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CATEGORY

CITIZENS

 

Citizens, Engagement, Gamification

Digital Sightseeing: Extraordinary Experiences for today’s tourist

There was a time when a key step before going on holiday was buying a guidebook on your destination. Since Baedeker books in the 1800s, people have relied on these to find ideas, inspiration, hidden gems, and tourists traps, ensuring their holidays were as perfect as possible.

Nowadays, there is a plethora of information online to sift through when planning a trip. From blogs and official accounts to articles and sponsored posts, people have access to endless resources at their fingertips. They can even reach out to their social media contacts for recommendations. This abundance of information poses a challenge for the tourism sector: how can less-known cities or off-the-beaten-track destinations stand out and compete for attention?

Today’s audiences value the experiences holidays have to offer more than ever before. We share our adventures on social media, seeking to showcase unique and memorable moments. We are also more aware of the variety of experiences available around the world, raising our expectation for each trip. In fact, younger generations are spending a significant portion of their income on travel, prioritising holidays above other experiences with a recent study revealing that 65% of Gen Zers ranked ‘travel and seeing the world’ as the most important way to spend their money.

So, how can destinations stand out in this competitive landscape and meet the high expectations of modern travellers?  The key lies in crafting unique and memorable experiences that revolve around the landmarks and attractions of any given destination. By harnessing technology, we can elevate a great concept and make it even more impactful, while simultaneously enhancing accessibility and inclusivity. Digital solutions have the power to captivate audiences through compelling campaigns and personalised promotions, enticing them to visit a destination. Once there, these innovations facilitate engagement with innovative, value-added experiences. Furthermore, they have the potential to maintain interest and foster advocacy long after the trip has ended.

Offering a personal touch

Applications that offer personalised travel routes, for example, are a simple but effective opportunity to tailor the travel experience to individual preferences and allow for autonomous exploring. Whether you’re an adventure enthusiast, a nature lover, or travelling with different generations, personalised tours that you can follow yourself speak to specific interests and needs.

For those seeking a more off-the-beaten-path experience, customised tours allow the traveller to choose settings and interests that speak to them, and make the destination feel more like it was made to suit what they’re hoping to get out of the trip.

For those travelling as a group with different generations, there can also be a challenge in finding activities that will appeal to everyone. With a digital application that suggests personalised tours or routes you can take the stress away from the tourist and provide an itinerary of experiences and suggestions straight to the palm of their hand, that keeps younger tourists interested while also ensuring older members of the group can also enjoy a more relaxed pace.

Appealing to the masses, speaking to the individual

Most customers have come to expect tailored experiences — according to a Mastercard-sponsored Harvard Business Review study, 90% of consumers expect organisations to know their interests and anticipate their needsLet’s take a quick tour:

  • Artistic Inspiration: Imagine a personalised tour through the streets that were once home to famous poets, artists and authors. While visitors follow in the footsteps of their favourite figures, they could collect virtual tokens or points to unlock exclusive content, such as unseen passages from their works or special audio recordings, or even a visual recreation of what life would have looked like in their time. It’s the same tours as always, but with a twist, helping to bring art to life, while immersing tourists in the creative atmosphere that once inspired their icons.
  • Uncovering Ancient Civilisations: Capture everyone’s attention, whether families or school trips, with customised routes that combine education and fun. Through digitally led scavenger hunts or clue-based challenges, children can explore historical sites and collect puzzle pieces or artifacts as they progress. Each discovery can provide insights into the lives and customs of the ancient inhabitants, fostering curiosity and reinforcing learning, through carefully designed games.
  • Active Adventures: For those who don’t want to sacrifice their active lifestyle while exploring new places, personalised tours can combine sightseeing with physical activities. For instance, visitors can choose a route that includes jogging or biking paths, integrating exercise with cultural exploration. As they complete different checkpoints, participants can earn virtual medals, unlock achievements, or compete with others in leader boards, adding an element of friendly competition and motivation.
  • Travelling for business: Imagine having the option to receive recommendations for outside of business hours for the work-trip tourist. Input your schedule and commitments and receive suggestions for how best to see the sights during the time you have. The tailored approach could recommend the best places to pick up food on your way to and from the office or meetings, suggest local networking opportunities, suitable places to hot desk and more.

Technology cannot fully replace the enjoyment and awe of travelling somewhere new. However, through embracing digital, innovative strategies, destinations can build more ways to hook and enchant visitors, particularly when keeping the diverse interests, needs and expectations of tourists at the heart of their offering.

By incorporating more innovative elements into their offerings, destinations can create unique and engaging experiences that capture the attention and emotional loyalty of modern tourists, ensuring their trip is nothing short of extraordinary. The offering immediately becomes a selling point for tourists weighing up where to spend their time and money, and can even engage, inform and excite tourists in the build up to their visit. Fresher approaches, that allow destinations to stand out, attract more visitors, and leave lasting impressions that contributes to their advocacy, growth and success.

Like what you read? Why not speak to our team on how we can help build a meaningful solution for you.

31/05/2023/by Patricia Wiggett
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/img2.jpg 1180 1874 Patricia Wiggett https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Patricia Wiggett2023-05-31 09:43:462023-05-31 09:49:54Digital Sightseeing: Extraordinary Experiences for today's tourist
Citizens, Engagement

The challenges of engaging diverse communities in a digital space and ways to overcome them.

