Development of the platform began after an internal study revealed that 67% of IAG Loyalty employees felt less connected to each other, 46% were exercising less and 37% experienced sleep issues after the first lockdown. It was built within four months to address the mental and physical challenges highlighted by the survey, leveraging much of the same data and technology used to support IAG Loyalty’s frequent flyer rewards scheme, Avios.
Employees are encouraged to track fitness activity either by manually entering information directly into the platform or by linking profiles with the fitness-oriented social networking app Strava. All participants are awarded Avios points, which can be exchanged for travel adventures, while the company’s most active teams receive double points. The more calories an employee burns, the more Avios points they receive. Activity dashboards allow users to track personal progress and benchmark activity against colleagues throughout the organisation.
The campaign resonated strongly with lockdown-fatigued employees, with IAG Loyalty reporting that 70% of its staff engaged with the platform. Beyond its direct impact on physical fitness, employees have highlighted the strong sense of team spirit, healthy competition and workplace banter cultivated in the remote working environment as key benefits of the solution.
Word of the platform’s popularity quickly spread and it has since been launched across more brands within the IAG portfolio. It is currently being adapted to encourage volunteering, sustainability and mental health initiatives for employees in external organisations as a commercial proposition.
