How to run a company step challenge people actually join.

1. Put the whole challenge in one short brief.

Choose one owner who can answer setup questions and make the final call on the event schedule. Then fill in these details:

• Purpose: a shared activity for a remote team, a new-starter icebreaker or a friendly office rivalry.
• Audience: expected volunteers, locations, phones and any wearable needs.
• Dates: the invitation deadline, race window and celebration.
• Format: one group or teams, with scoring you have checked in the app.
• Budget: platform, optional rewards and organizer time.

“A two-week race for 50 volunteers across five teams, with one organizer and a Friday celebration” is enough to start a useful conversation. Our cost guide and calculator help you put a budget beside it. If you have not chosen the software, compare the app workflows before writing the rules.

2. Give people time to join before day one.

Here is a suggested schedule for a two-week challenge. The race can run across 14 calendar days, while most organizer communication happens on working days. Confirm whether weekends count and use the exact dates and times shown in your app.

If you are buying a monthly plan for one event, make sure preparation and the race fit inside your paid period. A two-week challenge does not mean every subscription automatically stops after two weeks.

3. Make the competition easy to understand.

Choose teams people can recognize.

Departments and offices make natural teams, but very different team sizes can make total-step standings feel uneven. For your first race, consider similarly sized mixed teams. Check the product’s actual scoring before promising averages, handicaps or a most-improved award. Those are different competition formats, not labels an organizer can safely interchange.

StepRacers paid company plans support up to 10 teams. Use the pilot to check how your chosen race displays team progress. Keep the published rules aligned with that experience.

Let people choose how to take part.

Make participation voluntary. Avoid a universal daily target, and give people a private way to ask questions or opt out. If someone does not want to share steps or cannot participate in a step-based event, offer a social role or a separate activity that your team can genuinely support. Do not promise that alternative activities will count as steps unless your chosen app supports that format.

Set expectations about visibility and syncing.

Tell participants who can see their name, steps and standing, based on what you verified in the pilot. Link the product’s privacy information. Explain where to report missing steps, when results will be celebrated, and how you will handle a reported issue. Keep those organizer arrangements separate from the app’s own data and sync rules.

4. Rehearse the employee experience.

Choose a handful of volunteers across iOS and Android. Include someone unfamiliar with the app and a wearable user if relevant. Ask each person to follow the invitation without extra explanation, join the race and check their steps.

For StepRacers, a free race with up to 10 people lets you test the participant experience before a paid rollout. Paid company setup adds the organizer dashboard, roster tools and team-race features described in the plan.

1. Check that the app links open on the devices your team uses.
2. Confirm required permissions and follow the step-sync setup guide.
3. Use the joining instructions and verify that everyone reaches the intended race.
4. Check how progress appears after normal daily activity.
5. Write down the questions people ask and answer them in the full invitation.

A pilot is successful when you know where people might get stuck. Fixing that explanation before 50 invitations go out is time well spent.

5. Send an invitation people can act on.

The best invitation is specific: a reason to join, dates, a direct app link, the race code and one help contact. Keep longer rules in a linked note so the invitation itself stays readable.

Subject: Join our company step challenge — [START DATE] to [END DATE]

We’re getting [TEAM / COMPANY] together for a friendly step challenge. Participation is optional, and you can take part wherever you work.

1. Download StepRacers: https://www.stepracers.com/step-challenge-app
2. Follow the setup steps and allow the required step permissions.
3. Join with race code [CODE]. Your team is [TEAM NAME]; follow [ORGANIZER]’s instructions for the team setup.

Please join by [JOIN DATE] so we can help with setup before the race starts. Open the app and check that your steps appear. Syncing help: https://www.stepracers.com/sync-steps

Our challenge runs from [START] to [FINISH]. We’ll share updates in [CHANNEL] and celebrate on [DATE]. See the agreed rules here: [RULES LINK].

Take part in a way that works for you. For setup help, questions about what the group can see, or another way to join the team activities, contact [ORGANIZER].

