Tag: employee engagement platform
Inspiring Behavior Change Generates Real Results
“I was skeptical…but it really works!”
It’s ok, we get that a lot – even some our clients admit that they were surprised by how well our employee engagement programs worked to motivate behavior change around sustainability, and to deliver immediate savings results – all while influencing hearts and minds over the longer term.
Cool Choices at Sustainable Brands New Metrics ’17
Cool Choices was proud to be a sponsor of the Sustainable Brands New Metrics 2017 conference this year in Philadelphia, PA. New Metrics is a gathering of forward-thinking organizations that are motivated to implement new ways to create, measure, and communicate business value.
Instead of wondering how to “be profitable and see what we can do about sustainability,” leading companies are now working to measure – and reduce – the total social cost of doing business. And it’s an exciting conversation!
It’s Time for a Sustainability – HR Coalition
Employee engagement is a hot topic in HR circles. Experts estimate that up to 70% of US workers are not engaged at work and, further, that this disengagement costs companies about $500 billion annually. Disengaged employees are more likely to provide poor customer service, they are more prone to accidents, more likely to take sick days and they are less productive. So it’s no wonder that human resource teams are concerned about measuring and increasing engagement. At the same time, some sustainability leaders inside companies are struggling too. Facing aggressive year-after-year goals, these folks are wondering where they will get the next round of savings. Sustainability leads need fresh ideas and, ultimately, all hands on deck to generate savings.
It’s time for some creative cross-functional collaboration. A coalition, if you will.
An Integral Corporate Sustainability Model for Employee Engagement
Sustainability Managers and other organizational leaders face many challenges when it comes to prioritizing their sustainability initiatives. From energy and waste focus areas to product procurement and resources, it is also important to integrate employee engagement into your sustainability action plan. By leveraging employee engagement, leads can accelerate sustainability efforts, while achieving deeper impacts on cost and waste.
Follett Team Members Take Game-Based Approach to Being Green
Cool Choices welcomes hundreds of Follett Corporation team members as they prepare to kick off their 6-week game-based sustainability program designed to create a buzz around being green at work and at home.
Follett team members will form teams of 6 and compete to take the greatest number of sustainable actions. Starting October 24th, participants at Follett will earn points for their teams and win prizes by reporting their daily sustainable actions online, including saving fuel and energy, recycling, choosing meatless meals and conserving water.
Founded in 1873, Follett currently works with 70,000 PreK-12 schools and higher education institutions as a leading provider of education technology, services and print and digital content. Follett demonstrates a strong commitment to the communities they serve and to various corporate social responsibility initiatives. For example, Follett promotes good in global communities through its campus store partnerships with Alta Gracia, a clothing brand known for its implementation of a living wage in the Dominican Republic, and the Thirst Project, a water non-profit founded and fueled by students. Additionally, Follett promotes educational innovation and a love of learning through its partnership with Reading is Fundamental and annual hosting of the Follett Challenge.
Once again, the Cool Choices team sends out a warm welcome to Follett team members!
Let’s Hear It for the General Public!
In case you did not notice, we are all trying to do our part.
Two recent surveys suggest that the vast majority of Americans are making an effort to save energy and reduce their emissions.
In a national survey by the Energy Center of Wisconsin, 73% of respondents said that they had done something in the last year to save energy with the average respondent reporting four specific actions. The most common actions reported were installing more efficient lighting and adjusting the thermostat. Similarly, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found:
An overwhelming majority, 89 percent, of the public reports personally doing something to try to save energy in the past year, with day-to-day actions, such as turning off lights, turning down the heat, and driving less and walking or biking more reported most often.
These are, of course, self-reports but there is evidence—like the downward trend in vehicle miles traveled and the uptick in sales of fuel efficient vehicles—that suggests Americans are taking more steps towards environmentally sustainable choices.
This is great news and it merits a big pat on the back—some positive reinforcement for everyone.
One form of reinforcement is the dollar savings associated with these actions but we know that the financial impact of an individual’s actions can be hard to see.
People need other kinds of reinforcement and experts tell us recognition is the best encouragement of all. Put simply, people need someone to notice and praise their efforts to save energy so that they feel encouraged to do even more. But when I adjust the thermostat at home to save energy my neighbors and friends are oblivious. Heck, half the people living in my house do not notice the change.
Cool Choices generates positive reinforcement through our games. Game participants report their environmentally sustainable actions (which makes those actions visible to others) and by doing so they earn points (a form of recognition) for the actions. We also use game mechanics to give people opportunities to show off their changes (via pictures, stories, etc.) and to recommend specific actions to other participants. Through the process, participants learn that others in their community share their commitment to sustainability and that, together, these individuals can achieve substantive results.
We hope others will follow our lead in celebrating change. If you are doing the right things, think about how you can make your actions more visible to those around you and, alternatively, when you see someone else doing the right thing take a moment to applaud their efforts.
It feels good to do your part but it feels even better when your community celebrates your efforts and you can see how those simple changes add up to big results.
