Blog
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ARE YOUR DRIVER MANAGERS CLERKS OR LEADERS?
Last month, a CEO of a 700 truck fleet told me of his strong belief that his driver managers were merely clerks. He viewed them as “information passers” to the driver who occasionally answered a few basic questions from the driver. He definitely did not want them making any decisions. And they were only held accountable for the accuracy of the information they communicated to the driver, not for any business results. The CEO saw this as a low cost, ef… -
7 Ways You Can Strengthen the Driver Manager Role
1.Define the job clearly – focus on desired results such as miles driven, safety compliance, driver turnover, customer service, fuel economy and more 2.Communicate expectations to everyone – make sure people know what is expected and what is not 3.Use the performance expectations as hiring criteria 4.Establish performance objectives for each driver manager 5.Provide training on an individualized basis 6.Reward performance results that exceed expectations 7.Measur… -
Do You Have the Right Driver Managers?
Over the last 10 years we have completed a number assignments that included a study of what factors (skills, knowledge, attributes) actually separated high performing driver managers from low performing managers. We used measurable performance indicators – miles driven, fuel economy, on-time pickup and delivery, driver turnover, and safety to separate top and bottom performance. We also eliminated anyone hired in the last six months. We noted at least a 20% difference in … -
HAVE YOU SOLVED THE DRIVER RETENTION PROBLEM YET?
A report published in 2015 from market research firm Gallup finds there’s still plenty of truth in that old cliché – “people leave managers not companies”. The survey of 7,200 adults found that about half had left a job at some point “to get away from their manager”. APPROACHES When it comes to drivers, perhaps you have already tried many approaches to keeping drivers, from incentives, benefits and perks, t…