A Guide to Running a Corporate Step Challenge (That Employees Actually Want to Do!)
Done right, a corporate step challenge is one of the easiest, highest-engagement wellness initiatives you can launch. It boosts morale, gets remote teams talking, and forces us away from our desks. If you’re tasked with organising a corporate step challenge, here is your step-by-step guide for success and we’ve included some platforms to use.
6 Steps to Run a successful challenge
- Structure the Goals
If you build a challenge where the person with the most absolute steps wins, you will alienate 80% of your workforce on day one. Instead, use inclusive metrics:
- Average Steps per Team: A team of three can fairly compete against a department of twenty.
- Consistency over Distance: Reward people who hit a modest goal (e.g., 8,000 steps) 5 out of 7 days a week, rather than the person who walks a marathon on Sunday.
- Form Cross-Departmental Teams
Don’t let departments cluster together, mix teams up randomly or intentionally across departments. It doubles as a brilliant, cross-company networking tool.
- Keep the Duration Short
The sweet spot for a workplace challenge is 3 to 4 weeks. Anything shorter doesn’t build a habit; anything longer leads to massive engagement drop-offs.
- Broaden the Scope (Convert Activities)
Make sure your challenge allows for “activity conversion.” If an employee spends an hour cycling or doing yoga, they shouldn’t be penalised because they weren’t collecting steps on a pedometer. Top apps automatically convert time spent on other sports into an equivalent step count.
- Offer Creative Incentives
While cash or gift cards are fine, the best corporate rewards are cultural:
- An extra half-day of annual leave for the winning team or a free guided walk.
- The company matching the winning team’s step total with a cash donation to a charity of their choice.
- A fully funded team lunch or night out.
- Run some wellbeing walking days during work time
Make sure you do this safety and if required get Wellbeing Walks to run them for you. If not use trained leaders who have appropriate levels of insurance. These day walks in work time encourage open communication between colleagues and networking and reduce stress and increase morale. The productivity you lose on the day is made back quite quickly with a more engaged and heathy workforce! What about a Monday Meander instead of 8 MS teams meeting?
The Best Corporate Step Challenge Apps
To run this smoothly, you need software that connects seamlessly to everyone’s Apple Health, Google Fit, Garmin, and Fitbit devices so nobody has to log steps manually.
| Platform | Best For | Standout Feature |
| GoJoe | High Engagement & Community | UK based company – Prices start as little as £715 pounds. Gamified social feeds, celebrity-backed challenges, and inclusive tracking that feels like a social network rather than a chore. |
| Big Team Challenge | Virtual Journeys | UK based – starting at £392 – Map your team’s steps onto real-world routes (e.g., walking across Route 66 or the UK coast) with digital milestones along the way. |
| MoveSpring | Polished Analytics & UI | US based so pricing in dollars – starting at $2000 – designed for large orgs -Clean design with robust, reporting, custom badges, and interactive “team battles.” |
| YuMuuv | Budget-Friendly Setup | US based -start at £584 for 25 people. Simple, straightforward, and cost-effective for smaller businesses or teams wanting a no-frills setup. |
The Admin Golden Rule: Don’t launch your challenge on a Monday morning. Open up app registration on the preceding Wednesday. This gives your less tech-savvy team members plenty of time to troubleshoot device syncing before the competition officially clocks its first step.
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We hope this helps your planning – let us know how it goes! – The Wellbeing Walks Team
