Booth Welsh has a strong focus on health and well-being within the workplace, most recently being awarded the Healthy Working Lives Gold Award. One of the most popular ways for our employees to keep active is with cycling and this has been particularly popular amongst the population recently as we have all sought ways to keep fit and active in lock down.
Booth Welsh recently became the second company in Scotland to be awarded the Cycle Friendly Employer Plus Award. Booth Welsh employee, Helen Ternent leads the cycling initiatives within Booth Welsh and was recently invited to present the Booth Welsh story at the Ayrshire Women’s Cycling Festival and share how other businesses can get started.
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions surrounding BW’s cycling success:
- What do you think is the biggest challenge in inspiring people to cycle to work?
Behaviour Change. For those who already enjoy cycling it is easier to get them on board. However, for those who are not confident they will find no end of excuses. So, it is a long slow path of trying different approaches to try and make it more accessible, help build confidence and ability, try to reduce the obstacles that are there and of course encouragement through positive energy and enthusiasm.
- How many people have taken up cycling at Booth Welsh since you started the activities?
From an original 3 people we now have 30 people who have taken up cycling and have participated in our activities. Not all are regular and continued support is required to maintain each person’s progress. We also try our best to support our teams out at site and include them in activities and support information as well as identify any opportunities where cycling can be implemented to reduce use of other forms of transport.
- Do you envisage that more employees will want to cycle more after COVID-19?
I believe that there are more people that have picked up a bike and given it a go. So, it is my hope that people will be more aware of their ability and will want to keep this up. It will be far too easy for people to go back to normal when they return to the office so it will be vital not to miss this opportunity and help our employees make their new habit stick. To help this we have recently opened our Cycle 2 Work scheme again.
- What advice would you have for a workplace looking to become more cycle friendly?
I would encourage you to seek support and advice. We started our journey with our local Workplace Engagement Officer within North Ayrshire Council who were part funded by Sustrans. We used the Cycle Friendly Employer Programme to provide us with guidelines on where to start. With the support of our local Active Travel Team we have developed activities, training and support for our employees. We gained funding from Cycling Scotland to improve facilities such as bike storage, drying cabinets, bike locks and pool bikes. For Further information and support please see below links.
- Funding is provide by Cycling Scotland https://www.cycling.scot/
- Cycle Friendly Employer Programme https://www.cycling.scot/what-we-do/cycling-friendly
- Sustrans Scotland https://www.sustrans.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-scotland/
- eBike trials and eBike funding is provide by Energy Scotland https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/e-bikes-to-help-charge-scotland-s-green-recovery/
- Support to companies is provide by Active Travel Teams, Workplace Engagement Officer within Local Government and Active Travel Hubs https://thetrinity.org.uk/
- Way to Work Scotland is a Scottish sustainable travel partnership https://www.waytoworkscot.org/
If you want to explore more about our Booth Welsh culture and roles within, check it out here: