It’s one thing to plan and launch a company-wide fitness and/or well-being challenge, it’s another thing completely to have it be a success. Launching a challenge is great for boosting morale, encouraging healthier habits, and building a sense of community within the workplace. However, a well-executed challenge requires thoughtful, consistent effort to keep participants motivated and connected throughout.

For some organizations, this can feel daunting. To help you run a smooth, successful challenge, we’ve compiled seven proven strategies for keeping engagement high and making your company’s fitness challenge a memorable experience.

1. Use Sub-Challenges to Sustain Interest

Year-long, or even month-long, challenges can be overwhelming. You might notice that after the first few days or weeks, participation starts to drop. Breaking the challenge down into smaller sub-challenges is a great way to help keep participants on track. Setting mini goals creates milestones along the journey, giving people multiple opportunities to feel accomplished.

Example Sub-Challenges

• Selfie challenge: Invite participants to post a selfie while engaging in an activity, whether it’s with scenic views from a hike or a group photo after a lunch stroll with colleagues.
• Fitness Challenge: Challenge participants to do daily planks, jumping jacks, yoga, or another activity for five consecutive days. Check out our Ready-to-Go Challenge catalog for inspiration.
• Final Stretch Challenge: Introduce a short-term sub-challenge during the last day, weekend, or week of the main challenge. Participants can focus on a specific sub-goal, with recognition or rewards for top performers.
• Daily goal: Create a daily step goal for participants to reach OR encourage participants to set a personal goal for each day of the challenge.

2. Encourage Feed Interactions for a Social Boost

An active social feed is crucial for maintaining momentum in a fitness challenge, especially one that spans more than a few weeks. Encourage participants to post about their movement, (new) habits, or progress. This provides employees with the opportunity to support each other and celebrate milestones, contributing to a greater sense of comradery.

A great option for boosting interaction is including a weekly photo challenge. This not only encourages participants to stay engaged with the challenge, but it also gives them a chance to be creative. Consider adding an element to your challenge where participants can claim badges for every different photo they post, based on a list of themes/suggestions.

Photo suggestions:

• What are you stepping in? Share a photo of your fitness shoes!
• Post a photo of an animal you saw on your walk/run!
• Share a photo of a park in your area that you walked around!
• Share a photo of something you saw while walking that is unique to your neighborhood
• Share a photo of a unique house or apartment building in your neighborhood
• Share a photo of or a selfie during the sunset
• Share a photo of the dawn / Share an early bird activity selfie (before 8am)
• Who’s your furry friend? Share a photo of a dog you came across on a walk/run/bike ride, or take a selfie with your pet while on a walk or doing a home training session
• Steps are for the birds! Share a photo of a bird that crossed your path.
• Post a selfie of you doing an activity outside!
• What are you looking at? Post a photo of (or with!) a mural or sculpture in your area.
• Share a photo of a bench in your neighborhood.

3. Add Relevant and Engaging Content

A great way to keep things fresh is by sharing relevant content in the app throughout the challenge. Resources like articles, videos, and infographics on topics such as fitness, nutrition, mental health, and are great motivators. You could even poll participants to see what content resonates with them, whether it’s tips for quick desk stretches or healthy snack ideas. Adding content your participants can get value out of makes the challenge a holistic wellness experience rather than simply a fitness challenge.

4. Respond to Feed Posts with Positive Encouragement

A supportive environment makes all the difference. Simple, positive interactions with participants’ posts can go a long way in encouraging them to keep going. Encourage participants to engage with each other’s posts with likes, comments.

If you’re able, you might consider assigning a wellness ambassador or champion who can regularly interact with posts to help maintain a high-energy, supportive atmosphere.

5. Organize Company Events Aligned with the Challenge

Social events that tie into your challenge are great opportunities to bring participants together and break up the routine. Consider organizing virtual or in-office events, like a yoga class, wellness webinar, or even a community walk. Events like these create a tangible sense of connection and keep participants feeling part of a team.

After the event, you could even share photos, quotes, or fun anecdotes in the challenge feed to help participants feel connected, even if they didn’t attend the event.

6. Leverage Push Notifications and Consistent Communication

Multichannel communication—using email, Slack, or your company newsletter—keeps everyone informed, no matter their preferred platform. This is especially good for organizations who prefer participants to use the webapp only for privacy purposes.

It’s also a good idea to involve management in communications. When leaders mention the challenge in team meetings or include it in monthly updates, it emphasizes the importance of the challenge for the organization as a whole and can encourage deeper engagement.

Sometimes a gentle reminder is all it takes to get people back in the game. Consider scheduling push notifications in our app (or a message on Slack or Teams) to remind participants of important challenge milestones, like upcoming sub-challenges or event sign-ups. These reminders can help to reinforce motivated participants and encourage those who may have fallen off track.

7. Focus on Execution Beyond the Launch

Take advantage of your challenge to build momentum for future events. Use the challenge as a platform to share updates, gauge participant interest, and promote upcoming opportunities. Even if you don’t have a specific event scheduled, mentioning future plans can spark excitement and keep participants engaged.

Equally important, track engagement with analytics to monitor participation and adjust your approach as needed. Consider gathering feedback mid-challenge to understand what’s working and what needs improving. And after the challenge ends, use thoughtful feedback surveys to measure participant satisfaction and gather insights specific to the challenge. With a focus on continuous improvement, each challenge will become more effective, impactful, and enjoyable for participants.

Bottom Line

Building and maintaining engagement in a company fitness challenge requires a combination of structure, creativity, and consistency. From sub-challenges and social feed interactions to well-timed push notifications, each of these strategies plays a part in keeping the challenge exciting and inclusive.

If you’re ready to execute an engaging, successful fitness and/or well-being challenge, contact us today for a demo.