It’s now under a week to go until Neil Cope, Manager of our Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment division in Zug, runs the London Marathon on behalf of Operation Smile.

Neil sat down with Tamika Gayle, Marketing Executive, to discuss his training regime, what he’ll be thinking about as he runs, and whether he’d do it again.

How do you currently feel about running the London Marathon for EMEA Recruitment & Operation Smile?

I’m excited, as it’s my first marathon. I’ve been a recreational runner for a long time and have always liked it. My main aim is to just get around and finish!

How long have you been running for?

Through childhood, but more through other sports, such as football predominantly. When I was at school, I was doing cross country; for sports day, I did the 1,500m races instead of the 100m sprints.

After that, I went on to play a lot of football in my 20s, and then in my mid-20s, I started to prioritise running more.

What has been the hardest thing in preparing for the marathon?

The hardest thing has probably been injury management and the combination of adapting my training for the distance. I’ve completed three half marathons previously, but not recently.

Adjusting from a recreational 5k/10k/10-mile run is obviously a huge difference when preparing for 26 miles.

Have you always run long distance?

Yes, I have always run long distance - 5k to 10k is more middle distance, but that’s debatable. I have always liked endurance sports and long distance, whether it’s cycling or running.

Have you ever run a marathon before?

I’ve never done full marathon before, although I have done the Robin Hood half marathon twice and the Worksop half marathon twice, as well.

I completed the Worksop half marathon in October 2018/19 in one hour, 19 mins and 58 secs, which is my personal best. Unfortunately, in current conditions, I won’t be able to copy that pace, but hopefully I will be able to one day.

Has it been more of a physical or mental challenge for you so far?

It’s been more of a mental challenge - deciding what to do on the weekend, whether it is cycling or running, does take up half your day.

How many miles do you think you’ve run in preparation for this marathon?

Not enough to be honest – but there is still a bit of time. I’m averaging 20 to 30 miles a week. To manage a bit of cross training, I have been cycling on average three to five hours a week on top of that.

What completion time are you aiming for?

Three-and-a-half hours would be ideal. I would be annoyed if it took any longer from a boredom point of view. Eight minutes per mile is my aim.

What do you think about as you are running?

I’m a bit of a daydreamer. I also like changing routes, so I think about the route and the different surroundings. Sometimes, I listen to football-related podcasts, think about work and home life - that sort of thing.

What has been your main motivation for running?

I’m expecting a child later in the year, so I’m keen to finish a marathon before the baby arrives!

What will you do to celebrate after you cross the finish line?

Other than stagger towards the finishing area, I would like to go for a drink and something to eat together with my partner and my colleagues from EMEA, who will be there supporting me.

Would you be up for doing it all over again?

At this point, I would say yes – although I’d probably change that answer at the finish line! I would like to get the injury in my Achilles sorted first though.

I would also love to do a sub-three-hour marathon once in my life.

What advice would you give to aspiring marathon runners or anyone who would like to start running?

In my opinion, running is the best thing you can do for yourself as a human being and for a healthy lifestyle.

Running is simple and the easiest exercise you can do - you don’t need any assistance from a machine or a bike. It’s also anti-aging!

If you’re able to support Neil, please donate to Operation Smile: https://2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/neil-cope

On Sunday 23rd April 2023, Neil Cope, who manages our Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment division in Switzerland, is running the London Marathon to raise money for Operation Smile.

Towards the end of last year, the Operation Smile team offered us one of their charity places at the London Marathon. As EMEA Recruitment’s resident running enthusiast, Neil was top of the list for the coveted spot.

Operation Smile has been the official partner of the EMEA Recruitment podcast since 2020. During this period, we have raised almost £9,000 for the charity, which has transformed the lives of 60 children or adults with cleft lip and palate.

Through fundraising for this upcoming event, our goal is to create another 16 smiles and transform the lives of children around the world.

All at EMEA Recruitment have a special connection to Operation Smile, as our Founder, Paul Toms, was born with a cleft lip and palate himself, and has shared his personal journey with us all.

Having completed half-marathons, 5k and 10k races in the past, Neil has never faced the challenge of a full marathon. Nevertheless, his training is firmly underway, and he is supported by his colleagues who partake in EMEA’s weekly running club.

