Free Employer Services and No-cost Employee Benefits? How your county’s TMA (Transportation Management Association) can help you find mobility and sustainability solutions. By Leanne McGowan, Business Development Manager at RideWise, Somerset County’s TMA Most NJ employers and HR professionals don’t realize that their local TMA can be a valuable tool. RideWise TMA in Somerset County, for example, can provide resources, programming and best practice consults on a variety of transportation-related matters, and help your business meet transportation-related sustainability, safety and wellness goals, alleviate pressure on HR and other staff, as well as offer opportunities for employee engagement. Leanne McGowan, Business Development Manager at RideWise, suggests the following to her corporate, business, municipal and non-profit clients, “Think of us as a sustainability partner, transportation options resource and no-cost benefit for employees. We’re happy to help with the basics like transit information, ridesharing registration and vanpooling formation, but can also help you develop strategic partnerships in the community that add value.” Services are customized based on each worksite’s unique needs. Formed in the late 1970s or early 1980s to help find solutions to transportation problems, TMAs form partnerships with businesses, organizations and local government to provide commuter information and services. The roles of many TMAs have expanded over the years, and in New Jersey, TMAs can give the business community a voice in local/regional/statewide transportation decision-making. A recognition program that employers can take advantage of is New Jersey Smart Workplaces, which awards worksites that offer transportation-related sustainability, safety and workplace wellness information, programs and policies to employees. According to McGowan, “most companies are already offering information and benefits to their employees that meet one of the four qualifying “Smart Workplace” levels, and we are happy to recognize them for their efforts.” A few examples of actions that help employers become NJ Smart Workplaces are designating a contact for employee commute inquiries, offering traffic alerts, informal or formal telecommuting, teleconferencing or compressed work week policies, Lunch & Learns on a range of topics from the benefits of walking and bike safety workshops to winter driving safety, and onsite amenities such as a gym or cafe. Qualifying as a NJ Smart Workplace also helps an employer earn points toward the...
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