ActivityMix has central belt as new goal

A COMPANY which works with some of the UK’s largest firms to help them improve business performance through staff participation in sport is expanding into the central belt.

A team from oil and gas services supplier OneSubsea takes part in the tug o war at Aberdeen Highland Games

Aberdeen-based ActivityMix, whose clients include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Centrica, PwC and Shell, has established an operation in Edin­burgh after 12 years of building the business in the North-East.

The company was founded by rugby player and leadership development expert Jules Lancastle and former software engineer Richard Johnston. It has since worked with more than 50 international companies and 25,000 employees.

ActivityMix runs bespoke activity programmes for businesses as well as events such as a corporate pentathlon, where teams from different companies compete against each other.

Its work aims to help businesses attract, engage, motivate, retain and reward staff and in turn improve bottom-line financial results. The business also looks to establish strong links between businesses and local grassroots sports clubs.

Lancastle said expanding into Edinburgh seemed like a natural progression for the company following the success of the business in Aberdeen.

“All businesses can benefit from engaging staff through sport.

“Opportunities to play, support and organise sporting activities attracts good talent and importantly, retain it, res­ulting in the transformation of a business into a thriving, profitable one with a united, strong, happy and healthy team,” he said.

Lancastle added that Activity­Mix already had a number of potential clients lined up for a July corporate pentathlon to be held for the first time in Edinburgh.

To mark the expansion into the capital, ActivityMix is holding an event on 22 April at PwC’s Morrison Street base. It will include a presentation by PwC on its recently published report, “A New Take On Talent”, which identifies steps that successful organisations are taking in managing their talent in today’s economy.

Erika Campbell, PwC director, said: “We have been working with ActivityMix for a long time, as we fully understand the real benefits of bringing sporting challenges into the workplace and how it can make a huge impact on motivation, retention and attracting new talent. Not only do these events bring people together in the office and create a really nice, strong sense of camaraderie but it’s also really good fun.”

Speakers at the event will also include Chris Paterson, former Scotland rugby captain, and Dominic McKay, director of commercial operations, communications and public 
affairs at the Scottish Rugby Union, who will discuss how building trust within a team engages them to support each other and creates the passion to perform well.

The Edinburgh corporate pentathlon event will see 16 companies compete against each other in various tournaments, including a 5km run, a team health improvement challenge, darts, table tennis and touch rugby.

PwC’s “A New Take On Talent” report found that only 5 per cent of companies in the financial services sector are confident they can secure all the skills they need.

The proportion of industry leaders expressing concerns over the availability of skills has risen from less than 50 per cent in the survey three years ago.

The report said a sudden increase in demand for more people in areas such as technology, customer service and risk and compliance has created inevitable shortages.