Talk to Dr Keith Hammond (Industry:Fit) for some useful ideas and approached. He designed and led an injury prevention and wellbeing programme for companies like Electrix (Supreme Safety Award winner 2011) and Ports of Auckland, where I was the company's champion for implementation. The idea started as an injury prevention programme and quickly extended into healthy eating (supported by access to nutritional supplements at reduced prices and led to a review of the site cafe service providers and menu). The programme was warmly embraced across most of the business, with scheduled exercise sessions 3x per day, which led to people from different parts of the business getting to know each other while sweating it out in the training room - this broke down barriers as well as healing some of the 'wounds' of the big 2011 strike. As more and more people became interested, we had casual shared breakfasts, and special programmes were introduced to appeal to a wider range of people and integrating more diet and weight loss strategies.

Dr Hammond designed a suitable 12-week foundation fitness programme, accompanied by a set of metrics to measure effectiveness. He recorded pre- and post-programme body measurements, body photos (with minimal clothing but enough to see changes in physiological definition), fitness test results and a wellbeing questionnaire. In this way, individuals and company managers had concrete evidence of results, and we also had the opportunity to recognise individuals for specific elements of achievement - this was especially important when we had such diverse levels of foundation fitness at the start. When we finished the first intake of the 12-week fitness programme, we held a special function for participants to receive their personal results and for Dr Hammond and his team to recognise achievements among the group.

I have long since changed employment, so I don't have up-to-date knowledge other than that the PortFit programme was so successful on so many levels that the CEO got in behind it and ensured the continuation of the original and subsequent programmes. The fitness programme was also intended to further develop useful methods and tools such as assessment of fitness for work (pre-employment and return-to-work), as well as opportunities to provide rehabilitation facilities on site - the CEO was so impressed with the PortFit programme that he authorised development of unused office space into a proper gym facility with rubber flooring, weights and other equipment, whiteboard painted walls, and various equipment suitable for supervised training sessions (i.e., access to the room is limited to scheduled daily sessions run by a qualified trainer appointed by Dr Hammond, following a specified routine for the day, with options to modify the set routine for individuals if they require consideration for an injury, etc). The whiteboard-painted walls provided a space for people to write their 'personal bests' where everyone could see it - a bit of recognition for their achievements, and just competing with their own previous achievements.

I hope that is helpful. I would be happy to answer any questions or direct you to others for further assistance.

Wow that is very helpful, thanks Sheri.