You can read more about Neil’s story, keep up to date with his training, and donate to Operation Smile on the Enthuse platform: https://2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/neil-cope

Paul said: “Since our partnership began a few years ago, I am humbled by the time, effort and imagination that has poured into the partnership from the team at EMEA and our network. The outcome so far of transforming the lives of 60 people born with cleft lip and palate is amazing, and we want to do more!

“We have several other events in the pipeline starting with this one, which is going to be a challenge for Neil. There’s not a huge percentage of people who run a marathon in their lives - it’s tough mentally, physically and requires a lot of training, so I am full of admiration and gratitude for what Neil is doing. I hope he can enjoy the occasion in the knowledge that every step he takes towards the finishing line will be helping Operation Smile bring smiles to 16 more children around the world.

“I know life is tough now. The cost of living is rising, and disposable income is reducing. However, what price can you put on the ability to smile? Please donate. Any amount - no matter how small - is much appreciated and makes a huge difference. Best of luck Neil, and thank you to everyone who donates to this fantastic and worthwhile cause.”

We’re sure you will all join us in wishing Neil good luck for the race in April!

To celebrate World Smile Day 2022, we’re sharing the heart-warming responses to the question, “what was the last thing that made you smile?” on the EMEA Recruitment podcast.

The podcast is produced in partnership with Operation Smile, an international medical charity that provides life-changing surgery and support to children and adults with cleft lip and palate.

It’s a cause close to our Founder, Paul Toms’ heart, as he was born with a cleft lip and palate himself. When interviewing guests on the EMEA Recruitment podcast, Paul asks them to explain the last thing that made them smile.

You can listen to some of the answers from our guests below:

Thank you to Dorie Clark, Markus Graf, Francesca Gino and Marco Aspesi, for sharing such lovely stories! Be sure to check out their full episodes: https://www.emearecruitment.com/podcasts

Throughout our partnership, we’re hoping to create 100 new smiles. It costs just €180/182CHF/£150 and takes as little as 45 minutes to provide cleft surgery on an Operation Smile medical mission.

If you can donate anything to help us reach our goal, please visit: https://www.operationsmile.org.uk/donate-to-operation-smile/donate-to-operation-smile-emea-recruitment/

Recently, we also welcomed Operation Smile UK’s new Executive Director, Mairead O’Callaghan, onto the EMEA Recruitment podcast to discuss her 11 years with the charity.

She also explained the charity’s goals for the next decade, as it celebrates its 40^th anniversary in 2022.

Find the episode on your podcast app or watch on YouTube below:

Paul explains his connection to Operation Smile: “I can’t compare the challenges I faced with those of the young children Operation Smile help. All I can say is that, from my experience over the years, I changed from being afraid my uniqueness would define me, to embracing the fact that it defined me.”

Operation Smile is the official partner of the EMEA Recruitment podcast. If you’d like to find out more about our partnership, visit: https://www.emearecruitment.com/operation-smile

Operation Smile United Kingdom is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in the UK (No.04317039) and is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1091316).

The whole team at EMEA Recruitment recently took part in Equity vs. Equality training, delivered by our Ambassador, Valentina Coco.

“At the end, the key objective is to have someone on the recruiting panel who can empathise.”

Last year, Valentina conducted two in-house D&I training sessions – one on the topic of bias, the other on how to speak to our clients about D&I.

In July, Valentina explored the issue of equity versus equality, particularly from the standpoint of ethnic diversity. Globally, we still lack diverse ethnical representation in business; just 8% of managers and 4% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Valentina explained how the pipeline for getting to senior management positions is broken for those from minority backgrounds, due partly to highly unemployment rates and lack of access to education. Even when minority candidates are hired, they can feel that they’re alienating the majority in the workplace. This is why an equitable hiring process is essential.

We looked at the difference between nationality, ethnicity and race, as well as some common and less well-known words and phrases that we may feel uncomfortable using at times.

Exploring equity and equality in more detail, we discussed why workplace policies are bad for equity and how standardised testing in the recruitment process still discriminates against marginalised groups.

To help us understand the biggest hurdles in recruiting, Valentina presented us with four challenges: societal access, bias and tokenism, the pipeline gap, and the impact of COVID-19.

Societal access refers to the lack of opportunities that minority groups may have to education, internships, entry level jobs and promotions, due to potential financial barriers and a shortage of connections.

