Workplace Travel Planning Guide

Transcription

1 Workplace Travel Planning Guide Welcome to the Get Healthy at Work Workplace Travel Planning Guide. We hope you find this guide practical and easy to follow. It will help your organisation to develop and implement a workplace travel plan. This workplace travel planning guide: Clearly guides you through the six steps involved in developing a travel plan Includes reference to practical tools such as survey forms and templates designed to assist at each step Encourages you to think creatively about how you can address transport challenges within your organisation. What is a travel plan? A travel plan is a coordinated package of measures aimed at increasing opportunities for using more sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling and public transport. Travel plans also aim to provide innovative and more cost-effective alternatives to single occupant car travel where few alternatives exist, like ridesharing and carshare options. Because travel plans are instigated by workplaces, they are able to take advantage of the ability to organise on-site activities, make use of the administrative functions of the workplace and provide facilities, creating greater opportunities for travel behaviour change among workers. Developing a travel plan is not a one-off process but an ongoing process of engagement and development with workers, aimed at reviewing and improving more sustainable travel options. Get Healthy at Work provides the tools for employers to create a workplace travel plan. There are six steps to creating a workplace travel plan, as shown below. These steps are key to understanding the circumstances relating to travel patterns at your workplace and identifying options to increase the number of workers regularly walking, cycling and using public transport to travel to work. Why undertake a travel plan? Promoting active and sustainable transport: Boosts worker health, job satisfaction and workplace morale Reduces environmental and social impact of car transport Assists worker access, recruitment and retention Frees up car parking spaces for customers and visitors Reduces fleet and parking costs. Before you get started 1. Confirm management commitment 2. Appoint a travel plan coordinator and establish a team or use an existing committee to assist with developing and implementing the travel plan 3. Announce the intention to develop a travel plan. FACTSHEET

2 Task 1: Confirm management commitment It is important to seek advice from senior management about whether the introduction of a travel plan is suitable for your organisation at this particular time. Support from senior management will ensure that progress will be made throughout the various stages of the travel planning process. Their support will be needed to: Secure workers time to implement some actions Demonstrate to workers they are leading by example Secure budget allocations Make high-level decisions such as introducing changes in policy Drive the change in the organisational culture in relation to transport and travel. In seeking to secure commitment from senior management, it is a good idea to find a management champion. Ideally, this would be a person in a position of leadership within your organisation who supports the concept of a travel plan and is willing to champion this with other senior managers. Key steps to ensure that senior management is on board include: Identifying the process by which senior management approval will be obtained to allow you to develop the plan, such as by presentation of a report to a regular executive meeting, or by direct CEO approval Preparing a presentation to propose the development of a travel plan that either you or the management champion can present to all senior managers for approval. Task 2: Appoint a travel plan coordinator and establish a team The travel plan coordinator should have a good understanding of how the organisation works, be able to communicate effectively with management and workers, and be capable of devising and managing implementation of a change initiative. An interest in and awareness of transport issues and options is also required. It is also crucial to form a small team to assist with developing and implementing the plan it may be possible to use an existing committee, or your workplace may need to set up a new one. Ideally, a team would consist of five to ten people from relevant sections depending upon the focus of the travel plan plus, ensure the management champion is a member. The team could meet monthly to oversee work on the plan. Task 3: Announce commitment to develop a plan Once management has committed, announce that the organisation is to promote sustainable travel through a workplace travel plan. It is possible that workers may feel threatened or dismissive of a travel plan. It is therefore very important to get workers involved with the plan from the beginning and ensure their ownership, support and enthusiasm. This will increase the likelihood of achieving changes to worker travel behaviour and their ongoing support for the plan. A workplace travel plan document is not the end point in the travel plan process. The travel planning process is a cycle of continuous improvement with ongoing implementation and monitoring. There will be a need to gather new data as time goes on to understand how implementation of the actions is tracking. Targets may need to be reset over time, and the appropriateness of a range of actions might change if workplace circumstances are altered in some way. Timeline The amount of time it takes your organisation to complete a travel plan will vary depending upon the size of the organisation and amount of resources that can be committed. However, it is a good idea to complete it within six months of starting the process. This will keep momentum going and capitalise on the enthusiasm of workers. Producing a few visible, short-term wins is a good idea as it demonstrates success and builds support for change among workers. The six steps of travel planning Travel planning can be divided into six key steps that are applicable to a full range of workplace contexts: Step 1: Gather data Gathering data is a fundamental step in developing your travel plan. It allows your organisation to understand current travel patterns and issues and also provides a good baseline for measuring the effects of the plan. 1. Conduct a site review 2. Conduct a worker survey 3. Summarise your findings. 2 Register online at gethealthyatwork.com.au

