How do you engage your employees in sustainability?
- In many ways sustainability requires a behavioural change, so it needs to be part of the company culture and for easy adoption should be fun.
- Rather than having two messages, why not create a culture where one message will suffice for employees and customers.
- If management doesn’t believe it, it will not trickle down, so the leadership needs to lead the way.
- Narrow performance targets can make it difficult for middle management to find time and energy to concern themselves with sustainability. Incorporate elements into their targets.
- You may find that it is the older generation that is more reluctant to engage with sustainability. Ensure energy is devoted to those that don’t “get it”.
- Sustainability actually improves employee engagement, but good communication is key.
- Empowerment is crucial as it includes the space for individuals to take a lead if they want to. Let the evangelists have a voice.
How to address the challenges?
- Rather than just talking about sustainability, why not look at how your business can make the employees future safer by being more efficient.
- Get your employees involved in volunteering through the company. It can be a great eye opener for many. It can give them a first hand experience of how they can make a difference and they may also glean ideas about how to make the company more sustainable by looking at it with new eyes.
Do people need to understand all the issues?
- For some people understanding the issues helps. However, real behavioural change often comes from an emotional experience, so the most important thing is to get them involved.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
How do you encourage behaviour change?
- Transparency – sharing the good and the bad, not just PR sound bites. It is a learning process and people will understand and you will be more credible.
- Mainstream sustainability – everyone needs to be involved, so make it simple, appealing and beneficial to be sustainable.
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