Why Employee Experience Matters More Than Another Team Lunch

Employee experience is becoming one of the biggest priorities for HR teams. People want to feel connected to their colleagues, supported by their employer and part of something they enjoy being involved in. That is why employee events matter.

But when it comes to bringing people together, it can be tempting to fall back on the same ideas. Another team lunch or another drinks reception, and these events have their place, but if you want to create a genuine employee experience, it is always worth doing something different.

Give People Something to Remember

A great employee event should create a memory, not just fill a space in the calendar.

A corporate run gives employees something active, social and completely different from their normal working day. It gets people out of the office, encourages interaction between teams and gives everyone a shared experience.

It also does not have to be about running fast or being competitive. With qualified running guides and different formats to suit different abilities, the focus can simply be on getting involved, having fun and spending time together. At The RUN Collective we always offer walking groups. This is about collective movement, not about competition.

Wellbeing That Goes Beyond the Benefits Page

Employee wellbeing is now a major consideration for HR teams. The CIPD's 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work report found that UK employees took an average of 9.4 days of sickness absence per year, the highest level recorded in more than 15 years.

The same report found that organisations see wellbeing investment as an opportunity to improve health and wellbeing, increase employee engagement and reduce sickness absence.

A corporate run can be one practical part of that wider wellbeing strategy. It gives people a reason to get active, creates social connection and makes wellbeing something employees experience together rather than another benefit listed on an intranet.

Build a Stronger Employee Brand

Your employee brand is not just what you say about your company when you are recruiting. It is what your people experience when they work for you.

A well-designed corporate run / walk can bring your culture to life. Put employees in branded kit, bring teams together and create an experience that looks and feels like your company. And if you are at an employee offsite, it can be the best way to experience a new city or location, get people out of the meeting room and get them moving.

The result is something employees can be proud to be part of, as well as content that can be shared internally and externally.

Make It Easy for HR

The last thing an HR team needs is another event that creates a long list of jobs to organise. Finding a suitable route, managing registrations, arranging insurance, coordinating guides, organising branded kit and making sure everyone knows where to be can quickly turn a simple idea into a major project.

A corporate run should not create more work for your team. We take care of the detail for you. From the initial planning through to the day itself, we organise the running experience around your people, your location and your objectives. Our qualified running guides lead the groups, all events are covered by the necessary insurance, and we can provide branded running kit to make the experience feel like a genuine part of your company.

We can organise a run for 15 people or 500. It can take place alongside a conference, as part of a company away day, during an employee wellbeing programme or as a standalone event. And because we organise corporate runs anywhere in the world, you do not need to build your event around what is available locally.

You tell us what you want to achieve. We work out how to make it happen.

Create an Employee Event People Actually Want to Attend

Employee experience is about more than putting on events for the sake of it. It is about creating opportunities for people to connect, look after their wellbeing and feel part of the organisation they work for.

A corporate run gives you all three, while creating something employees are likely to remember long after the event has finished.

Your employees get an experience they will enjoy. Your HR team gets a professionally organised event without the extra workload. And your company gets another opportunity to show your people that their wellbeing, connection and experience matter.

Because sometimes the best employee event is not another team lunch. It is something people will still be talking about the next day.