Accent staff go the extra mile

Accent Catering introduced a new 24 Mindful Miles initiative – a challenge for staff to walk 24 miles throughout the month to nurture connection and conversations, social engagement and camaraderie – back in November. The activity also raised over £1,300 for the mental health charity MIND.

The initiative was the brainchild of Graham Ogden, Accent’s engagement and sustainability manager, who said: “Our goal was to create time and space for people to spend quality time out of doors. We used a free app to keep us all connected so that we could share conversations, experiences and photos as we walked.

“This initiative really resonated with people. For many, it changed daily habits. For example, some staff at our corporate headquarters in Staines fitted in a lunchtime walk to the park into their working day. Others, such as teams in our school catering contracts, chose to walk home from work instead of using public transport.

“It created a real sense of community across quite a broad geographical spread of our portfolio of contracts, stretching from Wolverhampton in The Midlands to across London and the southeast.”

'Group get-together'
To celebrate the end of the initiative, Ogden organised a group walk and a get-together at one of Accent’s contracts in Chiswick. The team games in the school sports field, shared good food and took time out together to stroll around Chiswick Open Air Food Market.

“Face-to-face engagement is vital, and it was heartening to see people from all levels of the company, including directors, having fun together in the outdoors,” added Ogden. “It was a wonderful way to reflect on the importance of looking after our mental well-being.”

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