No it’s not income              
It’s not absenteeism
It’s not theft
It’s not lack of qualified personnel.
But don’t take our word for it, ask any CEO.

It is the breakdown of communication between upper and middle management and between one department and another.

A co-operative, harmonious workforce is imperative for any company wishing to have less absenteeism, better productivity, service and hence higher profits. Poor communication between upper and middle management as well as between departments is a key problem both confronting and inhibiting corporations around the world. Therefore do company directors believe that there is no way to resolve it, or is it because they fail to recognise it? Twenty years ago our company identified poor communication as a common key weakness in teams, and consequently the benefits that a Host A Murder function could have by facilitating and encouraging team bonding.

We had a request from Leone Cribbon, the head trainer of Telecom in NSW who was doing a two week “Train the Trainer” course with fourteen trainees. They had come from all over NSW and had never met before.  Leone wanted to put on a Host A Murder dinner on the very first night to “break the ice”. Five days into the course our office got a call from Leone. She opened the conversation with “Peter, I don’t know how to thank you enough.” To which I replied, “What do you mean, Leone?” She said that “the level of communication that you created on that night has remained with them up to now. They communicate with one another like they have known one another all their lives.” She went on to say: “You don’t know it, but you have saved us a lot of money. I’m going to send you a letter of recommendation.”

Within a few months, we were getting enquiries from The Reserve Bank, The Treasury and several other major players for our services. It wasn’t till several years later that we began to realise the importance of what positive effects the Host A Murder dinners were having for our clients. It was soon understood after several experiences that all occurred across a three month period. Firstly, one of our staff was called over to a table towards the end of one night by the General Manager, who said to Jenny, “You see that table over there? They are having such a great time, they look like the best of friends and they’re laughing their heads off.” Jenny replied that that is what the game is supposed to do, he said: “No, not this group. At work they fight, they backstab, they just don’t get along. Look at them now, this stuff really does work, doesn’t it?”.

However it was the last experience, a conversation that I had with a colleague who worked in telephone installations, that was the trigger to realising the true potential that Host A Murder could and has helped to resolve corporations biggest and most consistent problem.  He said “Peter, I’m switching from installing telephone systems to selling them.” My response was “Well, you’ll be really good at that because you’re a real people person and you’ve got all the technical knowledge of all those years of installing them.” However his response was something that shocked me and made me realise how much the breakdown of communication between departments in a company must be costing those companies financially.  He said “Yes, I also have an edge. The sales department does not get on with the installation department, and the installation guys can’t stand the sales guys.” I thought to myself, how does this company make money when each of these departments needs the other to survive?

Through further research we soon realised that the biggest problems corporations face is the breakdown of communication between upper and middle management and between one department and another. We realised that by getting people outside of their usual titles and positions through facilitated role playing like that of Host A Murder, it allows participants to relax, communicate and relate to one another in a fun, open and non-threatening environment. Consequently such an experience means that the next time participants meet in the workplace, they relate to one another differently because they have shared a common, fun filled experience.