Workplace Charging Employer Workshop Toolkit

Use these best practices for planning, organizing, and executing successful and educational workplace charging events. These materials, which can assist you in promoting workplace charging in your community, are based on lessons learned from more than 20 events held across the United States. For additional information, see the Alternative Fuels Data Center workplace charging section.

Event Objective and Messaging

Most workplace charging events fall into three major categories: stakeholder engagement, employer education, and employer recognition. Events aimed at educating employers should, at a basic level, inform attendees about the basics of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), charging station technology, cost considerations, and the benefits of electric drive vehicles. Attendees should depart the event with a toolkit of information (either paper or digital) to help them explore the implementation of workplace charging at their organization.

Event Partners, Sponsorship, and Hosts

By hosting the event at a local employer who has implemented their own workplace charging program, you can provide a tangible example of workplace charging success and that organization is given an opportunity to promote their sustainability efforts. If sponsorship is pursued, ensure that sponsoring organizations are recognized appropriately in event promotional material and speaking opportunities. Charging station vendors and local dealerships and automakers can be invited to exhibit in tabletop displays or ride and drive demonstrations. These opportunities can create an additional value for workshop participants.

Speakers and Agenda

Previous workshops aimed at educating employers about workplace charging were most successful when held for 3–4 hours. A template agenda can be found below that allows adequate time for registration, vendor display, and a PEV ride and drive. Speakers may cover the importance of PEVs to the local region and community readiness successes to date, fundamental information on PEV and charging station technology, considerations for working with the local utility, a first-hand PEV driver experience, the need for and benefits of workplace charging, and a variety of employer workplace charging experiences.

Invitations

The target audience for workplace charging education is usually sustainability managers, facilities managers, transportation planners, human resources managers, and others who are interested in learning more about providing PEV charging stations for their organization’s employees. Workshop organizers found that issuing an invitation to potential attendees 1-2 months in advance of the event yielded the greatest number of participants. By engaging existing networks, such as your local chamber of commerce, regional council and metropolitan, or transportation planning organization, the quality of attendance can be increased.

Event Follow-Up

Attendees should leave with a specific point of contact that they can reach out to for any follow up questions after the event is over. Event organizers may want to follow up with attendees by distributing presentation materials from the event or issuing a follow-up survey.

Employer Workshop Materials

• Workshop Agenda Template – Develop a streamlined workshop with this half-day agenda focused on introductory-level PEV education and firsthand employer workplace charging experience.

• Workshop Host Outreach Letter Template (Clean Cities Branded Template) – Approach employers in your community that already have workplace charging to serve as a workshop host.

• Workshop Speaker Outreach Letter Template (Clean Cities Branded Template) – Invite employers in your community that already have charging to speak on an employer experience panel.

Example Workplace Charging Events

This section provides links to previous successful workplace charging events. These link directly to the organization's websites and contain their own event agendas and presentation materials.

• Workplace Charging for Electric Vehicles – Chicago Area Clean Cities

• Workplace Charging: Employer Policy and Cost Considerations – Chicago Area Clean Cities

• Drive Electric Northern Colorado Workplace Charging Challenge Launch – Northern Colorado Clean Cities

Workplace Charging Employer Workshop Best Practices Webinar

Through this recorded webinar, learn about the experiences of four event hosts and how they planned, organized, and administered successful workplace charging events.