Establishing a sense of community in a landscape so shaken by an ever-changing social climate is an emerging issue, and technology has further changed how we reach out to, connect with, and engage communities. Digital community engagement is a potential solution for businesses, councils, institutions and governments that are faced with the challenge of engaging their people. By utilising digital innovation to overcome issues that arise from traditional forms of community engagement, it could have the potential to bridge the gap between people and ensure their needs are being supported in the most inclusive way.  

So, what does true community engagement look like? ‘Engagement’ can have multiple meanings and there is not one ‘easy fix’ for an absence of it but combining digital innovation with more traditional forms of community connection and discussion is the emerging answer to questions surrounding engagement. Impactful public engagement is supposed to communicate information or increase participation in a way that is enjoyable and rewarding for a user and makes them want to participate continually.  

Diversified engagement routes for diverse communities   

In a diverse setting, engaging a large proportion of different kinds of users with differing needs, user characteristics and behaviours can be a challenge.  

The ‘traditional’/’offline’/’in-person’ community engagement techniques are so valuable when gathering information and feedback from communities, however, there are many obstructions that this type of engagement techniques cannot break down alone. Digitalisation has been shown to unite communities behind issues, encourage discussion and innovation, and facilitate positive change by allowing community members to make meaningful contributions through an online environment. Digitalisation is also a significant contributing factor when capturing marginalised and previously unheard voices. However, reaching groups that are not engaged with online spaces is as important, especially considering these voices are often unheard in the community.  

The positive impacts of a mixed-engagement model (both online and offline) is undeniable, however complex it may be to achieve. It is also becoming increasingly difficult attract and engage diverse audience using simply online-only model for many reasons: 

  • the digital space is becoming more and more saturated with choice, with more than 547,200 new websites being created globally every day (Siteefy), users are overloaded by a sheer number of sites which they can choose to engage with.    
  • different age groups access, use and respond to the same channels and platforms differently. 
  • differing levels of digital competency mean that designing a website for ease-of-use is also essential to its ability to engage, despite digital know-how increasing significantly after the pandemic. 
  • users expect and want personalised experiences, the days of a passive website that draw people in are long gone.  
  • people are expecting more from their online experiences, they expect to be engaged. Therefore digital experiences must be continually engaging and develop over time, keeping up with changing technologies, while maintaining relevancy and their true nature and intent at heart.   

Engaging with a varied community takes these five challenges further. To effectively engage these communities, it requires knowledge, understanding and a true analysis of each of the different user groups at each of these points in order to ensure the outcome is appropriate and effective for the user group. The more diverse a community, the more complex this can be.  

The importance of data, design and communication  

When engaging with diverse communities through a mixed-engagement model, it is important to ensure that each mode of engagement is connected to one another, complement each other and are well executed to ensure the end-engagement result is as well suited to the target audience as possible. This is achieved through three key elements; data collection, design and communication, these three processes are important for ensuring solutions are catered to the needs of the user and must be interconnected.  

Data  

When collecting data and research about diverse communities, these practises need to be all-encompassing and far-reaching in order to capture the clearest picture of the community and create the best platform for the targeted audience.  

Good data practises must be followed in order accommodate for diverse audiences, such as ensuring questions are clear and not leading. Surveys or focus groups must be reaching the largest proportion of people as possible and reaching all groups proportionally to get the most accurate results that are representative of the majority. In order to reach marginalised groups, engaging with community groups, connecting with community leaders or digital community hubs such as social media is a great way to ensure that these voices are heard, or survey reach the largest proportion of people. It is important to ensure that these surveys are assessable in multiple languages in order to gain feedback from communities despite potential language barriers. By starting an engagement programme with good research practises, it will allow for a digital space to be shaped around the voices and needs of the community in a way that includes all voices. 

Design  

When dealing with digital engagement, it is important to ensure that the solution is developed with accessibility and inclusivity at the heart as inclusive design is central to creating a platform for a diverse community, elements to consider include:  

  • ensuring that symbols and graphics are universally understandable and clear can ensure a website messaging is concise and it is reaching the most people. 
  • building a platform that is easy to navigate, as you need to consider diverse digital competency. 
  • the messaging of the website needs to be concise in its messaging and delivery. 

Creating an engaging and exciting platform can also encourage continual use, incorporating gamification technology can be a great way to engage audiences long-term, this in combination with ease of use can greatly improve a community’s engagement with the platform.  

Communication  

Incorporating omnichannel forms of communication is also essentially in engaging the maximum amount of people as well as catering engagement to its target audience. For example, if you were to connect with users using social media you would use different platforms depending on the intended audience, as Facebook cater to an older age demographic, 65% of people aged 50-64 use the platform, whereas 90% of Instagram users are under the age of 35.  Connecting a platform with software people are familiar with can be a great way to encourage use, it can be a great way to get people comfortable with your platform initially while using a platform already familiar to the user. Especially with older age demographics who statistically have less digital competency.  

