A steps challenge that brought employees closer together

According to Deloitte, employees participating in well-being programs experience reduced risks of illnesses and injuries, lower stress levels, improved mental health, and greater engagement with their organization and community. Organizations that address the physical, mental, and emotional needs of their employees can expect higher retention rates, better employee health, and increased productivity.
– Ewelina, Challenge Coordinator

Preparations

‍Challenge coordinators – Wiktoria Podhorska-Piotrowska and Ewelina Magdziak – emphasized that a well-thought-out promotional campaign was a key element of the preparations. Various communication methods were used, such as emails, the intranet, and informational meetings, to reach all employees and encourage them to participate.The primary promotional channel was Slack, the main internal communication tool at GetResponse. However, digital tools alone aren’t enough

Posters were put up around the office to encourage participation, and active promotion during daily conversations with colleagues resulted in over 100 people joining the challenge!By announcing the event early, employees had time to ask technical questions, if needed. The concept of a warm-up period, where participants could log into the app before the official start of the challenge, helped them familiarize themselves with the platform. This period proved to be a valuable part of the program, creating positive anticipation and fostering a spirit of competition.

Thanks to diverse and loud promotion before the event even started, employees were informed in advance about the opportunities offered by the Activy app and were effectively encouraged to join the fun.

Challenge Goal

The three-month challenge focused on the simplest form of movement—steps. Surprisingly, tracking such a basic activity sparked a wave of positive emotions. Participants competed both individually and in teams, further motivating them to maintain regular activity.

This initiative, part of the company's employee well-being education strategy, is one of many actions taken by the organization. The challenge had several goals: fostering team integration, supporting employee well-being, and uniting the team around a shared initiative—in this case, a charitable cause. All these goals were achieved 100%!
– Wiktoria, Challenge Coordinator

The challenge brought together a diverse group of people who, regardless of fitness levels or motivation types, united around a common goal—better health and supporting a charitable organization. And, of course, the spirit of sportsmanship wasn’t lacking!

During the first weeks, step counting and tracking became the hot topic among employees. It accompanied coffee breaks and lunch conversations, leading to some truly funny anecdotes. At times, we’d pass colleagues in the office to the sound of “steps, steps,” accompanied by a nod instead of the usual “hi” 😁.

Results

Thanks to the unwavering support of our Activy coordinator (thank you, Natalia!), along with her swift responsiveness and professionalism, being a challenge coordinator was a true pleasure. Keeping the team updated on our shared progress and current results was incredibly satisfying and helped us maintain excitement around the challenge.
– Ewelina, Challenge Coordinator

The challenge was a huge success and an amazing adventure! The level of engagement, mutual motivation, and healthy competition greatly contributed to building stronger bonds within the team.

Both the coordinators and participants are particularly proud of achieving 100% of the charitable goal—or rather, two goals!

One goal was raising support for the Dom na Skraju Association, whose mission is to help children from families in crisis. The other was collecting cans of pet food for animals at the Sopotkowo animal shelter.

Impressive Results

The results achieved by challenge participants are truly remarkable, including an incredible total of 52.5 million steps! However, special recognition goes to the overall winner, who reached an impressive 2,104,007 steps through extraordinary dedication.

On the first day, the winner walked to the office—a journey that took over two hours one way. When we saw their score around 9 a.m. on the first day, we initially assumed it was a technical error. By the end of the challenge, the rest of the team suggested starting a fundraiser for new shoes for the winner—surely, they must have worn out a few pairs! 😄

The GetResponse Steps Challenge demonstrated that even counting steps can be a lot of fun and bring numerous benefits!

Thanks to employee engagement and well-thought-out organization, the challenge achieved excellent results, both in terms of health and social impact.

Not only did the challenge inspire physical activity, but it also fostered team integration and strengthened positive workplace relationships.