Sports stars take plunge as business trainers

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 14:41

TRACKSUITS will soon be spotted alongside business suits in offices across the country as top sports stars sign up to offer a training scheme with Investors in People (IIP) Scotland.

IIP Scotland was set up during the economic downturn of the 1990s to offer support and development services to help businesses get the most out of their employees. It has now teamed up with Edinburgh-based sports management firm Red Sky to bring leading athletes and sports figures into boardrooms and onto shop floors.

The aim is to improve attitude, performance and leadership skills by introducing the learning techniques used by sportsmen and sportswomen into the workplace. Names signing up to offer the training service to companies include Scottish gold-medal winning swimmers Hannah Miley and David Carry, Olympic canoeist David Florence and international rugby scrum half Chris Cusiter.

Rhona Shepherd, Red Sky's director, says: "Our first step is to get to know a business and identify its ambitions and its targets. Then we select the athlete or coach we reckon would be the right person for the job to create a high-performance partnership."

With many Scottish firms hit hard by the recession, IIP Scotland says it is trying to ensure that its clients have a "sporting chance at business success".

Peter Russian, IIP Scotland chief executive, says: "When it comes to sport, everyone loves a winner. Whether it's playing the game or watching it, we find inspiration in success.

"The idea of our scheme is to harness everything that's great about sport and use its strength to improve performance in the workplace."