Considering cultural barriers to engagement is also important, for example not just ensuring the research process is accessible in multiple languages is an important feature that some users may need to engage with the platform. If the platforms focus is around connectivity and discussion, ensuring that conversations and dialogue can be easily translated so that all members of a community are involved in discussions and all voices are heard. Having public discussions in community hub and then linking those interactions to a digital space is a great way to engage new audiences that wouldn’t usually be actively engaged with digital spaces. This is a good way to draw unlikely users onto an unfamiliar platform or app. 

Keeping up with the innovation  

Digital innovation can transform the ways in which we do things, new advancements make things simpler, more intelligent and more efficient. Using new digital tools and innovations when addressing engagement problems can lead to more valuable insight and end-engagement results, but you can run the risk of leaving people behind if adopting them too quickly and can alienate vital groups of clienteles.   

Using a mixture of offline and online communication is the best way to integrate new and valuable technologies whilst maintaining appeal to a wide demographic. This omni-channel approach ensures that all angles of your community can get involved without feeling excluded. Examples of this can come in forms Incorporating things like QR codes into engagement programmes can be a great way to facilitate ease of use through a non-digital space.  

Nuturing your community   

Community engagement is not something that is easily solved through a singular channel, it is a process that requires nurturing and innovative solutions that follow the whole process from conception to actualisation. It requires understanding of interpersonal relationships and community boundaries as well as in-depth understanding of how to create bespoke platforms for a wide audience.  

Ensuring that users’ needs are considered and prioritised throughout the whole engagement process is the key to engaging with diverse communities. Considering data, design and communication throughout the conception of a platform while weaving these processes together is crucial to the creation of a solution fit for the needs of a diverse community. In order to meet the changing needs of a community you must ensure continued support throughout the process as well as afterwards and consider changing markets, community development, technological innovation and other environmental changes that could affect engagement. This is crucial in providing an exemplary platform for a diverse community of users. 

23/11/2022/by Millie Probert
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Challenges-to-Digital-Engagement_Mesa-de-trabajo-1.png 3609 5413 Millie Probert https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Millie Probert2022-11-23 10:45:112022-11-24 13:04:26The challenges of engaging diverse communities in a digital space and ways to overcome them.
Case Study, Citizens, Engagement, Gamification

Partnership in Action: The Food and Farming Discovery Trust (FFDT) & Motivait

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05/10/2022/by Lara Jones
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Motivait-FFDT-cover-image.jpg 720 1280 Lara Jones https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Lara Jones2022-10-05 14:00:052024-04-04 15:38:13Partnership in Action: The Food and Farming Discovery Trust (FFDT) & Motivait
Citizens, Customer, Employees, Engagement, MOTIVAIT

2021: What did we look for last year?

In 2020, we said that we believed 2021 would be a year for reassessing and improving approaches. The very human challenges and experiences of 2020, we felt, would inevitably cause businesses and organisations to empathetically reconsider and refocus on the people at the heart of their operations. Looking back on the last 12 months there have certainly been significant changes – many of them focused on improving connection and proximity between people, their brands, their communities, and their needs.  

Employee Engagement has seen more debate and discussion than ever before (9-5, WFH, The Great Resignation), driven by necessity, by competition, and by a real shift in the previously established status-quo. Technologies that seemed inaccessible or expensive became common practice, with QR codes and apps becoming part of day-to-day life from ordering from a menu to storing medical information. 2021 provoked developments which at their core worked to enable, encourage, and connect people. 

As we say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022, we round up the themes and pieces that most appealed to you this year.  

Empowering the People  

2021 saw people revaluating what they wanted their life to look like and how their work fitted into the picture. After proving working from home was more than just a possibility, businesses have wrestled with how to offer flexibility to employees revaluating what they want their working life to look like, without compromising on other aspects of company culture. Companies who have embraced more flexibility for workers have then in turn been faced with challenges around sustaining a sense of belonging, a sense of community, as well as a sense of enthusiasm across remote teams whose only interface with their colleagues and the company is their laptop screen.  

While working from home may not be going anywhere soon, looking to the immediate future there will be a very real need to implement the infrastructure and solutions to support a seamless working experience across all circumstances.  

  • To Recruit and Retain the best employees  
  • A New Opportunity for Enhanced Digital Onboarding 
  • Mandatory Training: Breaking it Down 
  • Innovative Employee Solutions for Intangible Challenges 

Customer Centric  

Looking specifically at Customer Engagement, the last 18 months have probably seen more need for change, reinvention, and agile responses than in the last 10 years. Supply chain shortages, haulage delays, new legislation on importing and deporting – it’s been a tough year to meet ever increasing demand and high customer expectations. It would be wrong to write off today’s consumers as easily influenced or swayed, when the reality is that most are actually looking to be impressed by services, values and experiences that stand out from the crowd. In their research into customer journeys, PwC found that people will pay up to 16% more for a great customer experience (CX), while Gartner found that 64% of customers value CX over price.  

The growing market evidence suggests that instead of being impatient for deliveries, consumers may actually be frustrated with poor communication and service; instead of fickle they may in fact be more conscious of where they’re spending than ever before. If 2021 was the year for trying to keep up with an ever-changing landscape, will 2022 be the year to utilise learnings to actually stop, listen and understand the customer?  

