Due to the lack of drivers in the industry today, it is more important than ever to retain your good drivers. You can achieve this by setting up a driver retention plan, in which attractive working conditions are an important aspect. If you set this up the right way, chances are high that it will also attract drivers from other companies. In this blog, we will discuss why driver retention is so important and what impacts it. Alongside that, we will provide you with 5 quick wins to improve your driver retention. Driver retention: why and what?
When we discuss driver retention, there are two important questions we need to ask ourselves. Why has it become so important and what impacts on driver retention?
As said before, the shortage of (good) drivers is one of the biggest issues in the industry. This is due to the fact that the new generation of drivers does not value the profession as highly. They see it as an inferior profession because of the perception that everybody needs to obtain an academic degree to be successful. This couldn’t be further from the truth. On the other hand, companies try to steal the best drivers from other companies by offering a better salary, better equipment and a better social plan.
The elements that have an effect on driver retention are:
- Driver happiness
Make sure that your drivers are happy by making them feel valued, providing them with good equipment or having efficient processes to make their life easier. - Driver coaching
Reward them when they perform well and coach them when they are not performing that well. You need to make sure that the data that is shown is always correct. - Incentives
Rewarding system for the best performing driver. Metrics like driver behaviour and customer satisfaction are the most important to take into account here. - Salary
Offer them the salary that they deserve. Do not take them for granted. - Norms and values
The drivers need to be able to identify themselves with the norms and values of their employer.
There will definitely be other aspects that have an effect on your driver retention rate but these are the most important. When you take these aspects into account, there are 5 quick wins to improve your driver retention rate.
5 quick wins to improve driver retention
The 5 quick wins to improve your driver retention rate are:
- 1: Provide your drivers with the best possible equipment
- FMS
- TMS
- Assets like trucks, trailers, …
- 2: Value their performance or dedication
- Over-performers: let them know that you appreciate them
- Under-performers: coach them until they improve
- 3: Optimise the efficiency of your planning
- Make their life as easy as possible
- 4: Implement an incentive system
- Reward your drivers when they perform well
- Incentives could be: city trip or holiday, money bonus, …
- 5: Be flexible
- Truck drivers appreciate flexibility when requesting time off
In a lot of cases, an advanced fleet management system is the key to better driver retention.
Is your fleet management system ‘advanced’ enough?
You can not afford to ignore the driver retention issue. Fleet management systems have a lot of applications that contribute to better driver retention, while they make drivers’ life easier. Are you curious about how advanced your fleet management system is? We have developed a fleet management checklist that helps you to check if your system meets all the functions.
Download it here.
