Want to boost morale? A company fitness challenge might be just what you need. Try one on your own, or hire a vendor that specializes in wellness challenges–like IncentFit! Follow these five steps to get started:
Do Your Research
You’ll have a much better engagement rate if your wellness strategy incorporates employees’ needs and feedback. Begin by polling your employees on their activity levels and interests. Do you have mostly casual walkers or are your employees already very active in their free time? Do they prefer to workout at a gym or do things outside? Ask questions and then listen, listen, listen.
Design the Fitness Challenge Rules
What type of challenge are you running? Choose what activities will count, how long the challenge will run, and how people will win. The most popular option is a steps challenge, where individuals or teams compete to accumulate the most amount of steps or pass a certain threshold in a set period of time. But based on your office culture and your overall goals, you can create any type of wellness challenge you like!
Decide What and How To Track Progress
How will you track your employees’ progress along the way? Choose whether to manually report activities online, on excel, or on paper, or whether you will rely on technology such as a geolocation check-in or synced data from fitness trackers.
If you would like to try out challenges quickly, our free workplace fitness challenge template may be of use to you.
Otherwise, this is a good time to explore a vendor (like IncentFit!) to help manage the data, tracking, and administration.
Show Me The Money
Choose a prize your employees will love. Cash is always a winner: 86% of employers now offer financial incentives. Other ideas include fitness gear, paid time off, or an office luncheon. Some employers even give two prizes: a small one for the first people who sign up, and a more enticing prize for the top three winners.
Spread the Word
Communication is key! Make sure everyone knows about the challenge before it starts. Rally everyone around your new wellness benefit by putting up fliers, sending out email communications, or hosting a launch event prior to the challenge start date.
Have fun!
Congratulations! You just created your own fitness challenge (just make sure you avoid challenge fatigue). Now it’s time to get moving and help your employees stay motivated and active, while having fun as a team.
Now that you know the best practices for setting up a fitness challenge, you might also want to know the secret to creating an engaging fitness challenge as well!
