You Do Not Need an HR Department to Offer Commuter Benefits
No HR department? No problem. Also, no excuse.
The phrase “commuter benefits program” sounds like something requiring a policy committee, three vendors and a spreadsheet with seventeen tabs. It does not have to.
At its simplest, a commuter benefit is a clear answer to one question: how can we make it easier and less expensive for employees to get to work? The answer will be different for every company. A business near MARTA may focus on transit. A company with employees arriving from the same area may have a natural carpool or vanpool opportunity. A workplace with flexible job functions may benefit from staggered schedules or telework days. The best program is not the fanciest one. It is the one people will use.
Start small. Designate one internal contact. Ask employees how they travel now, what frustrates them and what might persuade them to try something different. Choose one or two options that match the answers. Then communicate them repeatedly, because one email sent during open enrollment does not constitute a communications strategy. Livable Buckhead can handle the complicated part. Our Mobility Services team provides free employer consulting in partnership with Georgia Commute Options. We can conduct employee surveys, develop recommendations, explain transit and shared-ride choices, support program rollout and help employees create individualized commute plans.
Property managers can make this even easier by hosting a tenant commute event, including Livable Buckhead in welcome materials and identifying building-wide resources such as bicycle parking, showers, transit access and shared transportation information. One building connection can give dozens of small tenants access to expertise they would never hire on their own.
You do not need a dedicated benefits specialist. You need a willing point person and Livable Buckhead’s phone number. We will take it from there.
