At Dell we’re always looking for new ways to develop the talents of our UK workforce. That’s why we were so excited recently to announce our sponsorship of the Dell Corporate Challenge.
This annual event focuses on developing teams, management knowledge and CSR awareness via a series of sporting challenges and inspiring discussions.
The link between sports and success has been long debated and I’m a firm believer in the professional benefits of amateur sports including team building, improved communication and discipline.
The Corporate Challenge is based on this very premise and over the course of two days in the Brecon Beacons, we’ll be asking teams of six from a range of different organisations to compete in an adventure race including canoeing, running, mountain biking, hiking and map reading. As well as focusing on team building, the race will test the teams’ fitness, communication and drive as they compete against each other to complete the race in the shortest time.
On the evening of the first day of adventure racing, there will also be a series of discussions led by the Cardiff Business School featuring leading academic Professor Rob Morgan, high performance coach and mentor Andy McCann, and Nicole Cooke MBE, former Olympic and World Champion cyclist who is currently studying an MBA at the School. As a Cardiff Business School alumnus, I’m really looking forward to hearing from these amazing speakers and taking advantage of the time to network with the other companies competing in the challenge.
The event also provides a great opportunity to raise money for our UK charity partner Action for Children. This fantastic charity supports the most vulnerable children in the UK and we’ve been working with them for the past seven years on programmes which combine social care work and technology to help reduce common fears and frustrations of working with ICT. We also ask our team members to show their support by getting involved in the charity’s many fundraising drives.
For example, I recently joined a ‘CEO Sleep Out’ – a variation on its annual Byte Night event at which Dell fields an ever expanding team. This involved me picking up my sleeping bag, braving the elements and spending a night sleeping rough to help raise critical funds.
For the Corporate Challenge, we’ve asked our teams within Dell to raise a minimum of £500 each and there will be an overall charity challenge for every participating group to raise additional funds for the cause. Please help us reach our fundraising targets by donating here.
As a sports lover myself and a former student at the Cardiff Business School, I’m really looking forward to what promises to be an action packed couple of days in one of my favourite parts of the country.
The Dell Corporate Charity Challenge takes place in the Brecon Beacons on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September 2014. The event is still open for team registration so if you’d like to sign up then please visit the Dell Corporate Challenge website or follow the event updates on Twitter and via @DellUK and @DellCFEUK.
