Workplace Sports Challenges

Frequently asked questions

• How can a company start a Sports Challenge?

  

  Initiating a sport challenge with us is a straightforward process. All you need to do is complete the contact form on our website: https://activy.app/en-us/demo. We will call you to arrange a brief meeting. You will share the vision of your project, and we will provide comprehensive guidance on how to effectively conduct it using Activy program. If we have the approval to start the challenge, we arrange one more meeting to work out the details. On this basis, we configure the system and prepare the materials.

• What is the typical timeline for a Sports Challenge?

  

  From the moment of decision to collaborate, we allocate a timeframe of 3-4 weeks before the commencement of the Sports Challenge. This duration has been chosen to ensure optimal convenience for both parties involved, while also allowing to undertake complex promotional activities within your company. A detailed project schedule is provided at the outset of our collaboration, outlining the precise sequence of operations. It's important to note that Sports Challenges are organized throughout the entire year, irrespective of seasonal variations, encompassing both summer and winter periods. The programs are usually carried out from March to November, although there are no obstacles for a challenge to last a whole year. We have instances where challenges serve as a continuous company benefit, operating permanent.

• What is the recommended duration for Sports Challenge?

  

  We recommend an optimal challenge duration of 3 months or longer. This timeframe ensures the inclusion of all employees, accommodating various factors such as vacation plans or potential sick leaves. Such an extended period maximizes promotional efficacy and facilitates greater employee participation. Within this span of 3 months or more, there is a realistic opportunity to cultivate enduring healthy habits. Moreover, this prolonged duration presents economic advantages as well, as a longer challenge timeframe translates into an optimal cost, negating activation fee associated with challenge preparation ;) It is a great idea to run two editions with a longer break, e.g. a spring edition and an autumn edition.

• How do we help promote the challenge within the company?

  

  As an integral part of our collaboration, the company receives: a dedicated program website containing comprehensive details about the challenge (example: https://demo.activy.app/), digital promotial mateirals: posters, graphics in the Activy template to internal communication channels, and draft text proposals (email, SMS, intranet). Additionally, we extend our assistance by offering inspiration drawn from successful activities undertaken by other companies in your industry. This includes aiding in their execution. For instance, we can design mailings targeting individuals who haven't yet register their first activity, assist in hosting thematic webinars, Q&A sessions centered around the challenge, or aid in the selection of action "ambassadors" – individuals who actively promote the initiative within the company.

• How do we assist in facilitating the challenge?

  

  As part of our standard collaboration during the challenge duration, the company receives: email-based technical support, fair-play activity validation and publication of educational announcements, motivational and health-related trivia through the app's communication channels. Furthermore, the platform provides the coordinator with detailed statistics, reports, and participants' activity records. At the end of each stage, we help with the official summary. This includes the preparation of graphics, review of all employee reports, ensuring that appropriate responses are provided and that any potentially suspicious activities are duly investigated and addressed.

• How to estimate the number of participating employees?

  

  For a "typical company," we recommend considering approximately 25-30% of the workforce as potential participants. In cases where the company has previously engaged in sports activities, you can base your estimation on the popularity of past events. We can offer insights based on data from comparable companies within the industry or organizations with a similar employee count. This approach can provide valuable benchmarks for estimating participation rates.

• Can I try out the application? Is it accessible to the general public?

  

  The Activy app is available for download on both Apple and Google stores. In order for you to explore the app's features firsthand, you can join a demo version of the sport challenge. To access it, complete the contact form on our website, and we will provide you with the necessary access details.

• In what languages is the Activy app available?

  

  The Activy app is currently accessible in six distinct languages: English, German, French, Czech, Ukrainian, and Polish. For international initiatives, we primarily utilize English as the primary language for all our materials. In select instances involving larger programs, there is also the possibility of including additional languages (for an additional fee).

• How can CSR goals be fulfilled through the app?

