Welcome to your corporate cycling challenge!

Want to improve your employees’ health? Do you want to promote their well-being with exciting company health management? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, you will discover how a corporate cycling challenge improves fitness. It also strengthens team spirit. It contributes to a more sustainable lifestyle. Maybe you are already an exercise competition enthusiast or you are just looking for creative ideas to get more exercise at work. Here you will find valuable insights and suggestions to achieve your goals. So stay tuned to learn more. Learn how to successfully implement this dynamic challenge in your company.

The health benefits of a corporate cycling challenge.

Cycling to work is more than just a leisure activity; it is a great way to boost health and well-being. Participating in a cycling challenge in your company can really improve physical fitness while having fun in a shared experience. In this chapter, you will learn how even short bike rides can positively impact your health.

What are the benefits of 10 minutes cycling daily? 

Even a short bike ride of 10 minutes every day can help your heart. It can also help your body burn energy. Studies indicate that even these short rides can lower your risk of chronic diseases.

What are the benefits of 20 minutes cycling daily?

Regularly cycling for 20 minutes a day can improve overall well-being and mental health. This daily routine helps reduce stress but also improves sleep quality by naturally promoting physical fatigue.

How healthy is it to ride a bike to work?

Riding your bike to work every day can help your health a lot. A study says that riding a bike to work can lower your risk of heart attacks by over 40%. It may also reduce your risk of cancer and diabetes. You can find more information about this study here. 

Cycle to work

Why cycle to work?

Commuting to work by bicycle offers many benefits. It is not only environmentally friendly, but also improves your physical health and mental well-being. Cycling to work can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, increase fitness and reduce stress. It can also significantly reduce your transportation costs and lessen the need for a time-consuming and expensive gym membership.

What should you pay attention to when cycling to work?

Here are some things to make your bike ride to work easy and safe:

• Equipment:
  Make sure your bicycle is well-maintained. It should have safety gear like lights and reflectors.
• Clothing:
  Wear clothes that are right for the weather. Think about how the weather might change.
• Route planning:
  Use apps like Google Maps or Apple Maps. They can show you special bike routes. This will help you find the safest and best way to go.

Buying a Bike for Work

When purchasing a bike for commuting, keep these factors in mind:

• Bike Type:
  For urban commuting, consider a city bike or a folding bike due to their ease of use and storage.
• Theft Protection:
  Invest in a high-quality bike lock and inquire about secure bike parking at your workplace.
• Tax Benefits:
  In many countries, you may be eligible for tax deductions on the purchase of a bike and related gear for work purposes. Check your local tax office’s website for more information.

Bicycle Challenge

Implementing a corporate cycling challenge in your company is a great way to promote workplace health management and motivate employees to exercise regularly. This type of exercise competition not only improves employee health but also fosters team spirit and strengthens employee loyalty.

Steps to implement a cycling challenge for your team

1. The first step is to establish what you aim to achieve. Your goals could range from boosting physical activity and fostering team spirit to cutting down on carbon emissions.
2. To plan and organize a cycling challenge, you need to determine how long it will last, the rules, and the criteria for winning. The challenge must be fair and give all participants equal opportunities.
3. Promote the cycling challenge to employees through email, intranet, and meetings. Make sure they have all the necessary details and feel motivated to take part.
4. Use digital tools like the Changers Fit app to track and analyze cycling activity. This will allow participants to monitor their progress and engage in friendly competition.
5. Incentives, such as bonuses for the most active individuals or teams, can boost participation. Prizes that promote health, like vouchers for bicycle accessories or extra days off, could also be used to motivate participants.
6. Connect the achieved performances of the participants with the funding of social projects. This turns every kilometer cycled into a donation amount, defined by you in advance, for a social project of your choice. The PSD Bundesverband has been using the Changers Fit App for the annual PSD HerzFahrt for 4 years.

Tips for a successful cycling challenge

• Make your corporate cycling challenge inclusive and accessible to all employees by providing options like pedelecs (electric bikes) to accommodate various fitness levels and abilities.
• Keep motivation high by providing regular updates on the challenge’s progress and celebrating milestones along the way.
• Share participant stories and successes through internal media to inspire and motivate others to get involved.

