BEHAVIORAL CHALLENGE: Get employees to think and act water-smart
Laholmsbuktens VA (LBVA) wanted to inspire municipal residents, customers, and partners to become water-smart. To do so, we sought to turn its employees into role models. The goal was to get employees to think and act water-smart.
Could nudging and behavioral design be a useful tool? After a behavior analysis and implementation of several different behavioral initiatives we believed that the answer was yes.
SMART NUDGE: Cake party and friendly reminders
We started a campaign in which employees were encouraged to submit examples of water-smart actions done by themselves or their colleagues. In the next step the best idea was chosen by the employees and the winners got to invite their team to a cake party. The cake party was documented and published on an internal website so that colleagues could read more about the employee behind the idea. In addition, the news of winners and the cake party was sent out via text message and published on digital screens in lunchrooms and corridors.
To really make this work, we saw the need for reminders. It was important to remind the employees to act water-smart. Multiple reminders were set up in different places in the workplace. For example by the coffee maker, the sink and even in the shower. Lots of water waste in there! The reminders were designed as stickers with ingenious greetings from aquatic animals, which gave the employees cheerful clues and friendly reminders to act water-smart.
RESULTS: An increase in employees’ attitudes towards water-smart actions
To get an insight into employees’ attitudes before and after implementing the nudges, we used six voting screens and placed them near staff rooms. On the screen display, passers-by could read various statements and give a voluntary response.
The survey indicates that several employees believe they act more water-smart at work after the nudges were installed. It also shows an increase in employees' beliefs about the importance of acting water-smart at work. However, the measurements were on such a small scale that no statistical conclusions could be drawn in this project.
“The cake campaign encouraged employees to submit examples of water-smart actions done by themselves or their colleagues.”
"The stickers had ingenious greetings from aquatic animals, which gave the employees cheerful clues and friendly reminders to act water-smart "
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?
Do you have questions about the project, or do you want to find out how your organization can do something similar?
Contact Katharina Paoli Brunat, CEO at Nudgd.
THANK YOU
We would like to thank Laholmsbuktens VA for your willingness to test nudging and behavioral design as a method to help your employees make sustainable choices.
We would also like to give a big thank you to all the dedicated staff at Laholmsbuktens VA who made it possible to implement the campaigns with their involvement.