The company wide sports campaign, started in the beginning of February, has really forced Chemigate on the move. Over two thirds of the personnel have accepted the challenge and are competing for a better feeling – and of course; to beat their colleagues… At the same time, the gauntlet was also thrown down and it was picked up by our ex-colleagues at Lapuan Peruna and CH-Polymers as well as by FP-pigments in Raisio.
In addition to better condition and higher energy levels, the campaign has a team building task as well. As the competition is run on a group level, the target is not necessary reachable focusing only on individual performance. Like in the life in general, co-operation and support to your colleague are likely to lead to better results than just focusing on single excellence.
The concept is fairly simple. During these 12 weeks, everyone should get a minimum of 24 sports points – meaning an average of 2 points / week. To ensure as wide participation as possible, the threshold to join was set low. One point is received for a 30min long single exercise and the maximum score per day is only one. This is supposed to level the starting point and encourage people to exercise more often instead of pushing for too long at one go.
The campaign has already a long history within Chemigate’s former parent companies. The original idea and concept was the personnel’s own invention. The first challenge was set in 2000, after which it gradually spread by itself over the functions, sites and borders, from one coffee table to another. During the best years, over 15 teams were involved, resulting in more than 150 enthusiastic, active people.
Although the set-up is already familiar for many of us Chemigatians, the starting point is a bit different. For the first time the top management is actively supporting the competition, and not just through kick-off gifts and promises to reward the best performing teams, but also through their own participation.