellent efficiency” within the areas of AI, course of automation and digitisation.

“This was a completely sponsored journey overlaying journey, lodging, registration, and associated bills,” Bhawna Kirpal Mital, chief HR officer of HFE, advised ET.

Corporations throughout industries from prescription drugs and knowledge expertise (IT) to providers sectors and banking, monetary service and insurance coverage (BFSI) are more and more sending staff on home and worldwide journeys, in line with journey firms.

Curated experiences

“What began as a home outing, after which unique worldwide locations, has now advanced to really experiential occasions,” mentioned SD Nandakumar, president and nation head – holidays and company excursions, at SOTC Journey. Corporates are sponsoring absolutely paid luxurious excursions to sporting occasions like F1 races (Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bahrain, and Italy’s Monza circuits), Grand Slam tennis occasions akin to Wimbledon and the Australian Open, European membership soccer, and cricket, Nandakumar mentioned. Amid rising company demand, Thomas Prepare dinner is organising sports-led experiential journeys, akin to a buy-out of Auckland’s Eden Park for a non-public company cricket match, full with Indian cooks at dwell cooking counters, skilled commentators, and VIP interactions with celeb gamers.

The corporate grabbed “uber premium grandstand seating” on the British Silverstone F1 Grand Prix, and held personal rugby matches in New Zealand, ice-hockey showdowns in Prague, and a cricket match on ice in Switzerland.

“It’s not nearly journey; it’s about creating transformative journeys that encourage, join, and rejoice prime performers,” Kale mentioned.

Prateek Dubey, international CHRO at Mankind Pharma, mentioned worldwide journeys and international occasion participation are among the many agency’s recognition initiatives for workers this yr. “The locations are curated to supply unforgettable and culturally wealthy experiences — starting from international cities to iconic occasions,” he mentioned.

These embody choose worldwide conferences, management summits, Mankind’s flagship Medal Meet. “It additionally consists of immersive experiences that mix leisure with studying alternatives,” Dubey mentioned.

The design and engineering crew at Resonia (a part of Sterlite Group) lately offered a paper on its Mumbai Urja Marg mission on the CIGRE Norway Symposium 2025, mentioned Ruhie Pande, group CHRO of Sterlite Electrical, Resonia and Serentica Renewables.

Sterlite Group additionally sends staff to worldwide conferences for recognizing new developments, presenting papers, and attending. Sterlite Group additionally organises all-expense-paid crew off-sites, Pande mentioned.