3 Task 1: Site review for your workplace Workplace location, transport facilities, services nearby and work practices will affect people s options and choices for travelling to work. Understanding these factors is important in developing your workplace travel plan. A site review provides a general picture of the features of a site and the surrounding transport network you ll need to look at both on-site facilities and local transport connections. Key questions to ask about your organisation s on-site facilities include: 1. What are on-site parking conditions like? Are there too many car spaces, or not enough? 2. What are end-of-trip facilities for cyclists and pedestrians like? Are showers and change rooms available for workers to use? 3. What service information is available about local public transport routes? 4. Are people with special needs being accommodated appropriately? 5. Are there safe and attractive paths and lanes for pedestrians and cyclists? Key questions to ask about local transport connections include: What public transport routes pass through the vicinity of the site? Are they frequent? Where do they link to? Are there good links between the local public transport services and the wider network? What facilities exist for active travel in the local area? Are there bicycle paths and footpaths? Are they easy to access? Do they connect well with other networks? Task 2: Survey people to find out how they travel to work Travel surveys are a good way to find out about trips to and from your workplace. There are a number of methods that could be used. Get Healthy at Work provides a template for undertaking a survey in your workplace. You could use a variety of methods to gather responses, including: The survey asks a standard set of questions that have been used across a range of workplaces to understand how workers travel to and from work. The questions usually include: Home suburb (so trip distance can be estimated) Transport choice for commute trips over a week Transport choice for business trips on current day Selected influences on choice of transportation Questions regarding age, gender, department to help you understand which worker segments are being represented through the results of your survey. A good response to the survey is important to obtain useful data about travel behaviour. You should seek to survey as many people as possible in order to get an accurate picture of travel behaviour in your workplace. Strategies to maximise participation in a survey: Promotion before and during the survey period Offer incentives, such as a prize draw for gift vouchers or movie tickets Circulate an or letter from senior management. Task 3: Summarise Data Review the data you have collected and compile a short report outlining key opportunities and barriers. Promote the key findings to workers using an intranet or newsletter article to help create interest and momentum. Complete workplace site review Complete a workplace travel survey Present findings of the site audit and travel survey to workplace management and seek support for next step. Printed questionnaire given to workers Interviewing people in person (for example, at their desk or in the lunchroom). This is most suitable for smaller organisations Create an online survey (suitable for larger workplaces). 3 Register online at gethealthyatwork.com.au

