Smart Mobility Institute’s key takeaways: Four tips to successfully kick-start a new corporate mobility programme

It is essential to develop a clear company-wide vision on mobility and to listen carefully to all stakeholders, from the CEO to individual employees – these are just two of the key takeaways from the Smart Mobility Institute session held at The Square in Brussels on 9 November. The session was supported by Sixt, 1st Mobility and FREE NOW for Business, with Pim De Weerd of Philips and Cathy Geerts of SD Worx (pictured below) as expert speakers.

Here are our top four tips to successfully kick-start your new corporate mobility programme.

1. Set up a multidisciplinary team right from the start

Whoever thinks that implementing a corporate mobility programme can be done as a side project by HR or a fleet manager is in for a disappointment. The transition to smart and alternative corporate mobility is a change process that requires a clear vision from the organisation and must be supported by a multidisciplinary team comprising colleagues from HR, Finance, Tax, IT, Sustainability, IT, Procurement and Legal, as well as external corporate mobility specialists and suppliers.

2. Maintain the delicate balance between a top-down and a bottom-up approach

A top-down approach is not necessarily the best strategy when it comes to offering alternative mobility options instead of a company car. While it might be an excellent idea to let your CEO lead by example and commute to the office by e-bike, the change needs to be embraced by the entire workforce in order to make alternative corporate mobility truly successful. During the Smart Mobility Institute session, the frontrunners in corporate mobility all agreed that it works better to incorporate a bottom-up approach by listening to all employees’ mobility needs, concerns and ideas.

3. View corporate mobility as a solution for all employees

Traditionally, a company car is only provided to those employees who need one in order to do their jobs or to the ‘happy few’ for whom it is a benefit. In contrast, a corporate mobility programme enables a company to offer mobility solutions to all its employees – not only as a tool of the trade or a perk, but also for incidental business travel and the regular commute.

4. Trust your employees to make safe and sustainable mobility choices

When implementing a corporate mobility programme, you are also placing your trust in your employees to make the ‘right’ – i.e. safe and sustainable – mobility choices. Whereas a cash-only policy might not give you the level of control you want, a mobility budget can. Just as a Working from Home policy can be designed to encourage the right results and output, so too can a Mobility policy, while still giving people the necessary flexibility and freedom to choose. Examples include introducing an incentive scheme to stimulate the reduction of the individual carbon footprint or to encourage carpooling, or reducing the vehicle size in combination with increasing the budget that can be spent on other mobility solutions or benefits.

Are you reviewing – or planning to review – your company’s employee benefits related to company cars and mobility? Are you seeking alignment with market practices such as the hybrid working model, and intelligent and flexible mobility solutions? Do you want to introduce a more environmentally friendly approach to corporate mobility? Or are you just keen to stay up to date with the latest trendsetting developments in corporate mobility?

If so, visit our website for more information. We are looking forward to seeing you at our next session, which will be held online on 9 December and for which you can register here. 

Here is a video with the highlights of the session in Brussels and here you can donwload the E-Paper called 'The Brave New World of Car and Mobility Policies'. 

Article by Saskia Harreman 
Picture by Benjamin Brolet