The Challenge

MyTime Active operates leisure facilities, including leisure centres and golf courses, across multiple sites in Birmingham, Southampton, and Bromley. With a diverse workforce of part-time staff, full-time colleagues, and workers with irregular shift patterns, consistent communication was a significant challenge.

Traditional tools like intranets, emails, and WhatsApp failed to meet the needs of the dynamic workforce as many staff rarely had access to computers during shifts. Emails were often ignored, while other communication platforms like WhatsApp lacked security and created inefficiencies by relying on managers to relay critical updates.

Essential resources like HR databases for payslips, policies, and compliance training were hard to access, and annual engagement surveys also saw low participation.

The lack of a unified communication system led to inefficiencies, fragmented messaging, and difficulty fostering a cohesive company culture. Geographically dispersed teams which often operated in silos, and while management teams felt engaged, frontline staff often didn’t. Compliance with legal requirements, including health and safety and GDPR training, was inconsistent, further highlighting the need for an effective solution.

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The Solution

Streamlined communication: Real-time updates and secure group messaging replaced inefficient email and WhatsApp methods, while the ‘Feed’ feature allowed for sharing successes, informal updates, and organisation-wide news.

Digital onboarding and compliance: New hires could access company information, policies, and compliance training from day one, ensuring a smoother onboarding experience and improved compliance rates for training.

Centralised resources: Colleagues can now access HR databases, training, and policies through a single sign-on system, eliminating the inefficiencies of navigating multiple platforms.

Engagement and feedback: Shorter, quarterly surveys encouraged higher participation and provided actionable insights into colleague sentiment, helping management make informed improvements.

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The Impact

Since launching Engage, MyTime Active has seen a remarkable 42.3% improvement in colleague engagement within just 11 months. The platform has transformed how the organisation communicates, ensuring that employees have timely access to critical updates and resources regardless of their shift patterns or location. This has significantly improved communications and strengthened the connection between frontline staff and management through two-way feedback.

Digitalised processes, such mandatory training, have saved time while boosting compliance rates to 97%. This ensures that colleagues consistently meet legal requirements, such as GDPR and health and safety standards, reducing organisational risk.

The platform has also eliminated silos, connecting teams across leisure, golf, childcare, and other areas. Colleagues now share updates, successes, and insights via the app ‘Feed,’ fostering a stronger sense of community and alignment with the organisation’s values.

With engagement scores steadily climbing, MyTime Active has laid a strong foundation for further improvement. The platform has driven measurable gains in morale, operational efficiency, and compliance, helping to create a workforce that is connected, inclusive, and focused on delivering high-quality services across all locations.

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