Going for gold

There is a lot to be gained in staff morale and engagement from feeding off the enthusiasm and excitement of the London 2012 Olympics. Katie Pattullo speaks to 1988 gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse about how UK business can learn lessons from its legacy

London 2012 promises to be a time of excitement and optimism for both London and the nation as a whole. Adrian Moorhouse recalls his experience competing in Seoul as part of the British team in the 1988 Olympics. “Individual engagement is different to team engagement,” he says. “When an individual achieves his/her goal, it is a finite experience, but representing the nation is a different level of engagement – an emotional engagement or pride. It goes a lot further than any individual goal.”

When they were not competing in an event, the swimming team would cheer on other members of the UK team who were competing in their respective events. “It was a good way of building team spirit in the UK camp.”

Having retired from competitive swimming in 1992 following the Barcelona Olympic Games, Moorhouse was involved in developing a national talent programme for swimming. There he became aware something was missing from the psychological performance of athletes, particularly the UK competitors.

It became clear to him when he crossed paths with a leading sports psychologist that using sports psychology tools, a specialisation dealing with the mental and physical aspects of physical performance, in combination with the experience of being an Olympic athlete it would be possible to move into management development and organisational consulting. With the psychologist he set up Lane4 almost 13 years ago – the name derived from the lane Moorhouse swam in to win his Gold medal.

While in the short-term it is very clear to see how the nation will benefit from the Olympic Games, it is trickier to predict what kind of lasting legacy they will leave for the UK.

“The Olympics is an inspirational catalystic moment. The run up to London 2012 will provide an ideal opportunity for businesses involved in its sponsorship or construction to create a level of excitement and pride among their employees,” explains Moorhouse. “There will be a lot more brand awareness for these organisations which they can use to build on their engagement uplift and ultimately profitability and productivity for the organisation.”

It is not going to be an easy ride, though, for those businesses preparing the Olympic campus: racing to meet deadlines and keep within budget, with growing evidence that staff are working long hours and risking burnout. What is absolutely clear is that these businesses are not going to be able to work effectively and profitably by squeezing more out of their current employees rather than increase their labour spend. As Moorhouse knows well, for a team to achieve a high performance it is vital they are treated as high performers.

The already spiralling costs of hosting the Olympics pose the danger of ruining both its credibility and goodwill, with the ultimate irony that the consortium (CLM) in charge of controlling costs has been dealt a bonus of £10m. In the meantime, the actual 2012 organising committee itself, will be forced into an intensive programme of engagement in a bid to retain their staff. The committee is planning to grow from 120 permanent staff to 5,000 full-time staff and up to 30,000 volunteers within the next four years.