Each year, companies across the country invest massive sums of money in their attempts to boost employee morale, reduce employee turnover and absenteeism, increase the reach of their marketing campaigns, and otherwise improve the standing of their organizations.
At first glance, none of those aims seem related—which is why organizations tend to pursue distinct solutions for each of these goals, from workplace massage programs to paid brand consultants. But research suggests it might be possible to kill all of these birds with a single stone: bike fleets.
That might sound like a stretch, so hear us out. Bike fleets offer a host of benefits for employees, residents, and customers—and they just might solve some of your organization’s most pressing challenges. Whether you represent a corporation, hotel, residence, or other organization, here are six good reasons to invest in a bike fleet.
It gets people active—and improves productivity in the process
Making bikes available to your team can encourage physical activity and facilitate organizational health initiatives. When team members are more active, your organization benefits in a number of ways.
Physically active team members are more likely to be healthy team members, which helps explain why research shows that illness-related absenteeism and employee turnover decline among active employees. This has two major benefits: It significantly increases workplace productivity. And (depending on how your organization’s health care policies are set up) it may reduce organizational health care costs.
It boosts team morale
Research suggests employees who regularly engage in physical activity tend to experience less stress on the job and boast greater job satisfaction overall. By supplying your team with a fleet of bikes, you increase the chances that they’ll engage in morale-boosting activity.
It promotes sustainability—and cuts infrastructure costs
If everyone on your team or at your residence uses a personal vehicle to get around, that exacerbates traffic congestion issues and harms the environment in a number of ways. Personal vehicles are one of the primary sources of the greenhouse gas emissions that are spurring climate change. Meanwhile, the construction and maintenance of the parking infrastructure required to house these vehicles further impinges on energy resources, degrades the environment, and causes greenhouse gas emissions.
By investing in a bike fleet, you provide your team members, residents, and/or customers with the opportunity to move beyond the environmentally destructive reliance on personal vehicles.
Bikes are emission-free and easy to store in small spaces. (You can store an entire bike fleet in the space it might take to house just a few vehicles.) The use of bikes on campus or around town may further improve employee or resident morale or customers’ experiences with your brand by eliminating parking headaches, reducing urban congestion, and minimizing air pollution. The cherry on top? A bike fleet can save you money that would otherwise be spent on constructing and maintaining vehicle parking infrastructure.
It facilitates brand promotion
By design, bikes move around—a lot. They’re also able to travel to spaces that may not be accessible via traditional advertising tactics. If you brand those bikes with your organization’s logo or other information, then you’ve just invested in a fleet of moving billboards.
While these bikes travel around your city, they not only promote your brand; they also elevate its appeal in the minds of prospective customers. A branded bike indicates your organization is committed to sustainability, healthy lifestyles, and other attributes valued by today’s consumers.
It builds connections with the local community
A bike fleet encourages getting around by bike, and that facilitates connections within your community.
As team members or customers explore the local landscape, they experience the community as a local. In the process, bike riders gain a more authentic experience of the place in which they’re living or traveling and cultivate a sense of place that can inspire greater investment in the community. (This is especially true for modern travelers, who crave authentic experiences with the places they visit. Providing these experiences can create positive associations with your brand and encourage repeat tourism.)
This branding can also extend to your city. By creating a bike map and making bikes available to your customers, you can promote exploration of the region and encourage tourism in the process. And as we all know, tourism is good for local businesses.
It sets your organization apart
The most successfully positioned businesses understand that an over-reliance on personal vehicles will soon be a way of the past, while environmentally friendly transportation and health- and community-oriented brand values are the way of the future.
By hopping on the burgeoning bike trend, your company can stay ahead of the competition, prove its relevancy, and establish itself as a leader on the way to a greener, more community-focused society.
Investing in a bike fleet pays off in major ways, from improving morale to enhancing your brand’s reputation. Best of all, you can reap all these benefits in a remarkably cost-effective package.
Want to learn more about Brooklyn Bicycle Co.'s Bike Fleet Program? Click Here.