Following the success of our first Esker charity hiking challenge last year, we decided it only right to put ourselves through our paces once again, and of course we had to go bigger and better than before! (i.e. tougher and even more challenging!)

We all felt that this year we had to go that extra mile (or three!) to push ourselves even further and to really encourage everyone to dig deep for our chosen charity Bridge the Gap.

Bridge the Gap, is an Emotional Literacy based service, helping children to explore and understand their emotions, and to learn different ways of responding to these emotions. They are a non-clinical service, working to build safe relationships with children and young people, as well as those important to them; working longer-term with a child or young person for the best long-term outcomes.

Bridge The Gap kindly visited us at our office in Derby earlier this year to tell us about the work they do. This really resonated with some members of our team; either as parents of children who had faced similar challenges or recalling struggles they had as a child themselves. We were all in agreement that this was a truly worthy cause for our support, and with them being based right on our doorstep in Derby, any money we raised would make a difference in our local area.

With that in mind our challenge was set as a 30km, 3 Peak Hike, in the beautiful Peak District National Park! And the preparations began……

You can’t just walk into a challenge like this (pardon the pun!) without some preparation, and once again, the dedication and commitment of our Esker Team contributed to the success of the challenge. After numerous practice walks (including some very tough hills!), kit preparation and a large quantity of walking poles purchased, we were ready for the big day!

Saturday the 16^th of September was a moody and overcast day in the Peak District, cool and dry, with mist, fog and strong winds up on the hills! It was an early start in the pretty village of Edale, Derbyshire. We had entrusted ourselves into the capable hands of local expert and qualified guide Adrian Close who had carefully planned this challenging circular route and was to accompany us on our hike. (Thank you for keeping us safe in the hills Adrian!) We initially met Adrian when he visited our office to provide some external training to the Esker Team earlier in the year.

There were eight members of the Esker Team participating in this year’s hike, and like last year, this group was made up from practically all departments of the business. Teamwork is key for something like this, and that understanding of how we all rely on each other in order to be successful is crucial, not just in a hiking challenge but in the workplace as well. The words of encouragement and support from the other members of the Esker Team who weren’t taking part in the hike really motivated us too!

So how did it go? Well, we all completed the 30km distance and 981m of ascent together as a team, in eight and half grueling hours! This included three challenging hill tops; Win Hill, Lose Hill (of which the climb never seemed to end!) and Mam Tor.
It was tough, but so very rewarding and such a great achievement. Despite the blisters and aching legs and feet, we all thoroughly enjoyed it and toasted our success with a well-earned drink back in the village of Edale!

The Peak District National Park is a beautiful place, and even with the zero views at the top of the hills due to cloud cover, there was still some amazing scenery to take in and I have no doubt this too helped us along!

As a regular hiker and lover of the great outdoors I am grateful to be able to share my hobby and its benefits. Walking, especially in such green and beautiful places is a real tonic for me and can play such a big part in our general wellbeing, both physically and mentally. There’s nothing quite like looking back and seeing how far you’ve come!

Most importantly, from the hike and other activities, we have raised £1500 for Bridge The Gap, of which they are very appreciative. I must say a huge thankyou to everyone that has donated.

As for next year, watch this space!

You can read more about Esker’s ESG initiatives here.

Laura Cook

Laura is an Administration Assistant at Esker UK. She has been part of the Esker family since 2019.

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Back in September, myself and 8 of my fellow Esker colleagues took part in a 25k hiking challenge through the beautiful Peak District National Park, and wow, what an experience!
I’m a keen walker and love the great outdoors, so I took up the hobby almost a decade ago and soon became addicted! For me it’s the draw of exploring beautiful places and the thrill of unexpected adventures! The exercise element and physical benefit of being in the outdoors for me are merely a bonus.

For me, the hiking challenge was an opportunity to take part in something I love but also to share my passion and hopefully inspire some of my fellow work colleagues to join me! When I suggested the idea I was blown away with the response. In the end there were 9 of our team that took part, but a fair few more would certainly have participated if they had been able to. The support we had from the whole team at Esker was amazing!

25k is no walk in the park even for experienced walkers and as part of the challenge we had to also navigate our own route using a map ensuring we hit certain checkpoints. To add to that, the Peak District National Park (the clue is in the title) is certainly not flat! Still, all that aside, I signed us up to the challenge in the spring, giving us a few months to prepare. It was an official event organised by a local company Wilderness Development. The date was set for Saturday 17^th September; to complete the 25k circuit in 9 hours (ideally without getting lost!)

As a team we were a real mixture of experience! Some who walk regularly, some who had never done anything like this before. For most it was going to be the longest hike they had ever done. In the weeks leading up to the hike it was amazing to see the commitment and dedication of the team. Practice walks were being done, some together, some individually, plus, all the necessary hiking boots and equipment being purchased in advance. This was really being taken seriously!

Alongside the challenge itself we wanted to use the opportunity to do some good and fundraise for a local charity close to our office in Derby. We visited Children First Derby so we could get an understanding of what they do and the ways in which they support local vulnerable children, young people and struggling families. They do this by offering a variety of support services as well as running trips and activities for children who would otherwise never get the opportunity. In these challenging times the need for such services has never been greater. As a team we made the decision to support the charity with our hike and set up a Just Giving page with the target of raising £1,000.

All preparations in place, the big day finally came round! We couldn’t have asked for a better day. The weather in the Peaks can be notoriously unpredictable, but the sun shone down on us all day!
There could be no better example of our philosophy One Team Beyond Boundaries. I may have led the organisation on the challenge but it was a real team effort. From route planning, to carrying equipment, to getting in the donations, every single person played their part to make it a success.