  • Customer Engagement: Let’s Get Personal  
  • Customer Engagement & Loyalty Solutions
  • Creative Solutions to Capture Customers  
  • M-Commerce: Tapping into Stronger Customer Engagement 
  • Playing to Win: Game-like Experiences & Loyalty 

Sustainable Change for the Greater Good 

Since early 2020, we have all had time to think and reflect on the way we live our lives. People have taken up habits and hobbies with more interest in sustainability, nature and resourcefulness – DIY around the house, upcycling furniture or clothing, sewing masks, growing herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Outside of the home, local communities and governments have become more aware of the conscious efforts required to reengage, reassure and encourage participation in order to sustain local businesses and commerce. On a global scale, the recent COP26 conventions acted as a reminder for many that collective action is desperately needed to address the very present challenges for society – to turn the tides or slow down the devastating effects of climate change, and to support communities rebuild or reinforce their right to belong and thrive.       

Have the unignorable events of 2020 and 2021 provoked new practices that we will take with us into 2022? Could we be at a turning point for attitudes and values across society? 

  • Inspiring the Digital Tourist 
  • Engaging with communities for sustainable living 
  • S is for Sustained 
  • The Future of Health: Generating Genuine Change 
21/12/2021/by Lara Jones
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Motiviat_Blog_Round_Up-2021.png 1178 2251 Lara Jones https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Lara Jones2021-12-21 11:14:242022-01-04 09:24:242021: What did we look for last year?
Citizens, Engagement, Motivation

Engaging with communities for sustainable living

Accelerating positive change through collaboration

During the month of November, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC), also referred to as COP26, took place in Glasgow. Delegations from around the world were brought together to accelerate action towards the goals on Climate Change. With the option to watch the live events online, many citizens took the opportunity to find out more about the current challenges, imminent deadlines and what we should be aiming for in the upcoming years. The events were filled with moments of reflection, frustration and at the same time hope and optimism for a future of change, collaboration, equality, and climate justice.

The prioritised challenges at stake were: mitigation, adaptation, finance, and collaboration. However, across the different talks, sessions and panels, there was a recurring theme that struck a chord: ‘public engagement’. While raising awareness of how each individual can contribute to better and more sustainable practices, a vital catalyst of change is what we advocate collaboratively as citizens.

 

What is public engagement?

Various interpretations exist across different sectors, but ultimately it refers to how the public can become more involved in, and able to influence public decisions, policy, and action. In an age of information saturation, where citizens have endless sources of news and misinformation at their fingertips, impactful public engagement and raising awareness requires a more creative thought process. Communicating information needs an omnichannel strategy behind it, and even then, the messaging needs to cut through a lot of noise to connect with audiences. The average person now has more distractions than before, more commitments and less time to take a more complex approach in their day to day lives. Trying to increase action or participation towards more climate positive behaviours will take a lot of effort from each person and require more than just information and education. Over time, there will be a need for continuous interventions.

A good example of forward facing, people focussed public engagement is the Small Grants Programme (SGP). The initiative supports projects that preserve and restore the environment, through financial and technical aid, with an emphasis on improving well-being and livelihoods, through the ethos of ‘Think Global, Act Local’. The objective behind the programme was to create a platform where civil society and local communities could interact and share their ideas and approaches to tackle global environmental issues utilising local practices. With this concept in mind, civic engagement can have a positive impact on the interrelationship between human needs and essential environmental demands.

‘Think Global, Act Local’ focuses on tailoring products and solutions to meet customer demand. Here is where public engagement comes in. To understand what people need we must take and interpret local feedback and exchange insights concerning current issues and tendencies. Human insight is vital. It is local people that know the ins and outs of where they live and who will want their voices heard when it comes to changes and improvements. Willing positive engagement needs time, work, and trust, and public engagement is a two-way street.

The decline of citizen participation

Studies from the United Nations Population Fund show that over half of the world’s population currently lives in cities and this proportion will rise further, to over 5 billion by 2030. With cities growing larger and larger each day, local governments will quickly have to adapt to evolving needs and expectations, as well as managing higher demand on resources and services. Public and civic engagement is a key factor for growth and evolution. According to research from the Young Federation:

‘Governments and councils enjoying higher levels of citizen participation generally had stronger communities, more empowered citizens, better services for residents and were better equipped to tackle deprived and disadvantaged neighbourhoods.’

However, most research indicate that citizen participation levels are in decline. Finding opportunities to engage with your local community can be hard. Citizens do not feel as engaged with their governments for several reasons, including lack of information, incentives, time and confidence. When it comes to sustainability, the challenges often involve lack of environmental awareness, commitment and disillusionment with being able to impact or change systems. However, there are a few aspects that can improve this relationship and rapid growth adaptation to enhance civic engagement. As mentioned before, there must be time, work, and trust but it would also be beneficial to have a clear design and carefully thought-out strategy with citizens at the heart of it, accompanied by digital and technological processes.

 

Using technology to engage

Digital solutions facilitate effective and transparent communication with citizens. Using the right tools and technology can help meet objectives and establish more convenient and interactive platforms for citizens.

