In September, some 250 Sedgwick colleagues teamed up to build bicycles for underserved children in Southern Nevada. Attending the company’s 2016 leadership conference near Las Vegas, these colleagues split into 25 teams for a friendly competition that brought them together to do good for the local community. Ultimately, the teams built 25 bikes for girls and 25 for boys, which were presented to the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada.
“The idea came to us when we were planning the conference,” Steve Powell, president, Unified Investigations & Sciences, Inc., a Sedgwick company, said. “Sedgwick colleagues were afforded a grand opportunity to put their leadership training to work. We wanted to host a hands-on activity that would tie together all the concepts on the conference agenda into one event that fit our theme, which was ‘Gear Up. Lead On.’ The bike build was perfect because it allowed colleagues to collaborate, use critical thinking and inclusive behaviors, express positivity, and work together in diverse teams with members from various entities, business lines and skill sets, all with cultural alignment in a caring counts approach.”
Each time Sedgwick schedules a large meeting, the company includes a community service component. With the help of Team Dynamix, Sedgwick planned the competition as a team-building exercise that would celebrate what is unique about each colleague and drive home the concept that our collection of individual talents and experience is what makes Sedgwick unique as an organization. Colleagues responded to the challenge of the bike build with problem-solving, collaboration and communication within teams and between teams to accomplish the goals of the exercise. They worked together to solve riddles, puzzles and clues, which, when answered correctly, gave them the resources and pieces they needed to build the bikes.
At the end of the project, Mark Jacoby, area director of large clubhouse operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada, personally accepted the 50 bicycles. He spoke about his organization’s mission – to enable all young people, especially those in greatest need, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens – and expressed his gratitude for Sedgwick’s caring and commitment to helping the boys and girls in their community.
Sedgwick also provided helmets and locks so the recipients could have a safe, fun time riding their new bikes. Colleagues enjoyed naming their teams, earning points for various tasks and meeting quality standards, and they expressed a sense of satisfaction for a job well done.
“This event was intended to grab the heartstrings of our colleagues, motivate them and have that transformative moment,” Powell added. “Team members felt good about what they had accomplished. The positive energy focused on who they were working with and who they were doing it for. We really saw the magic in our colleagues.”
See our ‘Gear Up. Lead On.’ video showcasing the event.
