Tell your workforce… on yer bike!

As the state of our planet becomes ever more concerning, businesses around the world can be doing so much more to encourage their employees to get out of the cars, helping to reduce carbon emissions and clean up the air.

There is so much that a business can implement to help this drive. Some are low cost, simple to achieve measures that will make an immediate and meaningful impact which will compound towards the overall momentum of actions.  Others require slightly more In terms of effort and budget, but when incorporated into an organisation’s overall policies will not only make a massive difference to overall environmental impact, will also help to improve the overall brand and PR positioning of the business, which in turn will positively impact the bottom line.

Encourage more employees onto a cycle to work scheme

The most immediate impact you can make is to encourage more employees to cycle into work. Several actions need to be taken to achieve this. First and foremost is to make is practically more easy for employees to change their commuting behaviour, and this can be achieve by establishing an infrastructure which makes coming into work on a bike more easy.

Bike parks with an individual floor mounted bike rack for each employee constructed under a dedicated shelter to keep the bikes dry during inclement weather, preferably with good lighting for the darker months, gives each employee that reassurance that their bike is kept safe and in good condition during the working day.

While there will be always be a hard core of cycling enthusiasts within your workforce who will happily confirm to the call out for cycling to work, the more of your more stubborn, car centric employees that you can encourage, the better. There are various ways you can incentivize and encourage them further.

Introduce an empowering communications strategy

Creating a company wide incentive scheme that every one can join in with not only motivates your workforce to take better care of their overall health and wellbeing through swapping the car for the bicycle, but also engenders a common cause that promotes collaboration across all departments which in itself invokes a greater sense of belonging.

Encouraging people onto bikes is not just for the good of the environment, but there are many other ways in which it can be leveraged to improve team spirit.

• It can form the foundation for group activities outside of the office, such as organizing occasional group rides for a couple of hours over a weekend.
• It can be an ideal vehicle to introduce various financial incentives to help employees with the cost of living. After all, it is cheaper to run a bike than it is a car.
• More flexible working practices can give employees the freedom to manage their own hours at work when appropriate, or combine it with working from home, particularly during the darker winter months.

Collaborating with the wider community

Implementing a cycle to work scheme does not just stop at your own business’s doors, but can be extended to the wider local community which will not only improve your local PR profile, but will also demonstrate you to be a caring organisation with a conscience – a business that will encourage more recruitment interest in a market which is struggling to find good, talented people. It will also help you to connectand partner with other local businesses, leading the way in environmental initiatives to the benefit of the area.

Linking up with local bike businesses and negotiating discounts and incentive schemes with them for your employees will not only be good for their businesses too, but will also help your workforce.