Many transport companies complain about driver turnover and they do not know what they can do about it. This article discusses some steps you can take to improve driver retention in your transport company:
Let Them Go Home Frequently
Some drivers can leave a transport company just because its work keeps them away from their families for very long. It is therefore very important that you realize that drivers make many sacrifices such as missing their kids' birthday celebrations because they are at work or not witnessing the birth of another child in the family due to work commitments.
Do everything you can to let your drivers go to their homes especially when there is a pressing reason such as serious sickness. This will ensure that the drivers do not feel that they should choose between their families and their job.
Give Them Ample Work
Most transport companies pay drivers according to the number of hours they spend at work. One way to improve driver retention is to ensure that all your drivers get sufficient work to earn them a relatively comfortable income. For instance, you can institute an internal policy that ensures that each driver has a minimum number of work hours each day so that their pay at the end of the month gives them no reason to look for "greener pastures".
Make Driver Retention a Team Effort
Drivers spend most of their time on the road so it is not very easy for them to feel that they belong to the same team with other employees. This can reduce how much they interact freely with other workers so they do not develop social ties at the workplace. Change this by making driver retention a team endeavor.
For instance, ask them to attend company meetings so that they share their ideas about issues that may not be directly connected to their work as drivers. For instance, they can make valuable contributions about how to cut costs on issues like stationery.
You can also insist that everyone working in the company calls each driver by name and treat them with utmost respect. Such acts will create a strong bond that will make drivers less reluctant to leave a workplace that treats all as family members.
Driver retention calls for monetary and non-monetary approaches. Use the suggestions above as a starting point to get additional ways to retain your drivers since it is easier to retain an existing employee rather than attracting a new one.
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