Humanitec – remote team step challenge case study

Humanitec Case Study: Engaging a Remote Team With Step Challenges

Humanitec, a software company specializing in internal developer platforms, has worked fully remotely since 2020. With 50+ employees spread around the world, building team spirit across virtual boundaries is a constant challenge. Humanitec uses YuMuuv step challenges to bring people together – especially in the month before its company-wide in-person meetings – and reaches 80% participation.

Table of Contents

At a Glance

  • Company: Humanitec, software company (internal developer platforms), fully remote since 2020
  • Team: 50+ employees distributed globally
  • Program: one-month team step challenges before the twice-yearly in-person company meetings
  • Result: 80% employee participation, more cross-team interaction and challenges people actively look forward to

Background: Building Belonging in a Remote Company

As a fully remote company, Humanitec prioritizes initiatives that build relationships and a sense of belonging. Zoom and Slack keep work moving, but personal connection needs shared experiences. The company looked for a way to boost engagement before its in-person meetings twice a year.

The Challenge

  • Team bonding: encourage cross-team interaction before in-person gatherings.
  • Wellbeing: promote physical activity to support health and productivity.
  • Lasting engagement: keep motivation high with a fun, structured and competitive format.

Humanitec chose YuMuuv for its seamless step tracking, team-based challenges and interactive features.

How the Program Works

  1. Pre-event step challenges: one-month step challenges lead up to each company-wide meeting, with progress tracked in real time.
  2. Mixed teams: teams are formed in a controlled-random way so that each one mixes people from different departments – and, after early lessons, so that the most active participants are spread across teams. Need names? Try these walking team name ideas.
  3. Social sharing: employees post photos of walks, runs and outdoor activities in Slack, creating conversations beyond daily work.
  4. Rewards that support activity: members of the winning team receive an increase to their company sports budget, which they can use for gym memberships, running gear or other wellness expenses. More ideas in the wellness challenge rewards guide.

Results

  • 80% participation: a clear majority of employees take part – including less active colleagues, who know their steps count for the team.
  • More cross-team interaction: people connect beyond their immediate teams, and Slack fills with updates, photos and progress talk.
  • Real excitement: employees ask “Where's my team?” and “When does the challenge start?” – and keep walking until the last minute to lift their team's ranking.
  • Fairer, closer competition: after early challenges with unbalanced teams, spreading top performers across groups made recent challenges closely contested and even more engaging.
  • Faster onboarding: new employees join the company culture quickly by taking part.

Why does a close race matter so much? Read why friendly competition works.

Lessons and Next Steps

Humanitec also shared areas to improve. Step counts can vary between tracking devices, so flexible input options help. The team wants to explore other formats such as hydration, mindfulness or cycling challenges – all available in YuMuuv (see the complete list of challenges) – and asked for richer visual reports and long-term history for employees.

Looking ahead, Humanitec plans to:

  • keep running pre-event challenges to maintain momentum;
  • try new challenge types that support whole-person wellbeing;
  • use YuMuuv's analytics to tailor its initiatives;
  • refine the incentive structure to encourage even more participation.

Key Takeaways for Remote Teams

  1. Anchor challenges to a moment – a month before an in-person meeting gives the challenge a clear purpose.
  2. Mix departments and balance teams so every team has a real chance.
  3. Bring the conversation into your existing channels, such as Slack.
  4. Reward in ways that support activity, like a sports budget.

Planning your own? See how to create a step challenge, try team booster activities and browse more case studies. Book a demo to see how YuMuuv can connect your remote team.