I noted on the day, as we hiked along the top of the stunning Baslow Edge (after climbing a very steep hill!) That we actually had a member from every department on the hike! From myself in the Admin team, to Sales, Professional Services, Customer Experience, Marketing and the Print Centre. This wasn’t intentional, just a true representation of how we all come together and integrate at Esker.
So the question is… did we do it?! Yes we did! And within the target time of less than 9 hours.

It was an amazing day, but it wasn’t easy. We all relied on each other for support and to pull each other along when it got tough. Through aches, pains, big hills and the moments when it felt like it would never end!
The sense of achievement for us all was incredible. I know we were all so proud of each other! To top it off we raised an incredible £1,500 for our chosen charity Children First Derby, who were thrilled to be able to spend the money on a half term activity for their supported children.

On a personal note, it was important for me that everyone enjoyed this experience and I think its safe to say we now have a real team of Esker hikers! The benefits of walking and the outdoors can have such a positive impact on our physical and mental health. Even a short walk at lunchtime can increase productivity and energy for the afternoon.
I expect next year we will have even more colleagues joining us for a challenge, so watch this space! We really are One Team Beyond Boundaries!

Laura Cook

Laura is an Administration Assistant at Esker UK. She has been part of the Esker family since 2019.

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Just for Dogs was founded in 1997 to rescue and re-home abandoned dogs. To date they’ve rescued over 6,000 dogs and provide a safe and caring environment at the centre whilst helping find forever homes.

A sunny Autumn morning saw 5 of the Esker ladies welcomed at the centre, located near Ashbourne, and put straight to work! First on the list was a clean of the kennels. Each dog (or pair of dogs) has an indoor and outdoor area so they can go in and out as they please through a dog flap. The site is also fortunate in having several large outdoor pens and enclosed paddocks – so on the days that dog walkers are in short supply, the dogs can still get out and have a good run around.

Once all the kennels were clean it was finally time to get to know some of the four-legged friends! Taking one (very excitable) dog each, we all stretched our legs across the seemingly-endless acres of fields that back onto the centre. The dogs revelled in being out in the sunshine, interacting with one and another and ourselves, and discovering the sounds and smells of the countryside.

Back at base we had time for a quick chat with the owner, Margaret, who explained more about the centre’s teams and their continual demand for funding and supplies. Having dedicated the past 21 years of her life to the charity, she continues in her passion in caring for dogs big and small and maintaining this great charity.

It was our pleasure at Esker to give our time to the charity – and we hope to continue supporting them in the future with further time and resource donations. Just for dogs are always welcoming of new volunteers and dog walkers – please do get in touch if you could help too.

Jennifer Ball

As Marketing Co-ordinator for Esker UK, Jennifer manages Esker UK's marketing campaigns and events for S2P solutions. She has been part of the Esker family since 2019.

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To raise even more money, I donated some paintings for their summer auction. Hopefully people will be kind enough to part with their cash generously!

Speaking as an animal lover and a vegan, I was struck by how hard animals, such as donkeys, work for us. As living beings, like us, they get old, tired and need to take it easy. Happily, such considerations do not apply when deploying a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which is designed to work 24/7 if required.

RPA is the buzz word for software that can be easily programmed to do routine, repetitive human tasks, quickly, accurately and tirelessly. Relying on structured data, RPA automates workflows or clerical processes by emulating human interaction within a graphical user interface (GUI) with great benefits. The benefits include consistently swift, accurate data management at a much lower cost than manual processing of any documents, typically sales orders and supplier invoices. Manual processes are streamlined to facilitate business security and increase scalability.

What does RPA do for your most important resource, i.e. your employees? Certainly staff are empowered to be more productive and professionally fulfilled because they are free of the mundane, repetitive and valueless tasks.

What of the other buzz word, Artificial Intelligence (AI)? AI is not to be confused with RPA. True, both deal with automation. However, a key difference is that RPA is not “self-learning” and only works with structured data. AI technologies, on the other hand, respond to changing environments and data and rewrite themselves.

What both RPA and AI have in common is that they automate manual processes and usher in great efficiency. Both technologies work 24/7 so you don’t need to. This is good news for staff, who are now able to work smarter rather than harder. Let RPA, and AI (with its machine learning and deep learning capabilities) take the strain of today’s a fast paced, IT driven environment. For me, that means more free time to serve our clients better and of course, paint more pictures and visit our adopted donkeys in their pasture lands!

Raj Sahota

As Internal Sales Manager at Esker, Raj looks after customers and prospective customers. She has been part of the Esker family since 2011.

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Our HR Manager, a keen lover of animals, paid for one year’s adoption of a donkey named Walter from The Donkey Sanctuary.

Once the adoption year ended we just couldn’t abandon Walter and his friends. With so many donkeys continually found in a neglected state they needed our help. But what could we do?

The answer lay in the lack of choice with current charity sweetie boxes we had– so we launched ‘Walter’s Treat Box’. Apart from a well-stocked supply of goodies the box is also a good destination for goodies that need eating up before the sell-by date so food isn’t wasted at home.

Fast forward two years and the profits have now allowed us to adopt nine adorable donkeys by donating over £350 a year to help this great cause.

With all these treats we thought we’d better keep an eye on our waistlines too, so for a little added fun we’ve now got our very own weigh in for those who wish to measure exactly how generous they have been in supporting the charity!

You could say the Esker secret Santa gift snowballed to keep Walter and his friends happily rolling in the hay.

Raj Sahota

As Internal Sales Manager at Esker, Raj looks after customers and prospective customers. She has been part of the Esker family since 2011.

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