Embracing Change Part 2: Informational Nudges

This piece is part of a series on ‘Embracing Change’ - navigating the transition from personally-assigned company cars to shared fleet models using nudges.

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Last week we introduced the challenge of creating change within a company culture that values personally-assigned company cars. We introduced the concept of nudges to navigate this challenge.

This week, we’re talking about informational nudges and how to use them.  

Leading researchers have found that informational nudges are cost-effective strategies that guide decision-making while preserving freedom of choice. By providing clear, factual data to support informed decisions by clarifying the benefits and rationale behind organisational changes. By doing so, they help ensure that changes make sense to the employee, making it easier for them to align their behaviour with organisational goals and adhere to new norms.

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Example in action: Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic's approach to reducing fuel consumption among pilots showcases an effective use of informational nudges. The airline implemented a program where pilots received feedback on their fuel usage with suggestions on how to reduce it, along with being informed about their performance compared to their peers. This approach not only informed pilots about their performance but also motivated them to adopt more fuel-efficient behaviors, ultimately leading to substantial cost savings and reduced environmental impact for the airline.

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How you can use informational nudges  

Detailed benefit communication: Regularly communicate the specific benefits of the shared fleet through well-designed email campaigns, infographics, and interactive seminars that detail cost savings, reductions in carbon emissions and improvements in traffic conditions.  

Personalised impact reports: Send monthly personalised reports to employees showing their personal contribution to reducing carbon emissions and costs through their use of shared vehicles.  

Success stories: Regularly share success stories via internal newsletters or company intranet, highlighting departments or individuals who have effectively integrated shared vehicles into their routine, emphasizing the personal and departmental benefits they've experienced.  

Environmental leaderboard: Create a leaderboard that tracks and displays the top users or departments in terms of efficiency and reduced environmental impact. This gamifies the usage of shared vehicles and encourages a friendly competition to be more eco-friendly.  

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Making it real

Fleet manager Sarah is considering transitioning her company from a traditional one-car-per-employee model to a shared fleet model. Historically, the emotional value associated with personal company cars - perceived as a status symbol and a personal benefit - has been very high among employees. This positive association with personal cars makes Sarah hesitant about the change, despite clear data showing significant cost savings and environmental benefits with shared fleets.

To counteract this association, Sarah decides to create an email campaign that highlights the positive emotional and practical benefits of the shared model. Each email emphasises the flexibility, reduced personal liability and potential for a newer, more diverse fleet of vehicles, along with the flexible access of the company pool fleet which staff can use for business as well as privately. The emails contain testimonials from other companies where employee satisfaction actually increased after such a transition.   

By addressing the emotional component directly, Sarah manages shift the response from one that fears loss to one that anticipates gains, thus making the rational decision more appealing.  

The beauty of nudges is their simplicity. They’re cheap to implement and they don’t require systemic changes. A lot of nudging is about how information is presented and organised – no need for policy or structural changes. The focus is on influencing how your people make choices within the existing policies or structure.

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In Part 3 in this series, we’ll look at normative nudges, which leverage the influence of social norms and peer behaviour to embed new behaviours.
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Read part one here  

Read part three here

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