How HTEC Turned Kilometers Into Impact, Local Adventures and a Company Travel Guide

Around 300 HTEC employees across the globe walked, ran and cycled together on YuMuuv, turning every kilometer into a charitable donation and a shared story.

At a glance

Company	HTEC, a global AI-first provider of strategic services, software design, and engineering expertise
Interviewee	Lenka Ilić, Internal Communications Associate
Program	“The Journeys We Take”, a spring challenge with walking, running and cycling challenges
Participants	Around 300 employees
Purpose	Connect a global team, give back through donations, and collect stories for an HTEC travel guide
Format	Team and individual leaderboards, kilometers converted into euros for charity, weekly winners

Background: making kilometers mean something

HTEC, a global AI-first provider of strategic services, software design, and engineering expertise, is a large, geographically distributed company with people in many offices and time zones. As Internal Communications Associate, Lenka Ilić looks for ways to connect and engage colleagues globally.

The idea was a challenge that would get people moving together, within their offices and across the world, while doing good for others. Kilometers were converted into charitable donations, and the stories people shared along the way were collected into an HTEC travel guide of local walks, runs and hikes.

Why HTEC chose YuMuuv

HTEC was looking for a platform to host its challenge that could support the concept and that it could customize. Lenka researched and spoke with several platforms. Two things set YuMuuv apart:

• Customization: team and individual leaderboards, and three separate challenges for walking, running and cycling
• Compliance: YuMuuv met HTEC’s data security standards, and the compliance team gave it the green light

What really stood out with YuMuuv was how customizable it was.

— Lenka Ilić, Internal Communications Associate, HTEC

The challenge: The Journeys We Take

Lenka positioned the challenge as more than a step count: the competition was for fun, while the real purpose was to give back and collect stories together. Around 300 employees joined, and YuMuuv’s support for a wide range of devices and apps meant anyone who wanted to take part could.

Every Monday, Lenka announced weekly winners for walking, running and cycling, with weekly stats from YuMuuv’s customer success team. Each challenge had its own chat, where colleagues shared photos from runs they did together.

The three challenges also created their own communities. Most people joined walking, while dedicated groups of runners and cyclists connected over their shared passion, even beyond the challenge.

Results: friendly competition and real-life connection

The friendly competition brought plenty of energy and banter between offices, particularly between teams in the same country. But some of the most memorable moments happened away from the leaderboard, as colleagues turned the challenge into shared experiences, organizing walks, runs and hikes together, and bringing friends and family along.

Employees especially valued the charitable side: every kilometer counted toward the goal. They also loved YuMuuv’s fun facts, such as the team circling the Earth more than once, which turned the numbers into impact people could picture. The challenge also encouraged lower-carbon choices, like cycling or walking instead of driving.

It’s such an easy way to connect a global community, because it’s for everyone. Everyone moves in one way or another.

— Lenka Ilić, Internal Communications Associate, HTEC

Looking ahead

From the first idea to the challenge and the HTEC travel guide, the program became a journey the whole company took together. Lenka recommends YuMuuv to any company looking to engage a global team, especially because it can be shaped around a company’s own goals, from fitness to CSR.

It really brought our community together.

— Lenka Ilić, Internal Communications Associate, HTEC