Successfully promoting your workplace cycling challenge

The successful promotion of a cycling challenge in a company requires creative and diverse approaches. Here are effective methods and places where you can advertise participation in the challenge to achieve maximum participation:

Roll-up banners for the entrance area, canteen, and social rooms

Advertising Strategies that Work

1. Feature a prominent banner or article on the intranet homepage with a direct link to download the Changers Fit app. This will encourage participation and make the app easily accessible for employees.
2. Promote the cycling challenge in the canteen with posters and table displays. Feature a special “cyclist meal” to grab attention and further encourage participation.
3. High visibility will be ensured by placing posters, roll-ups, and floor stickers in the social rooms and entrance area.
4. Utilize posters in the elevator and stairwell to reach a high volume of employees daily.
5. Utilize social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to engage with employees directly and personally.
6. Target bicycle riders and car drivers by distributing saddle covers and flyers in bicycle parking spaces and parking lots.
7. Attach a flyer or sticker to the monthly salary statements to promote the challenge.
8. Distribute saddle covers and flyers with the date of the challenge to company employees to promote the cycling challenge.
9. A large golden trophy displayed in the entrance area and engraved with the winning team’s name would draw attention to the challenge and motivate participants.

Benefits for employees 

Participation in the cycling challenge of your company should not only promote the health and well-being of employees, but also be associated with attractive benefits. By using the Changers Fit app and regularly cycling to work, employees can benefit from a range of benefits that both increase their motivation and strengthen their loyalty to the company.

1. Public transport tickets for rainy days
   To support sustainability even in bad weather, participants who regularly cycle to work can receive free public transport tickets. This ensures flexibility and shows that the company also recognizes the practical challenges of cycling.
2. Bicycle safety accessories 
   To promote safety, participants can receive high-quality safety accessories for their bicycle such as helmets, lights or reflectors. This not only increases safety on the way to work, but also emphasizes the company’s concern for its employees.
3. Additional days off for top participants 
   As a special incentive, the three most active participants in the challenge can win additional free days. This reward serves as a strong motivator to actively participate and supports a balanced work-life balance.
4. Tickets for entertainment events 
   To enrich leisure activities, tickets for local events such as concerts, bowling evenings or cinema visits could be offered. Such experiences not only promote team spirit outside of working hours, but also offer a welcome change.
5. Gift cards for streaming services and online shopping
   Vouchers for services such as Netflix or Amazon offer another form of appreciation that is directly tailored to the personal interests of the employees.

Make sure that a challenge app can be flexibly adapted to your requirements.

Often, the lack of such options is only noticed after the start.

It is advantageous if the app supports the following functions:

1. Limit premium claims 
   It should be possible to define restrictions on how often an employee can receive a certain premium. This prevents particularly active participants from buying all the attractive prizes and promotes a fairer distribution of rewards.
2. Raffles with health coins 
   An exciting possibility are raffles in which employees can buy tickets with the health coins they receive for cycling kilometers. This system allows particularly committed employees to increase their chances of winning by buying additional tickets.
3. Limitation of winnings in raffles 
   It should be ensured that despite the possibility of acquiring more tickets, each participant can only receive one win per raffle. This ensures that active employees have a higher probability of winning, but every participant has a fair chance of a prize.

In a challenge with the Heineken brewery, we recommended to the management to include the newly launched non-alcoholic beers as rewards in the marketplace. The success was enormous. Within a very short time, we achieved a participation rate of over 90%. In this way, the employees were not only motivated to engage in healthy exercise, but also educated about the advantages of non-alcoholic beers and ultimately became brand ambassadors for the product launch.

Key points for a cycling challenge in the company

• The corporate cycling challenge encourages employee well-being and sustainable transportation, which reduces the environmental effect of both the firm and its employees. Participants can lower their risk of disease while supporting eco-friendly commuting by bicycle regularly.
• The challenge fosters a sense of community and boosts employee loyalty to the company by providing attractive incentives and fair distribution of rewards. This also increases employee motivation.
• A flexible challenge app with an adaptable design ensures that all employees, regardless of their fitness level, have equal opportunities to earn rewards. This fosters an inclusive and motivating environment that encourages everyone to participate.

Are you ready for your company’s cycling challenge?

Ready to enhance your employees’ well-being and promote environmental sustainability? Launch a company cycling challenge today! Register your company now and witness the power of shared goals as your team comes together and thrives.

We’re excited to connect with you and arrange our initial cycling challenge. 

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Daniela Schiffer
d.schiffer@changers.com
+49 172 367 40 38