It's not all work, work, work -
there's a great social side to Capita Symonds and a wide range of
sport, leisure, charity and volunteering opportunities for
employees to take part in.
Capita Challenge
The Capita Group Plc, our parent company,
launched the first Capita Challenge in 2005. It's an outdoor
activity challenge bringing together teams of Capita colleagues
from across the Group's 300 offices and 32,000 staff to compete for
the Capita Trophy, have a fun day out and raise funds for Capita’s
official charity - Macmillan Cancer Support.
The 2009 Challenge took place at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire,
raising a total of £68,000. Capita Symonds entered an amazing 27
teams, with MD Jonathan Goring’s team coming top in 4th
place.
Capita Symonds is also a regular entrant in the gruelling
Microsoft Challenge. This year’s event saw 93 teams from a variety
of blue-chip companies battling it out across four days and four
nights in the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales. Our two teams
finished 21st and 27th – our best finish to
date – and the best placed company in the construction industry,
raising over £4,000 for NSPCC.
Good sports
Our people take part in a wide variety of
sport activities on a local, regional and national level, supported
by Capita Symonds.
We’ve had many sporting achievements over the
last year including 4 keen runners completing the London Marathon,
and Capita Architecture’s Ross Woodhouse winning the Class A
division in the MG Trophy Championship.
Charity champions
We’re a charitable bunch, and many individuals
and teams across our offices support Capita's official charity,
Macmillan Cancer Support, or their own charities of choice.
Highlights for last year include five Capita
Lovejoy employees riding 55 miles from London to Cambridge, in
support of the 'Green Fingers Appeal'. The Colwyn Bay office
raising over £10,000 for local children’s hospice Tŷ Gobaith. And
our offices in Cwmbran and Cumbria / North East collecting over 600
Easter Eggs in April to give to local children hospitals.
Graduates giving back
2008 saw the launch of a new scheme offering
Capita Symonds graduates the chance to combine their careers with
work in the aid or emergency aid fields. Graduates who are
committed to working in the relief field can apply to receive
alternative terms of employment which will enable them to spend
three months a year on aid work while remaining in full time
employment (at line manager's discretion). The scheme will apply
for the length of the graduate training, typically four years,
which will enable them to gain up to a full year's aid experience
while at the same time pursuing a professional career.
The programme is part of Capita Symonds'
patronage of RedR-UK, an organisation which helps to second fully
qualified professionals to disaster-affected areas across the
world. http://www.redr.org.uk/
Away days
Some teams organise away days for their people
- an annual opportunity to gather together staff from across the
UK, communicate strategy and celebrate achievements.
Our architecture practice, Capita
Architecture, gathers all 450 of its staff together every summer at
prominent buildings that it has designed. Last year’s event was
held at Finchley’s ‘arts depot’, and this year’s was held at
the celebrated Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
Party time
Many of our offices have Social Committees
that organise nights out, Christmas parties and summer BBQs. Our
Cumbria and North East business have recently organised a Sports
Day in Carlisle and a Raft Race in the Lake District!
Capita also holds its Summer Ball every June,
with all Group employees invited to attend with a partner or guest.
The black tie event is held in prestigious locations around the UK
with proceeds donated to Capita's nominated charities.