Digital marketing agency Impression has launched a table tennis coaching programme for its 30 Nottingham-based employees.
The table tennis coaching programme, which was introduced in October 2017, forms part of the organisation’s employee wellbeing strategy, which emphasises that sustaining a healthy work-life balance and taking regular breaks during the day is essential in forming an effective working environment. The coaching programme has therefore been designed to encourage employees to take breaks during the day by partaking in table tennis games, as well as to build a friendly rivalry between employees that helps staff maintain a competitive attitude that they can bring to their work.
Employees who are experienced players lead the training sessions, which gives five employees the chance to receive training during each quarterly coaching semester. The structured coaching programme begins at entry level and offers skills training on areas such as serves, backhands and rallies. Bespoke and ad-hoc lessons can be arranged if an employee wishes to improve a particular skill.
The coaching programme is running alongside Impression’s in-house table tennis league, which started on 15 September 2017. The league currently has 18 active members, and is half-way through its first season.
Impression also offers its staff benefits such as a beer fridge and table football.
Edd Wilson (pictured), account manager and table tennis head coach at Impression, said: “Since we’ve launched the first semester, it’s been a real honour seeing the members of the team progress through the programme with the dedicated support from the more experienced players. We know that [employees] putting themselves under excess levels of work are less likely to work well within a team, as the pressure can mean less clarity of creative thought. The programme has therefore nurtured a collaborative environment within the team, as well [as] providing the coaches with many new skills in mentoring that directly lend themselves to business management.”