4 Step 2: Consult stakeholders Stakeholder consultation is an opportunity to check that indications provided by the site review and the worker survey are accurate, and to have detailed discussions about the opportunities and barriers to specific strategies and actions. Although you have already sought input from workers via the survey, it s important to engage in more detailed discussions to understand how they will respond to various actions, and to understand any specific barriers or opportunities that may not have been identified during data gathering. 1. Consult stakeholders to gather rich information 2. Use the outcomes of the consultation to identify barriers and opportunities. Task 1: Engage workplace stakeholders Consulting your stakeholders is an important way of seeking ideas for the plan. It also has the benefits of building support for, and ownership, of the travel plan. This should help craft the plan to fit into your organisation s strategic framework and culture. Within your organisation you should aim to consult with: Fleet manager Assets/facilities manager Health promotion/corporate health worker Environmental officer or workplace green team Human resources section Marketing and communications section Executive (the person who will approve the plan) Workers including those who use sustainable transportation and those who drive (you may not reach everyone so involve a cross-section or give those interested a chance to have a say) Workers who are innovators (willing to pioneer change initiatives) Workers who are networkers (can help spread news of the changes). Suggestions for how to engage your stakeholders: Focus groups with workers (discussion with up to 10 people to understand perceived barriers and benefits and test potential actions) Stakeholder workshops (to identify and prioritise actions) Interviews/detailed discussions with key people Worker suggestion boxes Discuss and invite comment at worker meetings or social events. You may like to use a range of approaches choose what you think will work best for your organisation. Task 2: Identify barriers and opportunities for active travel After you have completed stakeholder consultation you should have good information on the barriers to the travel behaviours you are trying to encourage, and on opportunities to further encourage active travel. Carry out stakeholder consultation at the organisation Identify barriers and benefits of the behaviours to be encouraged and discouraged. Step 3: Set targets and objectives You will need to develop targets and objectives that will define the focus and intention of your travel plan. Key task: 1. Select targets and objectives for the plan. Task 1: Select targets and objectives for the plan Objectives are the specific statements that your organisation will use to guide action in relation to active travel. The targets are the specific measurable achievements that your organisation is aiming to reach. For example, your objective may be to increase the number of workers who are cycling to work. Your target might be to have 10% of workers cycling to work regularly. Your targets should be realistic and informed by the findings of your worker survey and the site review. For example, if you find that only 5% of workers have an interest in cycling to work but that 20% would be interested in walking, your targets (and, in turn, the actions you select) should reflect this. Alternatively, if your local area has plenty of safe and accessible bike paths but is relatively poorly serviced by public transport, you may choose to focus on targets and objectives that relate to increasing cycling, rather than public transport uptake. You can revisit your targets every year. It is best to make your targets achievable achieving goals can help workers feel that they are making positive progress and to revisit them to encourage continual improvement, rather than set unachievable stretch goals that workers feel they cannot make progress towards. 4 Register online at gethealthyatwork.com.au

5 Check your objectives and targets with workplace management. Step 4: Develop actions The actions are the core part of your travel plan they are the elements that will help achieve your objectives and define your strategy for implementation. 1. Select actions for worker inclusion in the plan based on survey, review findings and stakeholder consultation 2. Prepare a draft plan 3. Secure management approval for your draft plan. Task 1: Select a range of actions The choice of actions is critical. The package of actions in your travel plan should be: Feasible they should be implemented within the culture of your organisation and the worker and financial resources available Effective they should make a real difference to the actual and perceived barriers affecting travel behaviour of your workers Responsive to the issues raised by stakeholders Supported by management. Your actions should also reflect the objectives and targets you set in the previous stage for example, make sure that if a key target is to get 25% of workers taking public transport, then your actions should focus on public transport as a priority. A range of actions for consideration is provided in the Get Healthy at Work materials. Task 2: Draft the travel plan The workplace travel plan is a strategy for change. The written document is an opportunity to outline your objectives and targets, and to list the specific actions that you have selected for your workplace. The written document has a number of functions: To secure management approval for the package of actions proposed To guide implementation To enable evaluation To communicate and promote the initiative to stakeholders. Get Healthy at Work provides a template for your travel plan. Task 3: Secure management approval Management support is important because it provides the mandate for putting the plan into effect. The plan should identify resources, specifically dedicated worker time and funding for implementation that management will need to approve, as well as high-level descriptions of any policy changes that will be needed to facilitate implementation. Seek approval for your draft plan this will differ depending on the management structure and processes within each workplace. Complete draft travel plan Discuss and check the plan with workplace management. Step 5: Implement actions 1. Launch the travel plan 2. Implement the actions in your travel plan 3. Promote the travel plan to the entire organisation. Task 1: Launch the travel plan It s important to promote the plan within your organisation so that workers are aware of it. Some will have taken part in the worker survey or stakeholder consultation, however this is your opportunity to make its aim clear, to outline the specific actions the travel plan is to take, and to promote the benefits to workers. You could host a morning tea or a small breakfast for workers to launch the travel plan. For larger organisations, include an article on the intranet or in the worker newsletter summarise the purpose of and key actions in the travel plan and include a supporting quote from senior management. Task 2: Implement the plan Your travel plan will set out a package of actions to be implemented. Use the details in the travel plan to organise and deliver these actions. Allocating responsibilities and accessing resources is critical to making the plan happen. You may choose to prioritise particular actions to help create quick wins so that workers can see progress is being made, and identify some actions that will have a large payoff but may take a longer period to implement. 5 Register online at gethealthyatwork.com.au