The public participation spectrum serves as a reference when it comes to visualizing an engagement platform. The five phases show a step-by-step process of how to improve communication with citizens and share ideas and suggestions:

  1. Inform. This is an essential factor to promote participation from beginning to end since it provides the public with greater trust and balance regarding the existing information and the possible alternatives and opportunities.
  2. Consult. It allows us to obtain feedback from different analyses and solutions.
  3. Involve. Direct collaboration with the public throughout the process. This makes it possible to assess and ensure that the different opinions are heard and considered.
  4. Collaborate. Work as a team in every aspect of decision-making, from the development of alternatives to deciding on the most popular solution among citizens.
  5. Empower. Place the final decision in the hands of the public.

 

Informed objectives, strong guidance and enabling citizens to provide opinions and feedback can prove to be a powerful solution to transform communities into sustainable and smart cities. Technological approaches can provide cities and companies with a way to greatly increase the ease and speed of creating, sharing and connecting sustainability plans. Whether it is fighting for climate change, improving healthcare, promoting public transport schemes, or even supporting a local shop there is a need for real and permanent behavioural changes, which is why community and public engagement is so crucial. By introducing digital innovations, from citizen engagement platforms to social media and QR codes, we can provide a safe and cooperative place for citizens to voice their opinion, interact, participate, and implement changes that truly benefit everyone involved.

 

Digital solutions in action

Digital solutions can make a crucial contribution to positive change by providing stakeholders with relevant and useful information. What does digital public engagement look like in action?

A clear example of this can be seen in #InOurNature: Zero Carbon Manchester, an online community engagement platform that helps residents take action on climate change. They have created a space where citizens can discover new, creative solutions to make Manchester a more sustainable and connected city. The site, delivered by various parties including Manchester Council and Manchester Climate Change Agency, provides citizens with various resources, tips, and projects, which allows citizens contribute to their sustainability agenda. Surveys are also used to gather valuable feedback on the project, alongside inspiring stories. This combination empowers and encourages citizens to make immediate changes, seeing the impact they can have and positively contributing to their final cause.

Another example can be found in Gijon, one of the most populated cities on the northern coast of Spain, where platforms of participation have been developed. Three specific portals have been created to encourage effective application of technology in the city to promote opportunities for economic development, sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as improve the quality of life, welfare and public services.

The first one is called ‘Observa Gijon’ (Watch Gijon). An ‘urban observatory’ that provides access to data related to the city’s economic administration, local government activity and health statistics. The second portal, ‘Cuida Gijón’ (Care for Gijon), is a platform where citizens can help preserve and maintain the city’s streets and amenities, encouraging personal sustainable actions and responsibility and saving the government money. In the third portal, ‘Participa Gijón’ (Participate in Gijon), citizens can learn about council initiatives, put forward their own, comment on different topics and proposals and take part in collaborative decision making.

Understanding the drives, motivations and needs of different users and user groups, and putting this at the centre of the design increases appeal to the public.

The way forward

Digital technologies can empower individuals to simply and immediately respond to issues and to the needs of others, as well as accelerate positive change through collaboration. Using innovative technological platforms establishes a greater potential for collaboration and action, by making the exchange of information easier and more effective, strengthening citizen voice and facilitating social cohesion and participation with features to enhance enjoyment and involvement (e.g. challenges, gamification and surveys).

It is becoming more imperative for governments and organizations to use sustainability as a way of engaging with communities. Governments, councils and public engagement leaders should employ forward-looking solutions, making the most of what modern approaches and technology can offer for effective public engagement, and be open to ultimately what is their customer input on what they believe is important. Promoting and establishing sustainable behaviours and becoming more proactive and community focussed can only bring rewards and results.

We often talk about wanting to be the change in the world, but there is no reason to feel the pressure of doing it alone. By designing effective solutions that will support companies or communities in getting started, once hearts and minds are won over, the rest will then quickly follow and crucially, be maintained. It all comes down to improving understanding to break down the myth that it will be more complicated than current approaches, and developing easy, achievable habits with alternative initiatives and behaviours. As we all look to do our bit in improving our ways of living, to avoid increasing even more the effects of climate change, we should bring with us and grasp onto opportunities to collaboratively work towards a better, greener future, as individuals, communities, and organisations.

30/11/2021/by Patricia Wiggett
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Picture1.jpg 867 1299 Patricia Wiggett https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Patricia Wiggett2021-11-30 11:46:162022-10-03 09:14:28Engaging with communities for sustainable living
Citizens, Employees, Engagement

The Corporate Sustainability Challenge

A fresh chance to Go Green?

 

Over these past few months, we have all had time to think and reflect on the way we live our lives. Covid-19 has led to the realisation that globalisation has its consequences, and the way the pandemic has forced many of us to pause our routines has brought some issues into focus. “Essential” has a new meaning; be that an essential worker or an essential item. All those habits we thought were impossible to change or superficial needs we fulfilled all too easily have been adapted or completely turned on their heads. With all the extra time, people have taken up hobbies and crafts that enable sustainability or resourcefulness – DIY around the house, upcycling furniture or clothing, sewing masks, growing herbs, fruits, and vegetables. While we are ready to embrace a return to normality, whatever that may look like now, how much of what we have learned or adopted from the past few months will stay with us? Are we at a turning point for attitudes and values across society?

