DHR Global Turned a Manual Step Contest into a Signature Culture Moment with YuMuuv
Company: DHR Global
Industry: Executive Search
Footprint: ~50 offices worldwide; hybrid + fully remote employees
Interviewee: Morgan Phillips, Wellness Program Coordinator
Challenge Type: Global Step Challenge (teams + individual)
Tenure with YuMuuv: ~3 years (after manual/Excel era)
The Backstory: From Spreadsheets to a Shared Habit
DHR Global has run an annual step challenge since 2017. For years, participation meant pedometers, phone screenshots, Excel uploads—and a lot of manual tallying.
“We were tracking everything by hand. With a fast‑moving firm and global teams, it was hard to keep excitement up—and hard to keep up, period.” — Morgan Phillips
As the firm’s wellness program grew, so did the need for a simple, scalable platform. After vetting several vendors, DHR adopted YuMuuv—and three years later, the step challenge has become a well‑known tradition employees expect and look forward to.
Why YuMuuv
- Frictionless onboarding for busy, distributed teams
- Live leaderboards for teams and individuals
- In‑app chat that fuels connection with photos and messages from around the world
- Admin simplicity that replaces hours of manual consolidation
“This year, only a handful of people were first‑time users. It’s becoming part of our culture.”
The 2025 Program Design
- Duration: 1 month
- Company Goal: 75 million steps collectively
- Teams: Randomized globally to spark new connections
- Prizes: Top Team + Top Individual
- Comms: Clear weekly nudges; chat highlights of routes, parks, and city walks
“Randomizing teams paired colleagues who’d never met and can now consider one another friends.”
Engagement That Travels
DHR’s workforce spans North America, Europe, and Asia—with many fully remote employees.
“The chat is my favorite feature. I’d see colleagues walking past national monuments, around our office buildings, or even doing laps on a cruise deck – cheering each other on.”
The step challenge aligns with DHR’s ongoing wellness calendar (virtual workouts, nutrition and mental health sessions, even financial well‑being events). YuMuuv delivers the signature moment each year that’s broadly accessible and easy to join.
Outcomes & What Employees Said
- Connection: Global teams worked toward a single goal, while mixed teams created net‑new relationships.
- Well‑being: Employees used the challenge as a nudge to step away from screens, get sunlight, and spend time with family.
- Simplicity: Admin time plummeted; participants relied on automatic syncing instead of manual uploads.
“In a sales‑driven environment, it’s easy to forget breaks. The challenge reminded people to get outside—and made it social.”
Lessons Learned
- Device syncing: A subset of Samsung users encountered the Samsung Health → Health Connect transition friction. YuMuuv support (thanks, Caitlyn!) helped users resolve issues case‑by‑case.
- Keep the format familiar: DHR keeps structure consistent year‑over‑year (single metric, shared goal, team + individual prizes), refreshing only the theme and visuals to reduce cognitive load.
- Make mixing intentional: Randomized teams accelerate cross‑region networking without adding meetings to calendars.
