A wellness challenge rewards employees for healthy habits, like hitting a step goal, joining a fitness class, or completing a health screening. Employees do the activity, share proof, and earn points they can spend on rewards. You decide what counts, how often people can earn, and whether someone checks proof first.
This guide walks you through a monthly step challenge from start to finish. Once you’ve run one, you can reuse the same setup for almost any wellness activity.
At a glance
Goal | Encourage healthy habits and make wellbeing part of your culture |
Who can join | Every employee, or a group such as one department, location, or team |
What you’ll set up | A way for employees to earn points, an announcement to spread the word, and (optional) extra points to kick things off |
Who runs it | You or your wellness committee lead |
How often | Daily, weekly, or monthly. We recommend the most frequent cadence that fits your budget, so the habit sticks. |
How to measure | Number of people taking part, compared month over month |
Example: Run a monthly step challenge
In this example, employees earn points each month they hit a step goal. Once it’s live, claims and points run on their own.
Note: You’ll need admin access in Bonusly, and wellness challenges can be run on the Organization plan.
Step 1: Give employees a way to earn points for healthy habits
Bonusly makes it easy to reward employees when they complete an activity. They submit proof, like a screenshot, and points land in their account automatically or after a quick review. You set the points, who can join, and how often they can earn. In Bonusly, this is called an incentive.
Here’s how to set it up:
Go to Admin > Recognition > Incentives and click Create new.
Describe the challenge: name it (for example, Monthly Step Challenge), add an image, and explain the goal, like “Walk 150,000 steps this month.” In the proof field, ask for a screenshot from a step tracker.
Choose who can join: leave it open to everyone, or click Filter audience to start with one department or location.
Set the points and how often people can earn: enter the points per claim, then choose Limit claims per employee so each person can earn once per month.
Decide who sees it: write the message that posts when someone finishes, like “Hit this month’s step goal!” Choose Public so teammates can cheer each other on, or Private to keep it between the employee, their manager, and admins.
Decide whether someone checks proof: keep automatic approval for a light-touch challenge, or choose Specific people must provide approvals if a wellness lead should review screenshots first. Reviewers don’t need to be admins.
Click Create.
Learn more: Incentives
If you chose to review proof, check Reviewing Pending Recognition Programs.
Step 2: Let everyone know the challenge is live
A challenge only works if people know about it. Bonusly lets you post a message at the top of everyone’s homepage, attach a Claim button so employees can join in one click, and send the same message by email. In Bonusly, this is called an announcement.
Here’s how to set it up:
From the givebox on your homepage, click Announce.
Share the goal, the points, what proof to send, and the last day to submit.
Attach your step challenge from the incentive drop-down. A Claim Incentive button will appear on the announcement.
To reach a specific group, add a team handle in Who should see the announcement post. To reach people by email too, check Email from Bonusly, or choose to send it to Slack. Announcements also appear on the Bonusly app’s Home tab in Slack.
Click Post.
Learn more: Announcements.
If employees ask how to submit, point them to Claiming Incentives.
Step 3 (optional): Give everyone extra points to cheer each other on
The first week is when momentum matters most. Bonusly makes it easy to give every employee a one-time batch of extra points to send to teammates who join in. For example, someone might send a coworker points with a note like, “Thanks for being my accountability buddy this week. I really enjoyed our hike and conversation!” The points appear in everyone’s balance on the start date and expire on the end date, so nobody has to claim anything. In Bonusly, this is called a Flash Points event.
Here’s how to set it up:
Click your profile picture, then Manage admin settings. Go to Recognition > Peer-to-peer and click Manage under Set up a Flash Points event.
Click Create New. Name it Step Challenge Kickoff, set the points per person, and choose a start and end date.
Add a headline, description, and banner color. In the description, tell employees what the points are for, like “Send these to anyone who walked, hiked, or worked out with you this week.” Then click Save.
Mention the kickoff points in your challenge announcement too, so people know to use them for cheering each other on.
Learn more: Flash Points
Step 4: Celebrate finishers and plan the next challenge
Wrapping up well keeps people coming back next month. Bonusly gives you a downloadable list of everyone who completed the challenge, so you can thank them and spot trends.
Here’s how:
Go to Admin > Recognition click Type and select Incentives, and click Export to CSV to download the Incentives Summary Report.
Share a quick thank-you in a recognition post or announcement.
Set up next month’s challenge, or keep the same one running.
More ways to run it
The same setup works for other wellness activities. Change the name, the proof, and how often people can earn.
Idea | What changes from the example | Learn how |
Annual health screening | Let people earn once a year and keep it private, so only the employee, their manager, and admins see it | |
Flu shot | Ask for a photo of the vaccination card or pharmacy receipt as proof, and let people earn once per flu season | |
Fitness or mindfulness class check-in | Ask for a class confirmation as proof and allow several claims per period | |
Hydration or stretch-break week | Run it for one week instead of a month | |
Blood donation | Ask for a donation confirmation as proof and let people earn once per quarter | |
Health screenings | Ask for an annual physical and biometric screening as proof, and let people earn once a year | |
Sleep or mental health challenge | Ask employees to describe what they tried, like a week of 8-hour nights or a daily meditation, instead of uploading proof | |
Wellness Week | Skip the claim step: give everyone extra points for a week to recognize each other’s healthy habits | |
Wellness Champion of the quarter | Let employees nominate a teammate who supports wellbeing, then give the winner a company-funded award |
For the Wellness Champion, create the nomination under Admin Settings > Recognition > Nominations, then use Give award from the Review submissions page.
Measure it
A healthy wellness challenge shows steady or growing participation, with new people joining over time, not the same few.
What to check | Where to find it | When |
How many people finished | Admin > Recognition > Incentives > Export to CSV (Incentives Summary Report) | End of each challenge |
Whether the kickoff got people recognizing each other | Points Activity Report, comparing the kickoff week with a normal week | After the kickoff |
Whether participation is spread across teams | Quarterly |
If participation drops, try a shorter challenge, a new activity, or a fresh announcement.
FAQ
Can I stop people from claiming more than once?
Yes, you can stop people from claiming more than once. In the challenge’s points settings, choose Limit claims per employee and set how many times each person can earn per period.
Can I keep health-related claims private?
Yes, you can keep health-related claims private. In the recognition post settings, choose Private. Only the employee, their manager, and admins will see the claim.
Can I run the challenge for one team first?
Yes, you can run the challenge for one team first. Use Filter audience in the eligibility settings to limit it to a department, location, or team, then target your announcement with the same team handle.
Who checks the proof?
By default, nobody checks the proof; claims are approved automatically. To have someone review proof first, choose Specific people must provide approvals in the approval settings. That person doesn’t need to be an admin.