Elite athletes are required by their funding contracts to dedicate their time to their sport, and this has proven to be hugely successful in terms of medal return.

However these athletes cannot spend their whole time training which means that there is often a lot of downtime for them. Some of these athletes are encouraged to take up a part-time job or enrol in a course, which is not only beneficial from a psychological point of view, but can also provide them with a foundation for their life post-sport.

Sadly, many athletes are not given the opportunity or aren’t aware that it is a possibility. 

Look at the figures: There are1,500 National Lottery funded athletes; the size of Team GB for the Beijing Olympics was 313; and the number of Beijing Olympic medals won was 47.

Some of the Beijing athletes have continued in sport full-time, some have been taken off funding and some have retired. 

Realistically that means only a few can "cash-in" on Olympic success, and even the medallists are finding this tougher as there are so many more of them!  So where does that leave the rest of them at the end of their sports career? They are left to start their professional careers from the beginning, in some cases over the age of 30. Getting a job during your sports career is a no-brainer for an athlete as far as I’m concerned. 

So why should employers look to bring athletes into their workforce? I’m certainly not suggesting they do so purely for altruistic motives. Why should a bank, a consultancy firm or a small business employ an athlete over and above anyone else especially when it means that employer knows that sport has to come first for those athletes?

Well, I believe strongly that there are four very good reasons, all of which drive revenue, potentially raise profits and ultimately make the working environment a much more interesting place.

Firstly, athletes are performance driven; goal setting is in their make up and what employer doesn’t want driven employees? The performance plans given to the athletes creates a mindset of high motivation; failure drives them to work harder to "win". Not only is this good for the individual but in my experience highly driven people motivate the people around them.

Secondly, an employer who is willing to be flexible enough to allow an athlete-employee to train and compete as and when necessary will create an environment of loyalty. Athletes tend to be pretty loyal anyway. They prove this in their dedication to their sport but this often spreads down to loyalty to their coaches and clubs. This loyalty can also manifest itself in the ability to operate in a team. 

I have seen first hand how a group of athletes all trained separately prior to being funded and there was only competition between them. Now that they are funded they have to train together and that has created a tremendous bond between them which has meant that in that particular sport the bar has risen dramatically as they all work as a unit to get better. Best of all the competition is still there. I’m sure there are many cases of this being replicated in other sports.

Another benefit for the employer is the fact that athletes have the ability to diversify and adapt to ever changing circumstances. The impact of Lottery funding ensured that all sports took a good look at themselves and were urged to be the best. They still are. This meant a lot of change in a short amount of time and has had a huge effect on the athletes themselves. 

Admittedly some athletes who were deemed to old or not good enough were left by the wayside but those still involved may have had to move hundreds of miles to be part of the set-up. 

Some talented youngsters were fast-tracked by their sports which must have been very disturbing to what they considered normal.  But, just look at the results. This year has generated some incredible performance across a vast number of sports. The successes we saw in Beijing have been replicated by those sports this year but we also have seen major advances in other sports. This ability to adapt and still stay on top or continue striving for the top in my opinion is a major attribute that any employer would look to have in their work force.

Finally, there is a natural benefit for a company to be associated with a successful athlete. As I stated earlier only a few will get medals in 2012; that’s the nature of competition. However by employing an athlete, a company may well contribute to breaking down the financial stresses of competing at international level and that in itself could push them over the line and put them on the podium.

Also we cannot ignore the ever-more complicated sports marketing world. Staying ahead of the competition and ensuring that your company has a sports marketing solution that works for you and is protected is very difficult. A mix of employment and sponsorship for athletes competing in Olympic and Paralympic sport is a concept that has not been fully embraced yet in this country. 

I believe it is the future.

Karim Bashir is a former British international fencer who is the founder and managing director of Catch Sport, an online sponsorship brokering service which is free to use for athletes from all sports. For more details click here.