Sinyi honour in Sydney

Sydney turned on crystal-clear days for the 700 top performers from Taipei-based Sinyi Realty, Taiwan's largest real estate company. For the chairman and founder of Sinyi Realty, Chou Chun-Chi, there was the added satisfaction of returning to Sydney with such numbers, remembering the first time he brought just 100 staff across in 1992. Chou founded Sinyi Realty in 1981. He directly controls 500 agencies in Taiwan and several hundred more in a joint venture with a mainland China partner. He is one of Taiwan's most respected business leaders. With the company name denoting 'honesty, integrity and reliability', Sinyi provides a wide range of services to the real-estate sector — sales, conveyancing, property development, interior design and architecture. The awards are unusual in that many of the prizes for high achievement take the form of educational scholarships for the children of the employees. All up, US$5.16 million is distributed to 200 recipients each year. Sydney landmark The Sydney Opera House was the greatest incentive for Sinyi Realty to pick Sydney for their 2005 conference and awards ceremony. "The annual meeting is very important in the life of the company," says Chou. "It's a time for communication and friendship to grow. Having our main ceremony in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House was very exciting — there was a real sense of occasion. It's an iconic building and attending our ceremony will stay with them forever." The 'family' approach of Sinyi Realty was also evident in the part played in the formal proceedings of Wang Mei-Wen, Chou's wife, who also took to the stage to acknowledge the achievers and the sense of community within the organisation. The annual presentation has a rich history, with the event having been held in Japan, China, Malaysia and Singapore in recent years. Last year the company took 1,000 agents and staff to Fukuoka in Japan and next year will see them in Bali. The company used scheduled flights to bring its guests to Sydney. The only direct flights came with China Air from Taipei, with the rest of the guests travelling with Cathay Pacific and Qantas via Hong Kong. The sense of shared adventure was bolstered by special welcoming announcements aboard the flights, customised menus and seat-back covers. Venue variety In Sydney, the guests were divided between the Westin Hotel in Martin Place and the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney overlooking Circular Quay, the Rocks, the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The event took place the same week as a 5,000-delegate medical congress at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The awards ceremony at the Opera House used Australian technical support complemented by event producers from Taiwan. One of the highlights included a performance by one of Taiwan's biggest celebrities, TVstar Fu Wei. Ahuge roar of approval greeted her surprise appearance on the stage of the Sydney Opera House. The Sinyi incentive was also about people having fun. The delegates walked less than 100 metres from the Sydney Opera House after the awards ceremony to board luxury cruiser Sydney 2000 for a sunset harbour cruise and gala dinner. "They certainly knew how to have fun," said Nicole Friedler, conference and events manager for Captain Cook Cruises, the boat operator. "They arrived with clappers and flashing lights and the crew knew at once they had a lively party on their hands. "Sydney 2000 is able to carry 700 passengers and 50 crew. As the Sinyi group consisted of 700 guests, there was no room on board for tour guides who we usually rely on for translating drink orders and special requests during the evening. Nonetheless it all ran very smoothly," Friedler added. Menu selection The visitors selected their main course six days in advance of the cruise, as part of their registration process. Their menu card ('I'm having Beef') was given to them upon arrival in Sydney. After boarding they then put their menu cards on their place settings. "During the service of the lobster entrée, our wait staff ran around making sure everyone had their card on display, and then sent the orders table by table back to the 10 galley crew who worked tirelessly to make it happen," said Friedler. As they were seated over three decks, a programme of rotating entertainment was created in which four sets of entertainers did a 20-minute performance on each deck. CCC sourced local performers. The entertainers included Moondance, a four-piece band with vocalist, and the Penguins, a string quartet and some top dancers. The evening was topped off with a sevenminute- long fireworks display over Sydney Harbour created specifically for Sinyi. The vessel was anchored off Mrs Macquarie's Chair in the Royal Botanical Gardens with the Opera House, Bridge and city skyline as backdrop. "We had some challenges as it was quite a windy night, but it all went off spectacularly in the end," said Friedler. Chou, who is a committed environmentalist, said he was impressed with the way in which Australia, and Sydney in particular, was concerned about the wastage of resources such as water. "We also were very happy with the professional way the customs and immigration people managed such a large number of people arriving for a special event. We felt most welcome," Chou said. With the formal proceedings behind them, the Sinyi staff made the most of their time in Sydney, with tours to Port Stephens for dolphin and whale-watching cruises, to the Hunter Valley to sample its famous wines as well as a number of wildlife parks for photographs with reptiles and marsupials.