Motivational Interviewing
Introduction and Purpose
Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative approach to communication designed to help individuals explore and commit to behaviour change. It was originally developed within clinical contexts, including addiction counselling, mental health services, and lifestyle-related interventions. The method is now increasingly applied in organisational settings to support employees navigating career transitions, workplace restructuring, or sustainability initiatives. The approach encourages individuals to reflect on their motivations and challenges, often described as a process that helps people “talk themselves into change” (Miller and Rollnick 2002). Effective use of Motivational Interviewing relies on an interviewer who demonstrates empathy, neutrality and active listening. Conversations are guided by the OARS framework - which emphasises the use of open questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summaries to support an employee-led exploration of change (Güntner et al., 2019). The OARS framework stands for:
- O – Open-ended questions -Invite reflection and encourage the interviewee to share detailed thoughts, motivations and experiences in their own words.
- A – Affirmations - Acknowledge and reinforce the interviewee’s strengths, efforts, and progress to build confidence and motivation for change.
- R – Reflective listening - Demonstrate understanding by echoing key ideas or feelings, helping the interviewee clarify and deepen their reflections.
- S – Summarising - Draw together main points of the discussion to consolidate understanding and highlight motivation for the next steps.
Motivational Interviewing can be used to stimulate employee pro-environment behaviour change in the workplace, such as conserving energy and reducing waste. It can also encourage employees’ engagement by introducing organisational activities such as monitoring and protecting wildlife around the business premises, supporting a local wildlife initiative, creating green spaces, reducing littering etc.,
Key Features
Timeframe:
- Individual motivational interviews typically last 20 minutes or longer, with follow-up sessions supporting continued reflection and behaviour change. The creation and implementation of Motivational Interviewing programmes depend on the organisation’s size and the number of employees to be engaged.
Materials Required:
- A clear and neutral communicator to facilitate the interviews
- A suitable and private location for conducting interviews
- Clearly defined target behaviours and identified pathways for change
- Ethical consent forms and participant information sheets to accompany interviews, ensuring transparency, informed participation and voluntary involvement. These documents should clearly explain the purpose of the motivational interviewing process, how data will be used, stored and protected, and outline participants’ rights, including the option to withdraw at any time.
Skills Required:
- Facilitation and Communication to conduct motivational interviews with empathy, neutrality, and active listening
- Training and Guidance to deliver or coordinate any training linked to the behaviours or activities being introduced
- Evaluation and Assessment to design and apply monitoring and feedback tools, interpret findings, and make informed recommendations for improvement
- Financial and Budget Management to undertake cost–benefit analysis and ensure efficient allocation of resources.
Potential Impact:
- Strengthened organisational contribution to biodiversity protection and restoration
- Greater awareness and adoption of pro-biodiversity values and behaviours among staff
- Improved staff morale, motivation and overall job satisfaction
- Increased organisational capacity to achieve biodiversity objectives and long-term sustainability goals
- Improved alignment between individual actions and the organisation’s environmental commitments
- Development of new competencies in reflective communication, decision-making and problem-solving
- Strengthened trust and transparency within the organisation through open dialogue about change
- Long-term cultural shift towards sustainability and environmental accountability
- Positive external reputation as a values-driven organisation committed to biodiversity and employee wellbeing.
Instructions
To implement Motivational Interviewing within an organisation, use the following steps as a guide:
Motivational Interviewing unfolds as a structured yet flexible process that supports gradual reflection and self-directed decision-making. The interviewer guides the employee through four stages. It is important that these stages do not feel rushed or pressured.
- Engagement – The interviewer uses open-ended questions and active listening to understand the individual’s perspective on their day-to-day experience within the organisation. No judgement is expressed, and all comments are acknowledged to foster trust and rapport.
- Focusing – The interviewer clarifies the target behaviour, explains the rationale for change and outlines the process to be followed.
- Evoking – The interviewee is invited to discuss their feelings about the proposed change, how it relates to their current working practices and what effects it might have. They are encouraged to consider both perceived and actual barriers, as well as how the change aligns with their personal values. This stage helps interviewees recognise inconsistencies between their values and current behaviours. The interviewer reflects key points back to the interviewee to support deeper reflection. The interviewer should avoid arguing, challenging or resisting what is said. Instead, the aim is to encourage “change talk” by drawing attention to the interviewee’s past successes, strengths and capacity for adaptation.
- Planning – The interviewer and interviewee collaboratively develop an action plan for behaviour change, identifying the necessary steps, resources and milestones. Barriers and solutions are discussed, incentives for progress are considered, and mechanisms for feedback and review are built into the plan.
Rationale
Motivational Interviewing is grounded in the understanding that sustainable behaviour change arises from intrinsic motivation rather than external pressure. It recognises that people are more likely to act when they feel ownership over their choices and when their values align with the desired change. The method draws on empathy, collaboration and active listening. By helping individuals explore and resolve ambivalence it supports a gradual shift from reflection to action. Within organisations it provides a structured yet flexible approach that allows employees to discuss change in an open, supportive setting. When applied to biodiversity or sustainability goals, it encourages staff to connect environmental action with their own sense of purpose and professional identity.
Benefits:
- Encourages voluntary and sustained behaviour change by focusing on intrinsic motivation
- Reduces defensiveness and resistance by replacing instruction with dialogue
- Creates a safe, non-judgemental space where employees can express doubts and explore motivations
- Builds trust, empathy and mutual understanding across teams, strengthening organisational culture
- Helps employees recognise and reconcile inconsistencies between their values and behaviours
- Supports progression through stages of change, from contemplation to concrete action
- Reinforces a sense of shared responsibility for environmental or organisational outcomes
- Cost-effective to implement, requiring primarily time, listening skills and facilitation rather than material resources.
Links to Resources
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing techniques and examples of questions