CHALLENGE: [NAME]
ORGANIZER: [NAME / CONTACT]
JOIN BY: [DATE]
RACE START / FINISH: [DATES AND TIMES AS SHOWN IN THE APP]
TEAMS: [TEAM NAMES / ASSIGNMENTS]

Participation is voluntary. No one is expected to meet a universal daily step target or change their activity to win.

Scoring: [DESCRIBE THE SELECTED APP’S ACTUAL SCORING]. Check this against the app before sending. Keep teams similarly sized if totals determine the result. Do not promise scoring the app does not support.

Before day one, confirm that your steps sync. During the challenge, open the app regularly and check your progress. If steps appear missing, contact [ORGANIZER] by [SUPPORT DEADLINE] so we can check the issue before celebrating the final standings. That deadline is for organizer support; it does not change the app’s sync rules.

Visibility: [EXPLAIN WHO CAN SEE PARTICIPANT NAMES, STEPS AND STANDINGS, BASED ON YOUR TEST]. Read the app’s privacy information before joining. Ask [CONTACT] if you have questions.

Recognition: [DESCRIBE TEAM RECOGNITION / OPTIONAL PRIZES]. Invitations, reminders and shout-outs should stay friendly. Do not pressure colleagues to share activity or compete.

Alternative participation: [DESCRIBE AN OPTIONAL SOCIAL ROLE OR SEPARATE ACTIVITY YOU CAN ACTUALLY OFFER]. Do not present alternative activities as app-scored steps unless the product supports that format.

Results and celebration: [WHERE / WHEN]. We will review any reported sync issues before announcing final results.

We’re halfway through [CHALLENGE NAME]. Thanks to everyone taking part!

Open StepRacers today to check your steps and see how your team is doing. If something looks off, use https://www.stepracers.com/sync-steps or message [ORGANIZER].

This week’s invitation: [OPTIONAL TEAM WALK / SOCIAL ACTIVITY]. Join if it works for you. We’ll share the final standings after [FINISH DATE].

That’s the finish line for [CHALLENGE NAME]!

Thank you to everyone who joined, encouraged a colleague or helped with the setup. [ADD VERIFIED TEAM RESULTS OR RECOGNITION.]

You can find the standings at [RESULTS LOCATION]. We’ll celebrate together on [DATE / CHANNEL].

Before we plan another race, tell us: Was joining straightforward? Did the team format work for you? Would you join again? What should we change?

Thanks for making this a team effort.
[ORGANIZER]

6. Give people a reason to check back.

Choose a predictable rhythm: a start message, a midpoint update and a finish reminder. Add a spontaneous shout-out when there is something worth celebrating. Avoid turning the channel into a daily list of who is behind.

Invite an optional lunchtime walk, pair remote coworkers for a walking catch-up if it suits them, or let teams share a photo from their day. These are organizer-led social ideas, not extra app features. Keep the competition friendly and let people skip activities without explanation.

When progress looks wrong, start with setup and syncing. Ask the participant to use the help guide or contact the organizer privately. Public accusations over step counts are a poor way to build a team.

7. Finish the event as deliberately as you started it.

Give the group a clear finish-line message, check reported issues before announcing results, and thank everyone who helped. Recognize team effort as well as the winning position.

For the next decision, record a few simple measures you can actually verify: people invited, people who joined, participants with recorded activity near the finish, setup questions and feedback. If you publish a participation rate, define the denominator. “40 of 50 invited employees joined” is clearer than an unexplained engagement percentage.

Ask three questions: Was joining straightforward? Did the format work for you? Would you join again? Use the answers to decide whether to repeat, shorten or change the race. Avoid claiming a health or productivity improvement from a leaderboard alone.

Finally, review billing. If it was a one-off StepRacers event, cancel renewal from the dashboard before the next billing date. If another race is planned, check the roster and paid period first.

Questions organizers ask before launch