Drivers are the backbone of the distribution and logistics industry, especially for those companies specialising in road freight. However, reports show that only 30 per cent of UK Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) drivers feel valued. This is likely to result in lower job satisfaction, reduced productivity and higher employee churn rate, ultimately ending in lower profits. In an age where social responsibility is increasingly important, many logistics companies will also feel they have a moral duty to empower their staff and drive interest in road freight careers, combatting the sector-wide driver shortage.
When simply assigned a manager but receiving little actual support or engagement, drivers can feel like a cog in a machine. The organisational chart of a company becomes an abstract concept, no longer resembling an actual chain of care and direction. Here are some top tips to put relationships back at the heart of your company’s internal structure, and foster a sense of connection in your driving workforce:
1. Managers on site
As customers expect next-day delivery and premium service, many logistics companies are achieving success by increasing their number of last-mile hubs and depots, getting closer to consumers. However, this means an even more distributed workforce, with drivers operating from myriad satellite sites and even less likely to interact often with senior management or feel connected to a central business hub.
One way to combat this is to make sure your management team are distributed in a way that matches your spread-out workforce. Suttons Tankers, a road tankers logistics provider, invested in ensuring operations managers were present at major remote working sites every day to interact with drivers, provide training and briefings and act as a sounding board. Regular support and interactions made the act of management tangible and more than just a line on an organisational chart – and led to high scores in driver engagement surveys.
2. Democratise feedback
Only hearing feedback from one line manager, at monthly 1-1s, is a limited performance review methodology for workers that interact with many different employees throughout their working day. A driver could have contact with loading staff, health and safety managers, material handling equipment (MHE) officers, warehouse desk clerks, other drivers, retail staff and more, beyond their direct manager.
Performance and Talent software is a digital solution for managers struggling to feedback on such a varied and distributed work life. It allows employees to receive feedback from all coworkers, in an easy-to-use online platform. Managers can then draw on multiple viewpoints when assessing an employee's performance, and the driver in question can feel “seen” for their good actions in all areas of their job.
3. Two-way relationship
Manager-report relationships are traditionally a two-way street, where the managed party can ask questions, upwardly manage and feedback to their superior. In a distributed workforce, it is easy for the collaborative aspect of an organisational hierarchy to get lost, with managers seemingly issuing commands from on-high with little opportunity for interactivity. Drivers can feel alienated by this kind of “command-control" leadership, where a leader makes decisions and gives orders with dogmatic authority.
Software solutions are poised to help. Performance and Talent allows organisations to send out internal surveys, which can be tailored with wellbeing and engagement monitoring questions. This allows leaders to regularly check in with drivers, receive their thoughts and invite suggestions and criticism. Even when regular face-to-face interaction with managers is not possible, surveys demonstrate that employee opinions are valued and, when the results are taken seriously and acted upon, prove to drivers that they are listened to. This is likely to boost company loyalty and performance – as well as being a source of ideas and important frontline perspectives.
Engaging your driver workforce leads to a more motivated, efficient, and satisfied team. By fostering a culture that values feedback, promotes visibility, and prioritises wellbeing, you not only elevate the organisational chart but also drive your operations towards greater success. When drivers feel valued and heard, they become more than just employees; they become advocates and pillars of your organisational strength.
