Creating team spirit at ARK

Corporate wellness company, ARK Leisure Management, is encouraging friendly rivalry among its corporate clubs to help raise motivation among staff.

Many of the staff at the company’s gyms run the facilities alone and suffer from isolation: “Staff do get positive feedback from their members everyday, but they still crave peer and company recognition,” said ARK operations director, Mhairi FitzPatrick.

To create a sense of team spirit, ARK set up a Champions League among its contracts, which include the BBC, British Airways, McDonalds and Rolls Royce. Teams from each club are given points for any achievements with a prize for the winning team.

Clubs located near each other are also encouraged to jointly run social activities for their gym members, such as a friendly netball game followed by a drink in the pub.

“At the heart of the strategy was developing the communication between clubs and drawing managers into the excitement of contributing to the team,” said ARK human resources manger, Sara Fall.