Sometimes it is assumed that truck driver satisfaction is equal to truck driver engagement, but this is in fact not so. Satisfied drivers may be happy or content with their job but that does not necessarily mean that they are working exceptionally hard or being productive. So, in other words, satisfied truck drivers may not be going the extra mile. There are a lot of motivating factors behind what drives a truck driver \u2013 pun intended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On the other hand, truck driver engagement or participation\nis defined by a driver having an emotional commitment to the organization and\nits goals. This will translate into drivers that care about their jobs and are\nnot just waiting for their next paycheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High employee engagement has been proven time and again to\nlead to better business outcomes. Organizations that increase investment in\nemployee engagement by 10% can expect to grow their profits by approximately\n$2,400 per employee per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports have shown that employees who are more invested in\ntheir roles are more productive than those who aren\u2019t. According to Gallup,\norganizations that have highly engaged employees can expect to see a\nprofitability increase of 21%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engaged employees have a great effect on customer\nsatisfaction. Who better for customers to interact with than drivers who are\npassionate about what they do and perform in a way that shows they are proud of\ntheir jobs? These types of drivers become ambassadors as they are truly\ninvested in the success of the fleet and the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engagement and Retention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we\u2019re sure everyone knows by now, the cost of retaining a\ntruck driver or employee is much less than acquiring a new one. Engaged drivers\nare less likely to want to leave their job to look for better prospects. If\nyour best truck drivers are leaving at an alarming rate, this may plant a seed\nin the minds of other drivers to do the same. Fleets who experience this must\nfind out why and improve driver engagement to prevent it in future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another valuable result of having engaged drivers is that it\nenhances overall company culture. Company culture is how people within an\norganization interact with each other and work together. Engaged drivers\nusually live and exemplify the company\u2019s values every day, connect to the\ncompany\u2019s mission, are committed to developing their career and learning new\nskills, and have a positive attitude. All of this produces a good company\nculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A surprising benefit of increased engagement is an\nimprovement in employee safety. How? Engaged drivers feel more connected to\ntheir workplaces (their vehicles). This makes them more aware of their\nsurroundings and more focused on the task at hand. Research has shown that 70%\nfewer safety incidents occur in highly engaged workplaces<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the belief among many that success breeds engagement. However, psychological research has found the opposite to be true. When a truck driver is in a happy, positive or engaged state of mind, it is actually the precursor to success. Where an engaged workforce is present, there is always a subsequent rise in business performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason for this lies in the chemicals within human\nbrains. Being engaged in work leads to positive emotions and a rise in\nserotonin and dopamine. These chemicals not only make people feel good but also\nenhance learning. Their presence helps people organize new information more\neffectively, retain information longer and retrieve information more quickly.\nIt also allows people to think quicker and more creatively and improves\nproblem-solving abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, in summary, when drivers are engaged, they experience\nmore positive emotions. This, in turn, enables them to perform at a higher\nlevel and create success for your fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gamification and Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As an overview, let\u2019s look at what gamification is.\nAccording to Investopedia, it is the incentivizing of engagement in non-game\ncontexts and activities by using game-style mechanics. These mechanics can\ninclude earning badges for completing certain tasks, levelling up, leaderboards\nand more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, why does gamification work? Humans want to achieve\ngoals, feel valued, be competitive and attain dominance. Gamification provides\nall of this. Gamification tricks people into being more productive by making\npotentially boring or repetitive tasks seem more fun. Think about when you play\na game. Games have challenges within them that you must complete in order to\nlevel up, receive a reward or move up on a leaderboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing such things in real life, like collecting a certain\nnumber of coins, can seem tedious but when done in a game it becomes\ninteresting because there is a reward at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, once you\u2019ve implemented some type of scoring system\nwithin your fleet (as referred to above in the \u201cGamification\u201d section), you can\nadd onto that an incentive program. You can liken it to those store cards that\nprovide you with points for purchases and then provide you with a gift or\nreward once you reach a certain amount of points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how does such an incentive program help improve driver\nengagement? Let\u2019s go down the psychology route again. It all boils down to what\nmotivates people. Now, this can be different depending on the person. Some\nindividuals perform certain actions because they want to achieve personal\nsatisfaction. That might include taking up a hobby because it makes them feel\nhappy or exercising because it helps relieve stress after a long day at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Motivates People?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Others are motivated by external factors. These individuals\nwill do something to receive a reward of some sort, monetary or otherwise, or\nto avoid a less than-positive outcome should they not perform a certain action\nor task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this is not to say that some people are only\nintrinsically motivated and others only extrinsically. We all oscillate between\nthe two and one type of motivation isn\u2019t necessarily better than the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating an incentive program for your drivers is the\nperfect way to satisfy both types of motivations as well as make them more\ninvested in what they do, which ultimately leads to success for your fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a variety of ways an incentive program can be\nimplemented. Ultimately, it will depend on the type of fleet you manage and\ntaking the time to learn what your drivers respond to best. An incentive\nprogram only works if the drivers want what you are rewarding them with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before creating your incentive program, it would be helpful\nto survey your drivers on what rewards they would find motivational. This could\nbe a cash bonus, time off, a vehicle upgrade or whatever else you can manage to\nprovide. If you don\u2019t provide an incentive that is appealing, drivers won\u2019t\nfeel much need to reach the goals that have been set out for them. Also,\nremember that it doesn\u2019t have to be one single reward. You can also add in gift\ncards, company merchandise, e-gifts and more. This will increase the likelihood\nthat each driver may receive something they like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going Beyond Incentives Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure that when you do provide incentives that they are\nreceived by drivers quickly. In today\u2019s fast-paced society, instant\ngratification is indeed important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using the scores and ranks provided by, you can put up a\nphysical leaderboard in the breakroom or somewhere else visible. Then people\ncan see themselves move up or down on the leaderboard and it further creates a\ncompetitive culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For feedback to be efficient in the context of a fleet, it is essential to provide relevant and useful training that supports the feedback. So, should drivers have numerous speeding events during a time period, they obviously have an issue relating to that. Professional training should then be offered to that truck driver to give them the tools to lessen his or her speeding, and then the driver should be given a time period within which to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A great way to emphasize the effect of speeding and to show\ndrivers their behavior in real-time is with the help of in-cab video. Visual\naids are one of the best ways that people learn and retain information. As\ndrivers go out and apply what they have learned, they should also be given the\nopportunity to see the improvement in their performance to have confirmation\nthat, indeed, they are doing it correctly. And, of course, lots of praise is\nalways a good motivator for increased engagement and productivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"