Virtual Walkathon: The complete guide to a great corporate event
A virtual walkathon is a creative and engaging way organisations can promote wellness and team spirit among employees, even when they’re working remotely. It offers companies a unique and effective approach to bringing staff members together while supporting their physical and mental wellbeing.
By allowing staff members to participate from anywhere, this event encourages physical activity, promotes connection, and supports everyone’s health goals. Additionally, it allows organisations to combine their CSR efforts with staff wellness.
Whether the goal is to improve your team’s morale or support the community, a virtual walkathon is a great way to engage your workforce in a more meaningful and productive experience.
What is a virtual walkathon?
A virtual walkathon has more flexibility compared to regular walkathons. It allows participants to join from wherever they are. Also, unlike marathons, which focus on running long distances, a walkathon or step challenge emphasises walking at a steady pace over shorter distances.
It’s not about competing with others but encouraging everyone to get moving. A virtual walkathon can also serve different purposes, some of which include:
Corporate wellness program
Adding a walking event to a corporate wellness program is a simple but effective way to promote health and wellness in your organisation. It encourages your employees to stay active and reduce stress while helping the teams build stronger connections.
This type of challenge motivates staff to track their daily activity, creating a fun way to stay active and engaged. Supporting your employees’ physical and mental wellbeing can benefit both you and them: your teams can improve their physical wellbeing, which enables them to work more productively and have better morale.
Event for charity
You can host a virtual walkathon for charity and collect donations based on the distance walked. This contributes to your corporate social responsibility and also gives employees the chance to be part of something meaningful beyond their daily tasks. It’s definitely a win-win situation for your teams and the cause being supported.
How does it work?
The logistics of setting up a walkathon challenge are pretty straightforward. Participants sign up through a designated platform and track their steps or distance covered using apps or pedometers.
The event runs for a set duration, whether it’s a few days or weeks, to allow for flexibility for participants. Some platforms enable real-time updates and friendly competition between teams, which further improves motivation.
How physical exercise has changed since COVID-19
The way we approach physical exercise and overall wellness significantly changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. A time when the traditional workouts that once took place outdoors or at the gym moved into our homes.
More people took part in online workout classes and virtual sports events. This allowed people to feel more encouraged to work out without location constraints. Virtual fitness events provided a community that allowed people to connect and work out without breaking safety guidelines.
As people across the world adapted to these necessary changes, fitness apps and wearable devices became popular. To keep fit, people started tracking their steps and heart rates and even joined virtual classes, including Pilates, yoga, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
In workplaces, the digital transformation continued, with many companies signing up for virtual wellness programs.
Overall, the pandemic changed our relationship with fitness and highlighted the importance of adaptability and community in maintaining our physical and mental health.
Ready to organise a Virtual Walkathon?
The benefits of hosting a virtual walkathon in your workplace
So, why should you organise a virtual step challenge in your company? You and your employees can benefit from hosting a virtual walkathon. Your team will be healthier, happier, and able to work more productively.
Below are some benefits for both employees and employers:
Benefits for employees
- Improved physical health: As research has shown, physical activity and exercise can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 90%, cardiovascular disease by 80%, and cancer by 33%. Therefore, organising regular walking events for your team can help improve their wellbeing, including their cardiovascular health.
- Mental clarity and stress relief: Organisations are more conscious about improving the mental health of their employees by finding activities that can help. Studies have shown that physical activity, like walking, can have a positive effect on mental health. It increases the functioning of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis reduces cortisol levels and restores leptin and ghrelin balance.
- Flexibility and convenience: These are two of the main advantages of virtual walkathons. Participating employees can walk wherever they are, making it convenient and easier to fit the routine into their daily schedule. They can decide on their walking times for a more personalised experience.
- Motivation for a healthy lifestyle: You can also encourage your employees to embrace healthier habits with a virtual walkathon. Even if they’re not motivated initially, as they see their colleagues participate and talk about the event, they’ll get motivated to join and this can lead to long-lasting lifestyle changes.
- Increased productivity: Studies suggest that regular exercise can improve productivity. Some surveys even showed that employees who participate in regular exercise are more productive compared to those who do not. By participating in a virtual walkathon, employees experience increased energy levels and focus, ultimately benefiting their work performance.
- Community and team spirit: Another benefit of virtual walkathons is the promotion of a sense of belonging and community among colleagues. Participants can create groups, share their exercise progress, and cheer each other on, building stronger relationships and better collaboration.
- Better work-life balance: Walkathon events can encourage your employees to take up walking as a daily habit. It’s a great way for the teams to take a break from work and come back feeling refreshed. This can help them to build a healthier work-life routine. Additionally, encouraging them to join a physical activity organised by your company shows them that you value their wellbeing.
Benefits for employers
- Cost-effective wellness program: Virtual walkathons are more budget-friendly compared to other team-building events. You don’t have to worry about all the stress that comes with in-person events, like venue rental, catering, and other logistics. Companies can allocate resources to other wellness initiatives, maximising their impact.
- Increased employee engagement: Events like walkathons generally promote high-level employee engagement, and when staff members feel their company cares about their health, they are more likely to be invested in their work. Companies that engage their employees notice a 21% increase in their productivity. So, hosting a virtual walkathon may contribute to the overall success of your organisation.