Throughout the different stages of the pandemic businesses across the world have also had to revaluate the way they operate, many requiring significant changes. Now that many of us are gradually returning to offices, organisations are having to redesign company policies, practises, and approaches. In some circumstances, entire offices themselves. If office life and employee well-being are undergoing review and evolving, it feels like an ideal opportunity to turn the page and maybe start afresh in other areas too.

We have seen social media relishing news of reduced emissions, the reappearance of wildlife in urban areas and showing off newfound resourceful hobbies, so could businesses now treat this as a much-needed nudge? The support is there for companies to take on the opportunity to integrate more sustainable practices into corporate culture and drive much needed collaboration, participation, and commitment towards a better environment, on an individual level and as a community.

Employers often implement staff wellbeing schemes, operational process improvements and other forms of workplace development to enhance health and safety. Why not also take an opportunity to review the environmental impact of their organisations and their sustainable footprint? Why not set yourself a corporate sustainability challenge? From small daily actions to broader company-wide schemes, we can all help to reduce the current environmental impact and work together for a greener and healthier future.

Getting started: Commitment, Motivation, and Productivity

One of the biggest psychological hurdles companies find themselves struggling to overcome is the concept that they are detached from environmental issues. Executive leadership teams often feel recycling efforts do not exactly concern them; it feels like a giant effort and they have little to gain especially when it is behind closed doors. Recycling or sustainable living is either a trendy statement to make, or something for after working hours. However, there are significant benefits to be found when committed to correctly – supporting and developing a better connection with local communities, motivating your employees towards a common cause and boosting morale, providing opportunities to reduce costs, and improving brand image and reputation.

Ideally, to move towards this ‘fresh start’ companies should move from good commitments to excellent, embedded behaviours as can be seen in the diagram below. We want to move away from environmental commitment being a chore to genuine, altered ECO behaviours. But how do we get from good to excellent? Commitment, motivation, productivity.

Moving the dial on behaviour change

Getting People Behind the Movement 

Becoming a proactive eco-friendly company will benefit overall business productivity by improving employee morale, satisfaction, and comfort, as well as their capacity to process knowledge and information. Research reveals that businesses can benefit from a 50% reduction in employee turnover when employees are engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The Deloitte Millennial Survey from 2019 shows how it can also aid attracting and recruiting talent from emerging generations, who “show deeper loyalty to employers who boldly tackle the issues that resonate with them the most, such as protecting the environment,” alongside their number one concern being climate change and protecting the environment. Additionally, sustainable practices have been shown to create a positive impact on the actual working environment itself. Biophilic design is a great example of this. Improved natural lighting, use of natural materials, acoustic comfort and optimisation of spaces with a human focus are amongst different elements of this. These types of adjustments have been shown to result in productivity increases of 8%, 13% increase in levels of wellbeing, heightened creativity, and reduced absenteeism.

Educating staff on the ‘whys’ and ‘how’s’ of being sustainable and the importance of protecting the environment should be a fun and engaging activity and become a core value of a business. Ultimately, it is individual employee actions that will add up to change. Employees are often named “a business’ greatest asset”; in any scenario where employees are depended on to deliver and embody behaviours, whether delivering excellent customer service or driving a business towards its objectives, it is vital they are engaged and committed to what they are doing. It is important to move away from the idea of it being an extra task for them to fulfil as well as their actual role. To genuinely engage the individuals and teams within the organisation, it is important to remember that not one size fits all. Different people are motivated by different things, and this needs to be considered when thinking about how you can improve behaviours in your workplace.

However you personalise it, an eco-friendly focussed solution could take into account your employees’ motivations and profiles, would work towards getting everyone on board, supporting your company’s commitment to going green, and can improve organisational results and progress towards making an impact.

Firstly, environmental awareness and activism are arguably no longer a ‘fringe’ issue. Companies should strive to do better and go beyond the age-old office posters reminding employees to put empty cans in the recycling bin. But how?

