Does your company have a Mobility Leader? If you answer no and are reading this, IT COULD BE YOU! Before we can expect companies to have mobility managers, we need people to take up the cause and be the mobility leader for their organization. Put up your hand right now and be the mobility leader that your company needs.
“Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right thing.” - Peter Drucker
Google, Salesforce, Amazon - they all have Mobility Managers that think about the commute of their employees and how they can make it a valuable employee benefit. The National Center for Mobility Management defines Mobility Management as: “. . . an approach to designing and delivering transportation services that starts and ends with the customer.” As it is, from the perspective of Mobility In this article, we are specifically referring to Mobility Managers that would work inside of a company. Usually part of the HR team, these positions are still rare with less than 15% of US companies offering commuter benefits. In the Midwest, almost no companies have positions created to manage mobility. It’s a blue ocean of opportunity but it takes a little explaining to get your team to see how driving employees to work can be a cost saver and not just an additional expense.
SHARE Mobility, almost exclusively, has worked with companies to start their first commuter benefits program. The companies really don’t know where to start. We have learned that our role is to educate first and then let the company decide if they are ready. I believe every company will one day offer commuter benefits in the same way they offer healthcare benefits. Companies could not compete if they didn’t offer health insurance. I believe the commute will be the same. For now, commuter benefits are something companies can do to stand out. Facing massive workforce shortages, companies are ready to consider how transportation can attract and retain employees.
HOW WE WORK WITH CORPORATE MOBILITY LEADERS:
We can’t force you to do something good for your employees, but we can show you data that makes it clear how much your company can benefit from employee transportation. Corporate shuttles and microtransit for companies have clear ROI for the company and the employee. Companies already have all of the data, but as I mentioned in last weeks post, companies just are not doing the math for employees on the cost of commuting.
We have a 3 step process for working with corporate mobility leaders:
- LEARN: We present the Commuter Benefits solution and show you examples of companies in urban and rural areas.
- ANALYZE: We ask for an employee data file. Anonymized addresses are combined with unemployment, socioeconomic, and population density data. We produce a “Commuter Analysis” Report within 48 hours and are ready to present the insights back to you and your leadership team.
- LAUNCH: We start with one to three routes (sometimes more) but usually it is a subset of the overall employee base. Employees are invited to the commuter benefits program and in 2 weeks or less, employees start getting picked up and driven to work.
Steps 1 and 2 are free. We do this as part of our sales process and we have a high rate of success once companies see the Commuter Analysis. For an HR Manager or hiring manager, our analysis is eye opening and gives companies a totally new look at where their workforce lives and the total cost of commuting. If you have a workforce that crosses a county line, they are likely to be spending ⅓ of their income just to get to and from work.
Don’t wait for someone to give you the title of “mobility manager”. You don’t need it to be a transformative force in your company. If you want to be recognized by executives and front line employees, I promise you commuter benefits will get you noticed.
Mobility leaders start by building a coalition of those who care inside your company and watch how your parking lot changes. Forward this article to someone in your office that cares about climate change, social justice, and equality. When you are ready, our team is here to help!
Follow these mobility leaders on twitter to see thought leadership in action and if we should be following you, please send us a DM (@ridewithshare) :
Paul Comfort - @comfortpaul