Bias and tokenism is the objective of hiring someone based on the diversity they can bring to the team, which can damage inclusivity and retention in the long-term.

The pipeline gap must be addressed by stakeholders who are empathetic and invest in D&I, as well as through the wider culture of the business.

Minority groups and women faced a significant impact of COVID-19, for example, with a higher care load, anti-Asian sentiment and career breaks.

We ended the session by analysing three specific case studies, as well as asking Valentina our own questions and sharing our thoughts.

As always, all ideas were shared in a safe and confidential environment.

Valentina Coco is an Ambassador of EMEA Recruitment, as well as the CEO and Founder of Coco Consulting & Coaching. She trains teams to develop an inclusive working environment.

As the EMEA Recruitment team participated in a Miles for Smiles challenge to raise money for Operation Smile, we hosted a range of wellbeing activities to help them achieve their goal.

During October, EMEA Recruitment committed to virtually travelling 3,000km/1,900 miles to raise money for Operation Smile, the official partner of the EMEA Recruitment podcast. The route covers our key locations in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland.

The team supported one another in hitting the group target, by organising running clubs, boxing classes and weekend walks. As everyone rallied together to log their miles, we felt it important to increase our focus on wellbeing during the challenge.

Throughout the month of October, we hosted a wide range of activities to encourage the team to prioritise their wellbeing and engage with colleagues after a difficult year.

We’re proud to boast a wealth of talent among our team – our Office Administrator, Sarah James, taught a group how to crochet, Anna Moizio, shared her native language, Italian, with us, and we showed off our culinary skills with a potluck lunch.

As well as our weekly yoga sessions, some groups visited a comedy club for an evening of laughs and we invited therapists into the office to conduct chair massages for the team.

To encourage our employees to look after themselves and their loved ones, we were joined by two fantastic charities, Oddballs and Coppafeel, to raise awareness of testicular cancer and breast cancer respectively.

We were also honoured to introduce Cornell Thomas, an international motivator who has been recommended by Tony Robbins, to the EMEA team. Cornell previously appeared on the EMEA Recruitment podcast, where he discussed overcoming fear and learning from failure.

Although October has come to an end, our focus on wellbeing will continue. We have received great feedback from our colleagues, who would like to see certain activities hosted on a regular basis.

We’re proud to provide a wide range of wellbeing activities for all EMEA Recruitment employees. You can find out more about what it’s like to work for us: https://www.emearecruitment.com/work-for-us

The EMEA Recruitment team is participating in a Miles for Smiles challenge to raise money and awareness for Operation Smile.

During the month of October, EMEA Recruitment is challenged with virtually travelling the 1,900 miles/3,000km from our Nottingham office, to our Amsterdam office, our Zug office, around our key locations in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and back again.

Over the past year, we’ve missed face-to-face contact with our clients and candidates. Although we can’t currently see you in person, we thought we’d visit virtually and set a Miles for Smiles challenge for the team at the same time.

The team can decide whether to walk, run, cycle, swim, dance around our key markets to raise as much money and awareness as possible for children and adults with cleft lip and palate.

It costs just €180/182CHF/£150 and can take as little as 45 minutes to provide life-changing surgery on an Operation Smile medical mission.

Please donate as much as you can and check out our Miles for Smiles challenge progress through the Enthuse platform: https://operationsmileuk.enthuse.com/pf/team-emea

As a business, this is a cause close to our hearts, as the Founder of EMEA Recruitment, Paul Toms, was born with a cleft lip and palate himself.

Paul explained his connection to the charity: “I can’t compare the challenges I faced with those of the young children Operation Smile help. All I can say is that, from my experience over the years, I changed from being afraid my uniqueness would define me, to embracing the fact that it defined me.”

Through supporting us in our challenge, you’re helping children like Nazifa. Nazifa was born with a cleft lip – it was something no one in her village in Ethiopia had ever seen before. They were scared and thought it could be the work of an evil spirit.

Watch Nazifa’s story:

Operation Smile is the official partner of the EMEA Recruitment podcast. Through this partnership, we are raising vital funds and awareness of the work Operation Smile’s volunteers do around the world. If you’d like to find out more, read about the partnership on our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/operation-smile

Operation Smile United Kingdom is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in the UK (No.04317039) and is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1091316).