The best way to motivate is face to face

Imagine: you are a sustainability advisor at a municipality in the Brainport region. You have great actions in mind to work on sustainability development. However, that will only be a success if as many people as possible participate. How do you get them on board?

"I don't believe in throwing communication over the fence."

Early 2024, Bart Boel started as a sustainability advisor at the municipality of Heeze-Leende. He approached Brainport Bereikbaar to initiate two actions: the bicycle challenge via the SJEES app and the e-bike trial action. Bart talks about his motivations and how he convinced colleagues to participate.

My motivation to implement these actions is multi-layered

'Of course I look at it from a sustainability perspective. How can you make a difference in – for example – your nitrogen emissions? Then reducing car use is a big opportunity. In addition, I personally think it's cool to be able to motivate people in something. And another very important motivation is my belief in the role model. Show that bike to your colleagues! And also to residents. Finally, I saw plenty of opportunities looking at the environment. There are beautiful cycling routes around Heeze-Leende (tip: Bart emailed all colleagues these routes), in my opinion an untapped potential.

The two cycling actions could not go unnoticed by the colleagues

Both offline and online, there was a lot of communication. But what really works, according to Bart, is just standing at your colleague's desk and drawing attention to your mission in a fun way. 'Start a conversation, challenge colleagues', he says. 'Say the benefits and rewards. Via the SJEES app, our colleagues could earn something for the canteen when cycling a certain number of kilometres. But I especially wanted to make it clear to them that they earn something for themselves. Your condition improves and your vitality increases. Face-to-face contact is the best in that case. I don't believe it works if you throw a lot of information over the fence and then just wait to see if everyone joins in.'

Ultimately, his way of communicating proves to be a success

The e-bike trial is fully booked and colleagues are queuing. 'Trying and experiencing is a first step if you want to change something, in this case getting more people to cycle to work. And I think that unknown also makes unloved. With this campaign you tackle that. The fact that people could now try a speed pedelec or e-bike ensures a first and small change in your culture. Look at work agreements for example; people have started doing that more by bike. That started as a 'gimmick' around the e-bike trial, but has now become a serious option.'

Bart concludes: 'I am very aware that after such an action, not everyone will cycle to work. In fact, there are also people who do not want to participate in an action. For various reasons and that is not a bad thing. In any case, there are people who now take their bikes more often or think about travel options. That requires a long breath because it is also about cultural change. And that always starts small.'