Mercedes-Benz Commercial vehicle Dealer Group, Rygor, is continuing to put the wellbeing of its team at the forefront of the business, as the company kick-starts 2021. Even though still in winter, the month of February brings an air of optimism for the year ahead with the prospect of spring right around the corner, which is why the Dealer launched its internal Step-Up Challenge to help encourage its team members to get moving and reach 10,000 steps a day. So far, collectively the Rygor employees taking part have walked more than 4.5 million steps, still with a few days of the tournament remaining. Paul Reed, Rygor owner director, said: “I am personally so passionate about the importance of health and wellbeing, so it is something that I am dedicated to entwining with the Rygor business. Over the past few years, we have really enhanced our #RygorWellness programme, giving our team more and more opportunities to get involved. “We know that the past year has been especially hard on all of us, and over the last 10 months we have been committed to further-enhancing our programme for the benefit of our team members. This has been through free online fitness classes which I have led (as a qualified PT), virtual coffee breaks hosted by the Board and our comms team, to allow team members to take a break and virtually come together for a chat, and even things like our Teams wellness chat group, which allows staff to share ideas, content and thoughts with like-minded colleagues. Our current ‘Step-Up’ challenge is just another way to motivate people to get moving for the benefit of their physical and mental health, not to mention our team enjoy a bit of healthy competition and community spirit!” Shae Scott, team leader at Rygor’s Warrington central admin site, said: “This year I am striving to become a better person mentally and physically, and the Rygor Wellness Programme is helping me along the way with providing useful resources, as well as running competitions to give me an even bigger incentive get outside and be more active.” In addition to the company’s commitment to support the wellbeing of its team through its robust wellness programme (which also includes Mental Health First Aiders in the business, EAP programmes and gym and online fitness workout discounts) the company has invested in a small stock of COVID-19 PCR tests for each of its 17 sites across the UK, so employees can utilise them within Government guidelines, should they feel it will give them peace of mind. “We understand that these are anxious times and investing in things like the PCR tests are just further ways we want to be able to support our team. We have also been able to offer to those team members who have felt it will be beneficial, at home blood tests to understand their own health status in terms of their vitamin and mineral levels, which we have invested in from PrimaSolutions Diagnostics,” Paul added. Mike Parrish who works at Rygor’s Reading site, was one of the team members who chose to utilise the blood immune health testing. Mike said: “I feel it was a really good thing for the business [Rygor] to offer the team. You often don’t know where you are with your own health. Especially in these times, with the pandemic, it was really good to understand my vitamin and minerals levels. It was really interesting to get the results and I noticed I was deficient in vitamin D, so I have been able to do something about it, to help me feel even better and stronger. My partner was also offered the test free by Rygor, which I was also impressed with. If it is something that others would find interesting and useful, I would recommend having the test done. It was a real eye opener for me and great that company has offered it.” Jamie Carruthers from PrimaSolutions Diagnostics said: “At PrimaSolutions Diagnostics, we deliver actionable nutritional and lifestyle recommendations based on a set of key blood nutrient biomarkers known to support the immune system in reducing the risk of viral infections and their severity. Blood is liquid gold in trying to understand how our bodies work. Based upon the results, we give employees the ability to understand their immune health through easy to comprehend and personalised reporting designed to engage, inform and motivate. Furthermore, PrimaSolutions Diagnostics want employers to improve the health, well-being and efficiency of their workforce in a personalised and sustainable way.”