World records are not easy things to make or break and yet, in the past month, they’ve been unavoidable. Ellen DeGeneres used her gig as host of the Academy Awards to take the most retweeted photo of all time. Her uber-selfie with a handful of Hollywood’s A-list has been retweeted 3.1m times, as of the time of writing. Last month, Guinness World Records, the standard-bearers in record-making feats, sponsored an award category at the Festival of Media for ‘Record-breaking brand.’

Employee engagement agency Involve has just become involved in its own record-breaking attempt. Client director James Prior is attempting to row across the Atlantic in time to beat the 32-day world record while raising money for Crohn’s and colitis research. 
The team back at Involve will carry out a values-led programme at home to reflect Prior’s journey.

Businesses often pursue CSR activities, charity fundraising or partnerships based on personal connection to a cause. In these cases, employee engagement plays an important role in the project. That involvement tends to benefit both the IC efforts of the company and the results achieved by a CSR programme. In Involve’s case, Prior’s son is afflicted with Crohn’s disease.

MD Jeremy Starling says, “[Prior] has almost no experience of rowing but that’s not stopped him taking on this challenge. We’ve always spoken to companies about leading by example and this is the perfect way for us to pull together as a team and re-ignite our passion and our values. James is great example of the power of living your values and we hope he’ll inspire others with this challenge.”

 The crew is supported by Aberdeen Asset Management, which had previously attempted to break the record in 2012.