An office step challenge app that does not need a spreadsheet

The problem with the usual workplace step challenge

Most office step challenges run on a shared spreadsheet or a weekly email. Participation is high on Monday and gone by the second Friday, because the format rewards the two colleagues who already walk 15,000 steps a day and gives everyone else nothing to play for. The person running it spends their lunch breaks chasing numbers.

A survival format changes the incentives. Nobody is competing against the office marathoner's total; everyone is competing against today's bar. The early days are easy enough that the whole floor stays in, and the slow climb means the ending is genuinely uncertain.

How to run it for an office

Pick a commissioner. They create the league in Stepr, set the starting goal and increment (2,000 steps and +250 a day by default; a desk-heavy team may prefer 1,500 and +200), and choose a start date a few days out. Post the six-character code in the team channel.

Decide the format. Solo is simplest. Team lobbies split the office into groups whose daily goal is the league goal multiplied by the team size, and a team is eliminated together, which turns it into a reason to walk to lunch with your group. Duo works well for pairing new starters with veterans.

Set expectations once: steps must come from a phone or watch, nothing is typed, the app warns you at 9 pm if you are short, and the day rolls over in the league's time zone.

• Up to 100 players per league
• Team lobbies for departments or floors
• Live standings page anyone with the code can open, no account needed to watch
• No cash pots and no personal data shared beyond a display name, today's steps and device type

What it costs a company

Employees pay nothing to join. League Pro is $18.99 once for the whole league with up to 100 players, duo and team lobbies, a few free passes per player and a season recap, which is under a dollar a head for an office of twenty. If HR runs challenges every quarter, Host Pro at $49.99 a year covers unlimited leagues. During launch, hosting is free.

Choosing a corporate step challenge app

Most teams looking for a company step challenge app are choosing between three things: a corporate wellness platform, a general fitness app with a challenges tab, and a spreadsheet. Platforms are thorough and priced per employee per month, which is hard to justify for one challenge a year. Fitness apps rank by total steps, which is the format that empties out by week two. Spreadsheets are free and become somebody's second job.

The questions worth asking of any of them: can steps be typed in by hand, is it free for the employees themselves, can someone watch the standings without an account, does it settle each day on its own, and what exactly does the employer get to see. A team step challenge app that fails the first question will produce an argument, and one that fails the fourth will produce a chore.

• Free for every employee to join, so nobody expenses anything
• Steps read from the phone, never entered by hand
• Days settle automatically at midnight in one shared time zone
• A live standings page anyone with the code can open, no account needed
• Solo, duo and team lobbies, up to 100 people in a league

Privacy for employees

Colleagues see a display name, whether you are still in, today's steps, your total and which kind of device recorded the steps. Nobody sees your email, your location, or raw health data, which never leaves the phone. Leagues are invite-only.

Questions people ask

Keep reading

• How to do a step challenge at work, start to finish
• Twelve step challenge ideas for work, and who each one suits
• 120 funny step challenge team names, grouped by the tone you want
• A free step challenge tracker template, and when to stop using one
• A team walking challenge app where the team survives together
• All guides