How Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board are inspiring a more active workforce
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) has transformed the way its workforce engages with physical activity through an annual activity challenge that has grown in scale, impact and ambition.
Starting as a way to promote healthier habits, it’s now a flagship wellbeing programme at the health board.
About CTMUHB
CTMUHB is a health board employer in South East Wales. It serves around 450,000 residents across Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
They employ approximately 13,000 employees across more than 20 sites.
With 85% of employees living locally, the organisation recognises the important link between employee wellbeing and the health of the communities it serves.
The challenge
A 2022 Health Needs Assessment highlighted significant challenges across the CTMUHB region:
- Healthy life expectancy was below the Wales average (61.4 years for males; 62 years for females).
- 64% of adults were overweight or obese, suggesting below average engagement in healthy behaviours.
The 2022 CTMUHB Employee Wellbeing Survey also showed that only 15% of staff were achieving recommended physical activity levels.
The findings highlighted the need for a motivating, accessible initiative to help employees build healthier habits in a supportive way.
What CTMUHB did
CTMUHB launched their activity challenge in 2023, using the Big Team Challenge (BTC) digital platform. They were the first NHS organisation in Wales to do so.
The initial target was to get 100 employees involved. Instead, nearly 400 employees joined. Collectively, they walked the virtual Wales Coastal Path (870 miles).
The programme is now part of CTMUHB’s long-term aim to support healthier lifestyles and advance the Population Health Agenda. And the CTMUHB teams are already planning the 2026 activity challenge.
Growing participation and enhancing inclusivity
Year-on-year engagement has surged with 1,042 employees taking part in 2025.
Staff feedback played a central role in shaping the evolving design of the challenge, with GetFitWales vouchers used to encourage employees to take part in pre- and post-challenge surveys.
After the first year, participants noted that a single route did not suit all abilities. In response, CTMUHB introduced three inclusive distance options aligned to a stepped-care approach:
Beginner: “Start my journey”
Intermediate: “Increase my activity”
Advanced: “Already active, want something new”
This change made the challenge more appealing and improved motivation across a wide range of teams and fitness levels.
Overcoming engagement barriers and supporting behaviour change
CTMUHB have introduced a range of ways to encourage both participation in the challenge and to support active lifestyles more broadly.
Active Soles
CTMUHB promote the use of comfortable footwear through Active Soles to encourage movement during the working day.
Workshops and short videos
Sharing simple strategies and tips helps to combat common barriers, such as:
- low motivation
- time pressures
- desk-based working
These measures empowered staff to prioritise self-care and embed healthy routines into everyday life.
Find out more about approaches taken to overcome barriers to exercise on the CTMUHB website.
Collaboration
Strong collaboration between teams helps deliver the activity challenge. Teams involved include:
- CTMUHB Employee Experience and Wellbeing Teams
- CTMUHB Communications and Engagement Teams
- Big Team Challenge partner team
The Big Team Challenge shared:
“We’ve been delighted to assist CTMUHB with their step challenges since 2023, providing our web and app-based challenge platform to over 2,000 participants who have collectively walked more than 17 times around the world. As a UK company, it’s great seeing our platform being used by local organisations to help improve the wellbeing of their population. The fact that another board in Wales has started running challenges with us goes to show the success of CTMUHB’s initiative.”
Find out more about the challenge on the Big Team Challenge website.
The results
The CTMUHB Activity Challenge is inclusive, holistic and sustainable. It stands as a powerful example of best practice in workplace wellbeing.
The multi-year initiative is delivering benefits that include:
- empowering employees
- strengthening teams
- influencing patient care
- supporting healthier communities
Evaluation data collected before and after the challenge showed significant, sustained improvements.
Wellbeing and behaviour change
- 91% reported improved physical wellbeing
- 90% reported better emotional wellbeing
- 87% found ways to overcome barriers such as time, motivation and workload
- 88% intend to maintain their increased activity levels, and 80% plan to increase further
Active travel and sustainability
- 47% reduced car use for local journeys
- Over three years, CTMUHB’s collaboration with BTC has resulted in the planting of 321 trees, reinforcing the initiative’s environmental impact
Team morale and patient care
The challenge strengthened team relationships, boosted workplace culture and even influenced clinical practice. For example, the CTMUHB Dietetics team now promotes physical activity during family sessions, demonstrating how staff wellbeing initiatives can extend into patient care.
A Model others are following
The programme’s success has inspired other organisations, including Digital Health Care Wales, to introduce their own activity challenge.
With 98% of participants recommending the challenge, CTMUHB has established a gold-standard example of an engaging, sustainable approach to workforce wellbeing.
Award recognition
CTMUHB’s activity challenge was shortlisted in the 2025 Self Care Forum (SCF) Self Care Awards, with a case study published on the SCF website for others can learn from. The awards celebrate outstanding initiatives that champion self-care and community wellbeing across the UK.
The judges praised the initiative for its impressive reach and impact, thoughtful behavioural design, and strong execution, highlighting how staff voices shaped a well-supported programme with ripple effects across CTMUHB.
Read the full case study on the Self Care Forum website.
Feedback from staff participants included:
“Aside from all of the positive feedback above about this year’s challenge, I want to highlight and thank the team for the longer-term positive impact this initiative is having. I personally feel that this is bringing a cumulative benefit, were month on month, year on year, I’m becoming steadily more active. The challenge has absolutely played a huge role in this. Thanks so much to the team for all of the effort and coordination that goes into it!”
“Overall, I found the challenge hugely positive in terms of increasing my own activity levels and prioritising time to get moving. I found exercise videos that I really enjoyed and wouldn’t dread doing which made it a lot more sustainable for me.”
“I have really enjoyed the challenge, and it came at a good time for me where I wanted to improve my wellbeing and physical exercise. I have noticed positive benefits, and it has led to me to begin running again.”
Hannah Williams, Assistant Director of Leadership & Culture, shared:
“The Big Team Challenge has become one of our annual employee wellbeing initiatives because it genuinely reflects what our staff have told us they need; something everyone can join and is realistic within the pressures of modern NHS working.”
Top tips for other employers thinking of developing this type of workplace intervention
Start by being clear about what you want to achieve and who the intervention is for. This helps you create messages that are focused, relevant and engaging and gives you a strong foundation to build on.
It also helps to:
- measure your impact
- be inclusive
- celebrate successes
- link the work to wider organisational goals
Having clear aims and a clear audience is what makes the rest possible.