If you are in charge of several truck drivers, you likely understand that your company's bottom line is affected dramatically by those individuals.
How well they drive, how much they enjoy what they do, and their overall demeanor can change based on their job satisfaction. What can you do to ensure their happiness? Here are a few ideas.
1. Maintain Your Trucks
These individuals spend the vast majority of their time in the truck; if you have the trucks cleaned and serviced on a schedule, you show the drivers that their feelings matter. It should be the norm for them to get into a clean truck.
Consequently, they should also want to keep their truck looking nice as well. Some companies, like AMC Cleaning, even specialize in this area, which means that you can have chrome polishing or tire blacking services added on every once in a while as a gesture of goodwill.
In addition, it is important to have a mechanic go over the trucks regularly as well. The motors need to be examined to ensure that nothing is wrong.
Having this procedure done shows your drivers that you are safety conscious and want the best for the them.
2. Communication
One way that you can help is by keeping in contact with your drivers.
Speak to them to see how they are doing and ask them if they have any concerns. Allow them to vent
to you if necessary or just provide a listening ear to show them that you care.
In addition, take that time to get feedback to see how you could improve your business.
Many people are fooled by the tough exterior that a number of truck drivers have.
These individuals are still people and they still need to feel appreciated and valued. A simple phone call can do that.
However, make sure they understand that you simply want to see how they are and you are not critiquing their driving at all.
3. Switch Things Up
Therefore, consider changing up their assignments every once in a while.
Seeing different sights or different landscapes can really work wonders for a driver that is getting burned out.
However, make sure your driver knows that you are switching their route as a courtesy; you don't want to offend them if they really do like their current assignment.
You also want to make sure they are up for the task of the new route.
It can be difficult to manage a fleet of truck drivers. It is important to keep them happy, so these tips will come in handy moving forward.