Throughout this five-part series, we’ve highlighted how the commercial transportation industry continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, we’ve covered the importance of clear, consistent, and effective communication between fleet safety managers and drivers; how to eliminate visual, physical, and cognitive distractions for drivers inside the cab; how advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) can work for the fleet; and ensuring driver safety while work rules are suspended. As the “new normal” slowly becomes “normal,” it’s imperative fleets continue to prioritize safety.
Operating in this new reality means ensuring you have enough qualified drivers for your vehicles. Whether challenges recruiting and retaining drivers are due to increased shipper demand, driver illness, or the long-term driver shortage the industry was experiencing prior to the pandemic, it’s important to hire safe drivers and train new drivers to be as safe as possible on the road. This is especially important as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) allows multiple exemptions, including no longer requiring a skills test examiner to be present in the vehicle during the test, making it easier for people to continue earning commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in the time of social distancing.
While it is nearly impossible to be in the cab with every new driver, it is paramount your new drivers receive the safety training they need and that they feel well-equipped with skills they will use on a daily basis. One of the best—and most effective—ways to train drivers is with a video-based safety program. By combining the power of an intuitive coaching workflow with a fully managed service, you can help your new drivers learn and maintain skills. Ultimately, safer driver habits will reduce collision frequency, lower fuel consumption and operational costs, and ensure drivers return home when their job is done.
Further, it’s important to continually incentivize your front-line workers as they face increased danger. A well-implemented driver incentive program can provide a considerable positive return on investment as a result of improved driver safety and fewer accidents—while greatly enhancing driver recruitment and retention.
No matter what type of incentive program you implement, critical to a successful program are clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to help encourage positive performance. KPIs are the backbone of a data-driven incentive program as they allow fleet managers to measure a driver’s performance and compare it to a previous period or the output of other drivers. Performance metrics are also a way for fleets to communicate what’s important to their drivers. If fleets are measuring the wrong thing or not prioritizing certain metrics, drivers will focus on those areas that don’t significantly impact performance. The most effective metrics are aligned with a fleet’s safety and operational efficiency goals and are intended to impact driver behavior and performance.
Ultimately, any driver incentive program needs to propel better driver performance and retention in order to pay for itself via cost savings coming from reduced accidents, workers compensation payouts, insurance premiums, and more.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To gain more insights on communication and coaching, download the eBook, “Coach Your Drivers to Safety and Success,” from SmartDrive. It can help make coaching part of your safety culture, measure your coaching effectiveness, provide advanced analytics for coaching, and more. Find out more, visit www.smartdrive.net.
