How Paulig Group Unites Its Team at Work With Step Challenges

During the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges for companies of every size was keeping team culture and engagement alive while most people worked remotely. How do you keep employees connected, happy and active when they rarely see each other?

We spoke with Katerina Muhel, Human Resources Manager at Paulig Group, about the challenges they faced, the tools they tried and how YuMuuv activity challenges helped them unite teams across the Baltics.

At a Glance

• Company: Paulig Group – the food and beverage company behind Paulig, Santa Maria, Risenta, Gold&Green and Poco Loco
• Size: about 2,100 employees in 13 countries (at the time of the interview)
• Challenge: connecting Baltic teams that rarely met outside work, and getting less active employees moving
• Solution: YuMuuv activity challenges open to every activity level
• Results: employees walked more – even on rainy days – started walking meetings and coffee-break walks, and some swapped the car for walking

More Than Just a Coffee Company

Many people know Paulig for its coffee, but Paulig Group today offers much more: coffee, food concepts, spices, plant-based products and snacks. Its aim is to grow a sustainable food culture that is good for both people and the planet without compromising on taste – and that responsibility includes the wellbeing of its own people.

The Challenge: Uniting Teams That Rarely Meet

As Human Resources Manager at Paulig Group, what problem motivated you to look for the solution that YuMuuv ultimately helped to solve?

We understand that providing life full of flavor and integrating sustainable culture starts with the heart of the company – our people. We have about 2,100 employees in 13 countries, we have several initiatives to bring our employees together for wellness and engagement.

We wanted to be able to unite teams in the Baltics that otherwise wouldn't connect and communicate outside of the work atmosphere. For example, a sales representative from Kaunas could motivate a coffee technician from Šiauliai and a production worker in Saue to step up and make their daily step goal a priority.

Also, our major challenge was getting employees to move who weren't very active or consistent with physical activity. We've all got a habit of slipping into the laziness mode but the opportunity for individual challenges and tiny consistent improvements every day gives the employees the feeling of progress and achievement that gets them moving regularly.

Before YuMuuv, we were looking for ways to unite teams and create a strong team culture with healthy lifestyle choices. This meant finding a way to easily manage and ignite engagement through building better habits.

Why Paulig Chose YuMuuv Over Running and Cycling Apps

What other options did you look at before you chose YuMuuv?

We tried Endomondo last spring, considered Strava and MapMyFitness, but these platforms counted mostly cycling and running distances. We wanted something for everybody regardless of the activity level or performance goals. YuMuuv helped us to motivate and engage all people from different backgrounds.

The Results: More Movement and a Stronger Team Culture

What impact has YuMuuv had on Paulig Group's engagement and physical activity promotion efforts?

Because of YuMuuv and these activity challenges, our employees are inspired to walk even on rainy days. It's the fun approach and support from the community that makes healthy habits pay off.

Our teams also loved that they could see each activity and member on a leaderboard. The YuMuuv's green line indicator feature that lets you know if you stay on track with your goal motivated many to be consistent and step up a little more every day, thus, giving them their way to make it to the top.

Participants moved from their desks more throughout the day, they even started using virtual #coffeebreaks and #walkingmeetings as a way to be more active. A Key Account Manager from Estonia was surprised how much he could do without a car, so he opted for walking over driving and inspired others to do the same. Some employees started to walk early in the morning to get their engines running and mind straight for work. YuMuuv made it easy to be active and vital without needing to go to the gym or aerobics class.

There's always somebody who has fallen off track with physical activity and YuMuuv added a fun yet simple approach to get them engaged and moving again without any judgement. We're glad that we got our people moving with YuMuuv!

– Katerina Muhel, Human Resources Manager at Paulig Group

Key Takeaways for HR Teams

• Choose an inclusive format. Step and activity challenges let everyone take part, not only runners and cyclists. Here is how to create a step challenge.
• Make progress visible. Leaderboards and goal indicators help people stay consistent day after day.
• Encourage small habits. Coffee-break walks and walking meetings add up quickly.
• Use a shared goal to connect locations. Challenges are one of the easiest ways to engage remote employees and teams in different cities.

Get Your Team Moving Together

We are thankful to Katerina Muhel for the chat! At YuMuuv we believe it only takes a small push from the company to start a snowball effect of good habits – and with them better health and more resilience to stress.

Read more customer stories, such as how 3M increased employee engagement, or book a free demo to see how YuMuuv could work for your team.