Flexibility, health, CSR: why your company should adopt an employer mobility plan
The introduction of a mobility plan, also known by the acronym PDM or PDME, is a new obligation with which most organisations now have to contend.
However, in addition to its legal aspects, it also offers a response to the challenges of sustainable development, as well as to current societal issues by contributing to the quality of life at work.
What does the MDP involve and what types of measures should be adopted as part of its deployment? Does it apply to all companies? This article takes a look at all these questions, plus some valuable advice on how to set up your employer mobility plan.
Mobility plan: definition
What is an employer mobility plan?
The mobility plan (formerly known as the company travel plan) is defined as a set of measures designed to optimise employee travel as part of their professional activity.
It therefore covers
- journeys between the employee's home and workplace,
- various business trips (visits to partners, customers, suppliers, etc.),
- and the transport of goods.
What are its objectives?
The primary benefit of the mobility plan is better regulation of traffic in order to reduce the negative impact of business trips on the environment (reduction of atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gases).
But it also aims to improve the well-being of employees, by advocating measures to improve their transport and working conditions, such as the development of flexibility (teleworking, flexible working hours, etc.). By extension, the MDP contributes to the good health of employees, through, for example, the promotion of cycling, or the reduction of stress linked to traffic and traffic jams.
💡 Introducing a mobility plan helps to spread a positive image of your brand or company. While this type of commitment may appeal to your customers, above all it helps to embellish your employer brand, and therefore attract and retain the best talent.
Mobility plan: compulsory for employers?
The legal obligations relating to the MDP were introduced in two stages:
- Since 1 January 2018, and pursuant to Article 51 of the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth (LTECV), companies:
- with more than 100 employees on a single site,
- and located within the perimeter of the urban travel plan (PDU),
must set up a mobility plan and submit it to the mobility organising authority (AOM) in their area.
- Since 2019, as part of the Mobility Orientation Act, the PDM has also concerned companies with more than 50 employees. The structures concerned are required to include the issue of improving employee mobility in their compulsory annual negotiations (NAO). If no agreement is reached, a mobility plan must be drawn up.
It should be noted, however, that no penalties have actually been imposed on employers who fail to play the game. On the other hand, if they do not take the necessary steps, they will be unable to claim financial aid from the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency).
☝️ Good to know: to simplify the procedures, several different companies operating on the same site can draw up an inter-company mobility plan together.
Employer mobility plan: 7 examples of measures
As part of the mobility plan, companies work to implement concrete actions to :
- encourage alternative modes of transport,
- combat car-driving
- adapt the working environment accordingly.
The measures adopted to this end can be of various kinds. Here are a few examples to illustrate what we mean:
1. Cycling
The MDP often includes promoting the use of bicycles. Some organisations opt for :
- providing a bicycle garage
- creating cycle paths
- introducing a company bicycle service,
- subsidising the purchase of electric bikes, etc.
2. Public transport
More and more companies are paying for all or part of their employees' public transport season tickets , to encourage them to give up their cars.
Another example: some employers are approaching the local authority to negotiate improved public transport links to their site.
3. Flexibility at work
Offering more flexible working hours means that employees do not have to travel during peak full stops.
Another example is the development of teleworking, which simply eliminates the need to travel to and from work.
4. Car-sharing
Car-sharing can be encouraged by making a fleet of vehicles available on a self-service basis, to be used for business trips as well as home-to-work journeys.
5. Car sharing
Car-sharing is undoubtedly the most common form of shared mobility in companies. Although it is often organised on an informal basis between employees, the company can contribute to the deployment of this formula by, for example, registering employees on specialised platforms.
6. Electric vehicles
Electric cars are both economical and environmentally friendly. That's why more and more organisations are deciding to use this type of vehicle for their business fleet.
7. Local housing
One way of encouraging local housing is for employers to help their employees rent or buy accommodation close to their place of work.
Examples of different mobility plans across Europe:
How do you set up a company mobility plan?
Stage 1: preparing the employer mobility plan
As with any project, setting up an EMP requires a preparation phase. The aim of this stage is to answer a number of questions:
- What is the company's objective? For example, to reduce car journeys.
- What is the context in which the company is operating?
- What degree of involvement will employees have in the project?
Preparing a mobility plan also involves :
- appointing a project manager, responsible for ensuring that the plan runs smoothly ;
- setting up a steering committee
- setting up working groups, bringing together employees, management and other key players such as transport service providers.
Stage 2: establishing a diagnosis
This involves taking stock of the company to find out where it stands in terms of its mobility policy:
- What are the existing infrastructures, both at company level and at regional level?
- How accessible is the company?
- Does the public transport network serve the site properly? Etc.
Drawing up a diagnosis also involves auditing employees in order to assess :
- their transport habits
- their needs
- their position and state of mind with regard to future changes.
Step 3: Create an action plan
Once the objectives have been set and the diagnosis established, it's time to determine :
- the different phases of the mobility plan deployment project,
- the concrete nature of the actions to be taken and the steps to be taken,
- how they are to be implemented, in terms of new mobility routes, but also in terms of internal communication and raising employee awareness.
To achieve this, the action plan must take into account the company's human, technical and financial constraints.
Stage 4: implementing the mobility plan
This fourth phase involves the actual implementation of the actions identified above, in accordance with a pre-established timetable.
At each stage, we recommend that you communicate with your employees to involve them fully in the project and make it easier for them to embrace the change.
💡 Using a mobility solution makes it easier to carry out the PDM.
Skipr, for example, is an all-in-one tool, comprising an application and a payment card. Employees can book and pay for their mobility solution (carpooling, electric bike, shared car, etc.) in just a few clicks.
Sharvy, the shared space management solution , can also help you implement your mobility plan. Thanks to its web and mobile application, all employees can easily check availability and book a parking space. No more headaches, as the tool's algorithm automatically allocates spaces according to predefined criteria!
Step 5: Evaluate the mobility plan
By evaluating its mobility plan, using monitoring indicators, the organisation is able to attest to its effectiveness and measure the real consequences of the actions deployed.
Don't neglect this stage, because by assessing the scope of the measures taken, you can readjust them if necessary to make your mobility plan more effective.
Article translated from French