EP Business in Hospitality, the leading communicator in the hospitality industry, supports The Smallest Rugby Club World Cup. The event showcases that talent is talent and all individuals deserve to be supported and to be given a fair chance, regardless of their background. On the rugby pitch, everyone is on a level playing field. It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer, banker, plumber or teacher, it is a moment where everyone is equal.
Research has shown that a person born pre 1975 had a far better chance of upward social and career mobility than a person born today. This cannot be right. 33% of young talents do not believe that their talent is enough to ensure progression and 63% of employees lack trust in their leadership teams.
There are a whole number of important leadership figures that have been key leaders and have not possessed degrees – Lord Maclaurin and Bill Toner being key examples. There have been many great leaders that have struggled with dyslexia but been successful – can they still reach the top? They have been a number of top people that have suffered from disability and today many believe it is harder to fulfil their dreams and ambitions.
We need to once again reconnect; for leadership teams to find trust again and for all talent to believe that they have the chance to aspire, progress and be able to change their lives.
With Brexit, many people talk about skills shortages. Our argument is that we need to start with ensuring that we are investing once again in our human capital.
To celebrate grassroots rugby, support rugby core values and raise awareness of how important talent and individuals are. This year EP really wants to drive the message that it doesn’t matter who you are if you have the talent you deserve a chance.
The Smallest Rugby Club World Cup was founded by Racal Decca RFC. The one-day tournament was first held in 2015. This year the SRCWC is back and EP is delighted to be hosting. Teams from across the country and some current and former professional athletes will come together for a festival celebration.
The event is to highlight something which we believe in and we are campaigning about every day, and that’s the importance of bringing the worlds of business and sport together.
Over the next few months heading into the event, we will be sharing stories on some of the incredibly talented individuals that we are working with. We really want to highlight the talents that people have and why this event can be a platform to showcase that “Talent really is Talent”.
The business world needs help. There is a lack of trust in leadership and a lack of learning and development to their teams. Business and individuals are feeling under pressure, there is a rise in mental health and people aren’t feeling valued.
The stats show that business and people are struggling:
- Research indicates that UK employees lost 13.6% of their working hours due to absence (1.2%), and presenteeism (12.5%). This figure translates into an average loss of 35.6 days of productive time per employee per year.
- Productivity loss in the UK has been worsening over time, with employees losing, on average, 23.0 days of productive time in 2014, compared to 35.6 days in 2018.
- Productivity loss is higher amongst lower-income workers and younger workers.
- 5% of employees showed low work engagement, while only 12.7% showed high work engagement.
- Young employees are particularly at risk for mental health issues, with 12.5% of those in the 21-25 year age category indicating they suffer from depression. This figure increases to 17.2% for the 18-20 year age category.
- 34% of employees indicate they have felt unwell because of work-related stress.
- 63% of the CEO’s do not rate their HRD’s. Only 21% of HRD’s believe that their CEO’s are of a good enough standard.
- A person born pre 1975 stood more chance of upward social mobility than a person born today.
- 33% of all talent today believe that their career progress will be related to their talent.
- 46% believe it has more to do with social background.
We are also fortunate that we over 28 Olympic and sporting players working with us with the aim of being able to nurture young talent. This is another twist to the plot as sporting players can play a key role in helping coach and develop talent and build new career paths for themselves.
Many sporting professionals need support in their transition period during and after their careers in sport. If they don’t end up going back into their sport, whether that be in coaching or working in the media, finding out what to do next can be a real challenge. They spend the early part of their lives working towards their goals and dreams, whether for an Olympic Games, World Cup or major competition. Many will tend to miss out on school, college and university and even if they do manage to combine the two, education can take a back seat.
Athletes have some great behaviours that can be transferred into the workplace. They will instantly put their trust in others. They have positive attitudes and are extremely resilient. They can visualise, plan and focus on the end goal. Whilst also being a team player and having the ability to nurture young teammates into their teams. They can be great mentors and coaches for individuals and businesses, which makes them a great addition to have in a team.
Based on these stats we believe that bringing both worlds together can really help and make a difference.