  1. Create a sense of belonging: The sense of belonging and being connected to other people is very underrated. When you feel that you are part of something and create relationships, that is much stronger than any extrinsic reward, like a badge or a free coffee for every pro-eco action executed. Encourage employees to work together towards goals as it will help people feel less ‘on the spot’ to begin with, and it will also go towards reinforcing a sense of collaborating as a community for a better shared environment. Begin with an open ideation phase, in a space where everyone feels invited, involved and comfortable discussing opinions and targets. Utilise communication tools to share round updates on team progress or newsletters that provide insight on office efficiency as well as advice and nudges.
  2. Recognise the individual: Team spirit is hugely positive for driving participation and results, but individuals also need to feel in control of their own behaviours and goals. Getting everyone involved means taking different needs into account, in order to create solutions and objectives everyone will want to adopt. Some people might prefer to be told more information about recycling, others may prefer utilising office QR codes that they can scan with their smartphones on their own accord to receive more information about recycling and the company’s different initiatives, ask questions in an interactive FAQ, or vote for office based sustainable initiatives such as what causes should they support or what the weekly sustainable focus should be. Allow space for people to contribute in a way they feel able to. For example, you cannot expect everyone to stop coming to work by car, as it simply will not be feasible for everyone. Instead look at allowing for individual success within any strategy as well. Give alternatives and options for people to work towards, such as recycling, bringing in their own mugs and reusable water bottles. If empowered, people will see it less as a burden or chore and more a conscious decision they are able and willing to take responsibility for. Being able to take direct action that will result in real change plays a major part in helping people feel self-determined.
  3. Create a sense of purpose: The advantage of integrating eco-friendly objectives into the workplace is that they already have a strong sense of purpose behind them. There is a global awareness, a breadth of materials and education available, plenty of activism to draw inspiration from and reinforce the sense of purpose – improving the environment for all our collective and individual benefit. We have already mentioned how sustainability is often split into two groups – those who are already fully committed and driven towards change, and those who know they could do more but maybe feel it is out of their reach. Sustainability has the benefit of a prominent, powerful, all-encompassing objective behind it – create a better world for us all and future generations. Don’t focus on solutions that just draw attention to the issue, focus on drawing attention and correlation to people’s simple contributions. For example, this week in the office we correctly recycled 1kg of plastic bottles and cups which are a major contributor to litter in local ponds and rivers. Last year 100 ducklings got stuck inside plastic bottles – thanks to your work recycling, this number will be less this year!
  4. Recognise progress: When employees get a glimpse of what eco-friendly actions can achieve, on a personal and collective level, this motivates them to develop more ideas and shift attitudes. Over time this will result in successful social and environmental benefits, together with economic returns for the company if their sustainable strategy becomes an effective reality. Quite simply, people feel good when other people see and acknowledge their hard work. Promoting innovative initiatives that have come from employees is a great step towards improving how you recognise positive behaviours and measure the journey you’ve taken so far towards a positive future. To encourage these behaviours to continue in the long term, progress should be recognised and, in some cases, rewarded. This does not necessarily mean a pay rise for the person who recycles the most plastic in the office. It could be a workplace incentivisation scheme where employees receive points redeemable for votes towards charitable causes, following the example of supermarket token schemes. . Or it could be a technology-based solution that recognises individual contributions towards a more sustainable workplace, tracks individual and team actions and progress, collects ideas and suggestions on future improvements, and integrates game design to drive more collective involvement and engagement.

 

Eco-Marketing

Sustainable and meaningful marketing is extremely important for a business as part of their objective to deliver the overarching message to consumers and clients, reinforcing their commitment with actions and words. As things currently stand, many sustainable marketing schemes involve substantial financial investment, however in the long-term companies can see a greater return on said investment, saving on costs as well as improving office efficiency overall.  For instance, installing solar panels in your office can significantly reduce your taxes by more than 30% of the installation cost and would cut your energy bills in half. However, the key advantage to eco-marketing is the impact on brand image, and the connection you make with people by directly addressing what they tend to seek nowadays: environmental and ethical solutions.  “Ikea” is often a great example in this space, by innovating the products they provide while also matching with public gesture, such as their anti-plastic initiative where they launched two large boats into the River Thames to clean up and remove any plastic waste. The plastic collected was then used to build a sculpture later displayed at their Greenwich sustainable store.

“The recent UN Climate Action Summit and simultaneous Global Climate Strikes, found that the importance and perception of sustainability among consumers is increasing. The research confirmed 37% of consumers are seeking out and willing to pay up to 5% more for environmentally friendly products and are actively changing their shopping behaviour to do so” – Environment and Energy Leader, 2019

When finding your feet in eco-marketing, all it takes is to just start by stepping back from tried and tested traditional methods and asking the question ‘is this sustainable’? If for instance, we use the example of a conference or fair, many businesses will use this opportunity to give out free products to visitors as part of engaging in the social-networking experience and selling the company’s vision. However, as generational values and priorities evolve and individuals become even more aware of the current ‘sustainability challenge’, it is important to ensure that the products being offered are in line with eco-friendliness. Shifting from promoting a branded plastic bottle to an aluminium bottle would be a great simple change and make an impressive contribution towards reducing waste and unsustainable products. For example, the cosmetics company “Lush” use small black plastic pots as packaging which, once used, can be returned to the shop as part of their in-house closed loop recycling scheme. In exchange they give clients a free mask for every empty pot they return. This initiative creates a direct contact between the customers and the businesses’ environmental values, plus both parties are contributing to reduce plastic landfill waste.

A key element in enhancing the sustainability of a company’s marketing is through experiences rather than an item. Instead of producing informational leaflets and forms a good alternative would be to set up scannable QR codes that could invite people to a portal where they can interact with your company. Or an app where you can collect points based on eco-friendly shopping habits and receive information about sustainability and recycling – a great valuable and memorable experience that will more likely engage customers and make them brand ambassadors.

 A third of consumers (33%) are now choosing to buy from brands they believe are doing social or environmental good. – ​Unilever International Study 2016.

It is becoming easier and actually more imperative for companies to use sustainability as a way of engaging with their customers. By working with dynamic marketing skills, you can attract the large numbers of people already invested in making a change, increase awareness within your existing customer base, leading to a completely fresh way to interact and communicate across your outreach schemes. Let your customers and clients know what you are doing, through social media and newsletters and they will come to see your communications as helpful and valuable, rather than exhausting or pestering. Concepts such as eco-friendly product giveaways, waste pick-up collection weekends or online sustainability courses could really make a difference. Make the most of modern technology and also be open to customer input on what they believe is important or their main interests. This could be done on social platforms by including a survey – an interactive, engaging, and relevant way of getting a customer’s attention and commitment.