6 Revise the actions as required to keep up momentum or as circumstances change at your workplace. Commitment to a long-term communication effort is necessary to bring about the cultural change and behaviour shift that your travel plan aims for. Regular engagement with management and workers will help maintain awareness and support for the initiative. Ensure that workers are informed of what is going on through regular communication via the intranet, posters, newsletters, and/or at regular worker meetings. Get management approval for the travel plan Launch the travel plan and notify all workers. Step 6: Monitor and review Tasks 1. Monitor and review the achievements of your travel plan 2. Promote the achievements of your travel plan 3. Undertake a post-plan review. Task 1: Monitor and review your plan You need to monitor and review your travel plan in order to understand whether it s achieving its objectives and targets, and to determine which actions are the most efficient in helping to achieve these. Monitoring and ongoing reviews should help you answer the following questions: Are we achieving what we set out to achieve? Are we achieving it efficiently? Are our actions helping to achieve our overall goal (improving worker health)? Ideally, you want to make healthy travel behaviour the norm in your organisation. Working with relevant sections, such as facilities and fleet management and human resources, and ongoing promotion to workers and management should help mainstream sustainable transport practices. This cultural change takes time so keep at it persistence is the key to sustaining the gains. Annual monitoring Your travel plan is not simply a document but a continuous process of monitoring and review, therefore it is recommended that you re-survey your workers every year to keep track of their progress towards active travel behaviour. It s also important to undertake follow-up site reviews and document how the travel plan was implemented. Refer to Step one for advice on travel surveys and site reviews. Internal and external changes may occur during the rollout of your plan, and monitoring workers progress may highlight the need to update actions to ensure the plan remains relevant. Make the most of opportunities that arise, such as plans for relocation, restructure or change in senior management. Task 2: Promote the achievements of your plan It is important to ensure that workers are aware of how progress is tracking towards achievement of the plan s objectives. Regular updates on progress will not only give workers a sense of achievement, but will also serve as a reminder about the organisational goals that the plan is setting out to achieve. It is also a great opportunity to alert workers to new actions that have been implemented (new facilities that they can use or new policies that may affect their choices). You should aim to promote the achievements of the plan regularly through a variety of means, including worker newsletters, intranet, all-staff s, announcements at worker meetings or other strategies as appropriate. Task 3: Undertake a post-plan review Workplace travel plans are usually developed for a period of two or three years. At the end of this period the plan should be reviewed and a new plan developed. Lessons learned in the old plan should inform the new plan and increase its likelihood of success. Consider integrating the travel plan into your organisation s environmental or sustainability plan or corporate health plan if this will embed sustainable travel practices. Going back through the travel planning cycle will allow a stocktake of current behaviour and issues and renew organisational support. Use the travel survey, access audit and stakeholder consultation to identify actions that should continue and new actions to try. Undertake a yearly follow-up survey of worker travel Workplace travel plan team regularly review the plan and check progress. NSWMH Register online at gethealthyatwork.com.au