  

  While the charitable aspect is optional, we highly recommend companies to explore this feature. People's motivations vary – some are incentivized by earning points, others are drawn by rewards, and there are those who find inspiration in contributing to charitable causes. By accommodating this spectrum of motivations, you can effectively engage a broad and varied audience, as well as achieving multiple goals within a single company project. The charity initiative entails the company allocating a designated budget to support a chosen charitable organization. This budget is then earned by participants through accrued points or achieved distances. Collaboratively, we determine a conversion rate, such as €2 for every 10 km or €2 for every 100 points. The choice of charity or foundation is either made by the company or its employees.

• How does the application mitigate potential risks of cheating?

  

  During the first week of the challenge, we place significant emphasis on educating participants to foster a culture of fair play and deter any inclination toward cheating. Consequently, the issue of fraudulent activities remains minimal. Drawing from five years of experience encompassing numerous Sports Challenges, we've devised mechanisms to ensure a level playing field. Within the Activy app, we've implemented advanced algorithms that autonomously detect suspicious routes recorded via GPS. In the event of irregularities being identified, participants receive an alert and are granted a "second chance" opportunity. Elaborated details about this process can be found in our FAQ section HERE. For activities in the exercise category, fraud prevention centers around photographic evidence. We scrutinize metadata, verifying the alignment of the photo's capture time with the reported activity time. Furthermore, we assess whether the images substantiate the completion of the designated exercise and if the activity has been accurately assigned to the relevant category. Moreover, to further discourage artificial and excessive scoring, each activity category is equipped with a daily points limit, thereby ensuring a balanced and authentic engagement.

• How can employees be integrated through the challenge?

  

  The challenge encompasses various elements designed to foster social bonds among participants. The community board serves as a centralized hub, showcasing the activities of all participants. Here, interactions are facilitated through comments and commendations for accomplishments, photos, and routes posted by others. This interactive space cultivates a sense of comradeship and shared endeavor among participants. Moreover, we place significant emphasis on team competitions, which offer two distinct approaches. The first involves predefined teams, with employees affiliating based on shared attributes such as department ("Marketing," "IT," "Sales") or location ("London," "Lisbon," "Berlin"). Alternatively, participants can independently form teams, encouraging imaginative alliances such as "Cat Lovers" versus "Dog Enthusiasts."

• We have employees who are already dedicated users of their preferred sports apps. How can we effectively engage them?

  

  Through seamless integration with popular sports apps like Strava, Garmin, and Polar, all their activities can sync with Activy. Additionally, for step tracking, integration with Google Fit and Apple Health is in place. This means there's no need to juggle between two apps – participants can conveniently import their routes from external apps into Activy after synchronization. This streamlined approach simplifies their engagement while maximizing their experience.

• How does the scoring system operate within the game? Why are both triathletes and recreational cyclists placed on a similar footing?

  

  Our primary mission is to provide support to individuals who are taking first steps on their fitness journey. While seasoned athletes will undoubtedly participate, the impact on their existing healthy habits might be comparatively less significant to those who are just starting out. To ensure fairness and encourage broader participation, the active challenge uses a gamification mechanism. The underlying principles of the challenge revolve around acknowledging the mere act of engaging in health-promoting activities. The queen of motivation is called a streak- a bonus granted for consecutive active days. Furthermore, supplementary bonuses can be utilized, such as recognizing active commuting or achieving a designated daily step count. A comprehensive understanding of the rules of the game's mechanics will be provided during our first meeting.

• How is user privacy protected?

  

  User privacy is of paramount importance to us. Firstly, we are fully compliant with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In collaboration with international legal experts, we have meticulously crafted a privacy policy and service terms that adhere to the highest industry standards. Moreover, we've designed our platform with privacy in mind. The company is not required to share a roster of employees and their data with us. Each employee independently accesses the app using their own personal email address (e.g., private email) and joins the company's competition using a password provided through promotional materials. Participants' specific activity details remain confidential and are not disclosed to other individuals in the challenge. We solely aggregate overall data such as points, activity levels, calories burned, distance traveled, or CO2 emissions saved. Furthermore, participant names are not obligatory; individuals can opt to use a chosen nickname for added privacy.

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