Welcome to the Shape Up Notts! Workplace Challenge The Challenge is simple… to increase the physical activity of your workforce and to recognise team and individual performance.

What is the Shape Up Notts! Workplace Challenge? Running a workplace challenge is about achieving a healthier workforce with a more active lifestyle. We want businesses like you to sign up and to encourage your employees to get active. In return you’ll have a healthier, happier and more productive workforce. “Employers today cannot afford to ignore the health and wellbeing of their workers. The consequential costs of physical under-activity, for example, can be huge in terms of health and reduced productivity at work. Measures such as encouraging workers to walk or cycle to and from work can help make a difference. That sort of employer investment in helping motivate a healthy and active workplace can be well worth the effort.” Miles Templeman, Director General, Institute of Directors

What are the benefits of being part of the Challenge? Any business can get involved and the benefits can be seen directly on your bottom line. Healthier and more active lifestyles in employees means less sickness related absences, improved productivity and better general wellbeing. It also contributes to being a socially responsible business. Over 91 million working days are lost each year due to mental health problems. Active lifestyles can help to combat this. By encouraging more active ways to travel – such as cycling and walking – you can help to strengthen your Corporate Social Responsibility activities by contributing to a cleaner environment and reducing C02 emissions.

What are the benefits of being part of the Challenge? Once you sign up, you’ll get 24 hour access to the online support toolkit, which gives you downloadable documents, a staff poster and leaflets. It also gives you everything you need to know to run a successful Challenge scheme. It’s completely free to join and your employees should be encouraged to be active and log their activities online. Whether it’s hockey, running, cycling to work or walking the dog it all counts – and each point that gets added by your employees is logged for your company….and helps you to soar through the league table.

How does the Workplace Challenge work? It’s easy – visit www.thebigwheel.org.uk/challenge to get more information and to sign up. It’s free to join and the toolkit and promotional materials are all free to download and use. And, once you’re signed up then it just needs a bit of enthusiasm and support in your business to really take off. You don’t need to be a budding athlete yourself, but you do need to support the scheme – easy and cost efficient ways are by promoting it through your intranet, staff newsletter or information board. The prizes can be easy and cost effective – how about offering an extra day’s annual leave for the person collecting the most points or offer a months free membership to a local leisure centre?

Visit www.thebigwheel.org.uk/challenge and sign up today. Next steps…. Visit www.thebigwheel.org.uk/challenge and sign up today. Make sure your teams and your management are on board. Keep the momentum going, once you’re signed up it’s important to maintain the profile of the Challenge. You can do this by encouraging some inter-departmental challenges - get your teams competing against each other to get everyone engaged. Contact us at any time for more information.