Acknowledging sustainable behaviours and becoming an eco-friendly business will bring rewards and results. Engaging with sustainable marketing and customer experience will be the ripple effect to boosting a company’s morale, productivity, efficiency and overall client and employee satisfaction. Furthermore, introducing new sustainable measures in the workplace could be the catalyst that helps encourage actions to go beyond the office and into everyone’s homes and social circles, expanding “green” mindsets and creating positive, sustainable habits.  We often talk about wanting to be the change in the world, but there is no reason we should feel the pressure of doing it alone. By designing exciting solutions that will support companies or communities in getting started, once hearts and minds are won over, the rest will then quickly follow and crucially, be maintained. It all comes down to improving understanding to break down the myth that it will be more complicated than current approaches, and developing easy, achievable habits with alternative initiatives and behaviours. As we all look to making new starts and return to normality, we should bring with us and grasp onto opportunities to collaboratively work towards a better, greener future, as individuals, as communities, and as organisations.

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This post was researched and prepared by Patricia Wiggett Canalda, University of Manchester, during her work experience with Motivait 

 

07/07/2020/by Manuel Alvarez
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/photo-1574496968378-3465b8576235.jpg 700 1052 Manuel Alvarez https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Manuel Alvarez2020-07-07 14:35:402020-09-16 11:23:38The Corporate Sustainability Challenge
Citizens, Engagement, Motivation

Take Me There: Exploring the Experience Economy

A friend made fun of me recently as we looked at booking a weekend away. Within seconds of us deciding on a city, I’d started ‘the list’. “Remember to schedule in ‘have fun’ somewhere between 11am and 11pm” they texted.

“The list” is where I- you guessed it- list out the key things to see, visit, eat in any destination I’m headed to. It’s begun to frequently take the form of a shared Google doc with whoever I’m going with, and yes, it does eventually start to develop schedule-like symptoms. Times where we might be leaving the hotel, when we could make dinner reservations, how long it could take to walk from one monument to the next and look there’s even a great ice cream place along the way for a pit stop at 3.17 on Friday.

Before you sign me up for a crash course in spontaneity, I should reassure you that I rarely ever follow ‘the list’ word for word. I’ll end up wandering around, see a street sign I recognise from my searches and remember that an interesting tea house/museum is nearby. In reality, this list is simply where I collect parts of a puzzle that I get to put together as I go along. My own personalised travel recommendations that I collect as I get excited about the upcoming trip. It’s inspired by the Facebook album I scrolled through, the Lonely Planet article I read, the Instagram pictures I pictured myself in. TripAdvisor recommendations, local food blogs, the hotel review that caught my eye because the building has an interesting back story. On my phone I’ve gone exploring, piecing together an experience I’d want to live. You could say it’s a millennial specific affliction. Really, it’s the same day-dreaming we’ve all done at our desks or on our daily commute. However, through the rise of social media and enhanced digital photography, we can now delve deeper into that “Wish You Were Here” feeling, and it’s something travel marketing professionals are really beginning to mine into it.

“I’m the Hero in this Story”

Recent research has pointed out that 80% of people trust the opinion of friends and family when it comes to booking a holiday. The survey found that people were less likely to use sites like TripAdvisor, Facebook or Twitter as primary sources for recommendation. Stats like these reinforce what we’re seeing across industries: recommendations and references are becoming principal purchasing influencers. The results or trends aren’t suggesting that the reach of social media should be ignored when advertising or sharing a message. However what that message conveys is important. Part of the work we do at Motivait is to reintroduce personal touches or user centricity back into processes and experiences. Our solutions rely on UX and UI research to make sure we design something that will tap into those emotional, intrinsic motivators. Why are people influenced by their best friend’s album from their #amazingadventure? Because when they see someone they personally relate to enjoying an experience, they can picture themselves enjoying it too.

Travellers, more than ever before, are able to engage with the stories and experiences of a place so that they’ve bought into their potential holiday before they’ve even booked anything. While tourism may have often been considered a stable and unchanging industry- people are always going to want a holiday- today’s digital platforms are offering an opportunity for organisations, councils, and national bodies to flex their creative muscles. People still want a holiday. But they can also now picture and curate the holiday experience they could have. And they would thrive on the chance to see themselves as the protagonist of that story or experience.

Better still, travel and tourism bodies can deliver experiences that connect with audiences they may have lost touch with. Museums or galleries that would have once got an eye-roll from younger generations, could present a story or path to follow that ignites the explorer within. Could a city famous for its lamb dishes offer a route where the vegetarian traveller can still come away giving it a 10/10 for gastronomy? The potential to connect with your audience can be limitless; as long as you remember to put them at the heart of the destination.

12/12/2017/by Lara Jones
https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/photo-1433838552652-f9a46b332c40.jpg 3840 5760 Lara Jones https://www.motivait.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/motivait-logo-web-300x113-1.png Lara Jones2017-12-12 13:52:432017-12-12 13:52:43Take Me There: Exploring the Experience Economy

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