The benefits of being a global partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games go far beyond association with the National Olympic Committee, world-class athletes and the opportunities this presents to drive a business forward. Employers can become part of the Olympic movement, which gives the chance to take employee engagement to new levels.
The key is to embrace the Olympic spirit, to challenge your organisation to reach new goals, to stretch to new heights, and to leave a lasting legacy that will benefit the business for years, even generations, to come.
At Procter and Gamble, we made a commitment that our association with the Olympics would touch every employee across our global operation. The first priority was to communicate. Everyone needed to know the role Procter and Gamble was playing in the games, what we were doing for our Olympic partners, our retail partners and our consumers, and then how everyone could play their part.
Next, we embedded the Olympic spirit in everything we did. New visions, goals and challenges were established.
Employee events, team meetings and business programmes have taken on a whole new dynamic, inspired by our Olympic mission.
Staff have volunteered as ambassadors, led a partnership with the mayor of London to clean up the capital before the games, brought the games to life in local communities through the Procter and Gamble Surrey School Games, and a few were selected to carry the Olympic torch.
Niall de Lacy, HR director at Procter and Gamble, UK and Ireland