- Fewer sick leaves: Organising an event that prioritises your teams’ health will lead to improved health. This can lead to employees taking fewer sick leaves, which ultimately means lower healthcare costs for your organisation.
- Positive public image: Organising community-driven events can enhance your company’s public image. In other words, when you combine a virtual walkathon with a charitable cause, your company fulfils its corporate social responsibility and showcases its commitment to staff members’ wellbeing. This positive image can attract potential talent and customers, ultimately benefiting the business.
- Data-driven insights: It’s easy to gather valuable data on your employees’ health trends from digital platforms where you host your virtual walkathons. You can analyse this data to gain sights into your teams’ engagement, track their progress over time, and identify areas requiring improvement in their wellness programs. With this information, you can develop effective plans to support your staff members’ health in the long term.
- Safe and sustainable option: With current health concerns, online events offer a safer alternative to in-person gatherings. By removing the need for a large gathering, your company can protect its employees while still maintaining a sense of community.
- Reduced workplace stress: Promoting physical activity is one of the great ways a company can help minimise stress in the workplace. Studies have shown a strong link between regular exercise and lower levels of anxiety and depression, which can lead to a more balanced work environment.
3 Digital platforms to host a great walkathon
Here are three digital platforms that you can consider using to host a successful walkathon for your staff.
1. Teamupp
Teamupp stands out as a highly effective platform designed specifically for corporate wellness events, like virtual walkathons. The health app allows participants to easily monitor their physical activity level on their smartphones.
It also comes with incentives where users accumulate points according to their daily steps, with an option to compete in teams or individually. This can encourage teams to take part in the walkathon and be physically active, even after the event is over.
Teamupp has a user-friendly interface and several social features that let participants share progress and cheer each other on.
2. MoveSpring
MoveSpring is another platform for virtual wellness events. It connects easily with major fitness trackers and smartphone apps, allowing participants to join step challenges and walking events.
The platform includes different features that foster engagement and friendly competition.
3. WellSteps
WellSteps offers a wellness program platform, including fitness challenges and virtual walking events. It integrates with pedometers and smartphone apps to track daily activity effectively.
Steps to organise a successful virtual walkathon
1. Define your goals and objectives
The first step is to clarify the reason for hosting the event. Some questions that can help you to clearly define your goals include:
- Are you interested in improving your employees’ wellbeing?
- Is the goal to support a charity?
- Or is it more about boosting the team’s morale?
With clear goals, it becomes easier to plan the event. It’s also important to ensure that everyone involved knows the goal of the event.
2. Choose a digital platform
Choose a platform that allows you and your staff to easily track physical activity and engagement. Look for user-friendly options that integrate well with common fitness apps or devices.
It’s essential to select a platform with features that encourage interaction and support among participants, such as social sharing and leaderboards.
When evaluating potential platforms, consider features such as:
- Seamless integration with fitness trackers and apps
- Real-time progress tracking and reporting
- Options for individual or team challenges
- Social features for sharing progress and encouraging interaction
- User-friendly interface for easy navigation
3. Set the walkathon duration and guidelines
The next step is to decide how long your step challenge event will run. It can be a one-day challenge or span a few weeks. When planning, consider incorporating other employee challenge ideas to keep engagement high, such as themed days or team competitions. It’s important to clearly spell out the rules for your employees, such as how distances or steps will be tracked and other guidelines they must follow.
4. Promote the event
Make sure to effectively and clearly communicate to your team when and where the event is happening. Options you can consider include emails, team meetings, and company intranets. The idea is to get everyone on board for the event. It’s best to highlight the benefits of participating.
5. Register participants
Create a simple registration process that allows employees to sign up easily. Consider using the chosen digital platform’s features for registration or a straightforward online form. Collect essential information, such as names, contact details, and whether participants will join as individuals or teams.
6. Set the walkathon duration and guidelines
The next step is to decide how long your step challenge event will run. It can be a one-day challenge or run for a few weeks. It’s important to clearly spell out the rules for your employees, such as how distances or steps will be tracked and other guidelines that they must follow.
7. Encourage friendly competition
Introduce elements of competition to motivate participants. Some ideas you can work with include team challenges, leaderboards, or prizes for best performers. You can drive engagement and make the event more enjoyable by adding elements of friendly competition. This will also encourage employees to push themselves further.
8. Monitor and motivate participants
Throughout the walkathon, check in with your employees to keep them motivated. Use the digital platform to share progress updates, send motivational messages, and highlight achievements. Consider hosting virtual check-ins or progress-sharing sessions to foster a sense of community.
9. Celebrate and conclude the event
For the grand finale, celebrate all participants for getting involved. It’s a great idea to host a virtual awards ceremony in recognition of teams, milestones reached, and top performers. Share statistics about the collective distance walked or the charity funds raised to highlight the event’s impact.
10. Gather feedback and measure success
It’s important to ask participating employees for feedback after the event to know what worked and areas you need to improve on. Analyse data and engagement as metrics to determine how successful the event was. Use these insights to refine your approach and enhance future wellness initiatives.
Ready to organise a Virtual Walkathon?
