Employers play an important role in driving change, with the goal of enhancing mobility and air quality in the Atlanta region. The Georgia Commute Options’ Changemaker Awards Program recognizes employers who have gone the extra mile in partnership with Georgia Commute Options to create exceptional commuting programs for their employees. We are pleased to announce our 2022 honorees leading the way as part of the first class of Georgia Commute Options Changemakers. Look at what we’ve been able to achieve together.
2022 Changemaker Award: Telework/Flexwork Program
The City of Powder Springs
This designation acknowledges the City of Powder Springs’ commitment to developing and implementing a telework program for its 69-person staff. When the pandemic forced most office workers to work remotely at the beginning of 2020, Powder Springs faced the hurdle of staying accessible to over 15,000 citizens and 650 businesses.
City management brought in help from Georgia Commute Options to build a telework framework, with plans to expand telework options to more members of their workforce moving forward. Powder Springs’ partnership with Georgia Commute Options enabled them to gather direct employee input through focus groups about their work experiences during the pandemic. These insights inspired action from city management, who quickly tailored their telework policy and practices.
2022 Changemaker Award: Commuter Benefits Program
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This designation acknowledges the CDC’s years of investment in commuter benefits programs for more than 12,000 employees in metro Atlanta. While the CDC guided the country through the pandemic, it also had to take care of its employees.
Its years of investment in a robust commuter benefits program pre-COVID helped the CDC remain flexible and responsive to employee needs. Before the pandemic, the CDC set up a commuter benefits program, leveraging federal transit subsidies to encourage the use of clean commute options, like public transit, vanpools or bicycling. They also started two shuttles that bridged the CDC’s main campuses and MARTA rail stations. With a return to the workplace in sight, the CDC is well-poised to offer commuter support to their workforce.
2022 Changemaker Award: Employee Engagement
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Alpharetta
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has spent years investing in its employees through a thoughtful wellness benefits program. This investment paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, a moment that proved critical to sustaining employee engagement and well-being. After experiencing the real-time benefits of working from home during the pandemic, including high productivity and boosted employee morale, HPE’s Alpharetta headquarters adapted its wellness benefits to expand its telework policy. They now offer employees more remote work options that will extend well beyond the pandemic.
HPE found different approaches to encourage engagement and health during the pandemic, partnering with Georgia Commute Options in the Atlanta region’s annual Biketober in 2020 and 2021. The company’s Alpharetta office had high participation both years, placing top in their division and logging more than 56,900 biking miles throughout the challenge.
Georgia Commute Options works with employers to develop commuter programs that drive change. Learn about our services, available at no cost to metro area employers.