Being an Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) can be a rewarding career, but if you're one of these types of ETC, you may be making your job harder than it needs to be. Take an honest look at this list: Do you recognize yourself anywhere here...?

The Party Animal. Everybody loves a party, and rideshare parties are the backbone of many successful programs. When that's all you do, however—without any emphasis on why you're throwing these parties—it's not a good use of your time, or your budget.

That doesn't mean you should deflate the balloons and give up. "Just be sure you're including goals as you plan your party," says Tara Pueschel with Inland Empire Commuter Services. Do you want to sign up bus riders? Get survey forms turned in? Introduce a new benefit? With a clearer idea of what you hope to achieve, you'll know whether your party was fabulous…or a flop.

The Old Fogie. Change can be scary, but if you find yourself too often saying, "But that's how we always do it," you might be missing out on opportunities to improve your program.

On a regular basis, at least once a year, evaluate what you're doing to see where new technologies or resources could benefit you. What about switching to paperless surveying? Blogging? Even just a small change—such as distributing bus passes a different way—could be the jolt of freshness your program needs.

The Mole. With all you do, it's easy to get lost in paperwork and never leave your desk—but burrowing yourself away from others can bury your rideshare efforts.

Try to get out regularly and see employees. Your friendly face and some conversation—or a pop-in visit to department meetings—can do more to sell your rideshare program than a dozen glossy brochures.

The Know-It-All. As a rideshare pro, it's your job to know about commute options and resources—so you may forget your employees don't share your expertise. "You have to spell it out clearly for them," advises Metro's April McKay. "It doesn't do any good to, say, promote your fleet of vanpools if employees don't even understand what vanpools are. Education and promotion need to go hand in hand."

As a rule, any time you communicate with employees—whether it's a poster, an email or a complete campaign—take a step back and evaluate it for missing information or lingo that may be foreign to employees (even if it's obvious to you). If employees don't understand you, they won't ask—they'll simply tune you out.

The Annual ETC. Even though people commute daily, some ETCs only promote ridesharing once or twice a year—typically during Rideshare Week and survey week. While those are important occasions, it leaves your employees with 50 weeks in-between to forget about your rideshare program.

Be sure to maintain a presence year-round—even if, due to other job duties, all you can spare is a few minutes a day to send an email or set out updated bus schedules. Those small efforts add up over time.

For help updating your ETC style, contact your rideshare representative.