This Tech Media Platform is Letting Their People Define What Employee Engagement Means for Them

Forget outdated and traditional concepts of engagement, and employee initiatives that just seem forced.

If it’s forced by management, it’s most likely not going to work.

You need to appeal to your people by taking something they are interested in and harnessing that.

Here’s how teams at e27, Asia’s largest and most dynamic tech media platform, are showing us how it’s done through a little friendly (fitness) competition.

How (Literally) Healthy Competition Can Drive Engagement Among Your People

Having used PraisePal over the past year, the habit of recognition and celebrating small wins have been an important part of e27’s company culture.

Today, their employees and team members are taking the lead in staying connected in ways they actually love.

e27 Co-Founder & Head of Platform and Memberships, Thaddeus Jit Siong Koh, recently shared an amazing company-wide initiative that’s keeping their people engaged in a way that traditional people initiatives have failed to do.

Thaddeus Jit Siong Koh, e27 Co-Founder and Head of Platform & Memberships. Source: Startup Grind

Employees who are Apple Watch users have started a self-initiated fitness competition to motivate one another on their journey towards a healthier lifestyle. As a reward, each team member is voluntarily staking 50% of their personal PraisePal points for the sole winner.

Thaddeus Jit, e27 Co-Founder & Head of Platform and Memberships, shares about their employees' self-initiated fitness competition. Source: PraisePal

e27 Pro Memberships Team Member, Paulo Oscuro, who is based in Manila, even shared how this activity has been a game-changer in keeping him connected with his colleagues from around the world.

“The competition on Apple Fitness with PraisePal Points as a reward is definitely breaking some ice within the team and helping us have more engaging conversations. Before we talk about work during meetings, we share stories about our workout and how competitive others are in the team.” — Paulo Ocsuro, Pro Memberships & Partnerships at e27

From there, the ball just kept rolling.

Even PraisePal Founders Zelia Leong and Felix Tan decided to take it up and notch by topping up an additional 500 points from their own pockets to the winner, which motivated e27 employees even more.

e27 Product Management Head, Christine Ayroso, on the impact of their company-wide fitness competition. Source: LinkedIn

Set a Strong ‘Culture’ Foundation For Your People to Build Upon

Notice how all of this was initiated by the e27 employees themselves? If employees are willingly using their points to give to others, you’re doing something right as a founder.

Sometimes, the best way to create engagement is to let it happen organically. All you have to do is lay the foundation for the company culture you want to create and let your employees reimagine what engagement means for them.

As much as we love hearing stories from our users on how they’ve built a shared habit of recognition with PraisePal, we love sharing them with our community just as much. It’s these stories that keep us going and remind us about why we do what we do.

If this is a solution you’ve been looking for for your team, let us help you elevate your company culture to what you want it to be.

“I encourage all founders to push beyond your current forms of staff engagements, if you are not getting the right returns.”

— Thaddeus Jit Siong Koh, e27 Co-Founder & Head of Platform and Memberships


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