Fleet driver management is another essential thing on the long list of fleet director’s responsibilities. The current recruitment situation has proved especially challenging as the driver shortage problem is spreading throughout Europe and the world, providing fleet directors with more problems when it comes to hiring the best driving talent but also retaining it.
Other than that, the situation regarding driving jobs, with the increasing safety training and growth of technology in daily tasks, has over time assigned new tasks to fleet managers who were previously very like any other manager. They often would simply supervise the work of drivers and delegate tasks without needing to employ other skills such as personal communication, being up-to-date with the latest trends and news related to the profession, and technical preparation when checking new technology and training ability.
In light of this situation, what today are four pertinent matters that fleet directors need to deal with when it comes to fleet driver management?
#1 - Driver shortage
Seen as the top 2018 challenge according to hauliers and operators of the logistics and transport sector, the current world driver shortage seems to be due to the older age of the driving workforce and the inability to attract fresh talent to a profession that is often seen as very demanding and not overly compensatory.
#2 - Driver hiring
Strongly connected, but not just, to the issue of global driver shortage, recruitment today is a challenge with regards to the procuring of driving talent, especially finding ways to motivate drivers or retain them, and, when it strictly comes to the hiring process, to the difficulties linked to checking licence status and penalty points as part of the duty of care of a company.
#3 - Driver education and continuous training
A good fleet manager has to understand that education and training should be a regular part of the work of a driver, not something perceived as only needed if there is a regulation change or a new vehicle coming into the fleet. The ability of the fleet manager lies in planning for regular reminders of safe driving, in addressing dangerous driving behaviours in the correct way and for the benefit of everyone and making the training process continuous and productive.
#4 - Communication with drivers and buy-in
Communication has to be the integrating aspect of the fleet management process and it should help secure drivers’ buy-in. The ideal modern fleet manager is not only a boss, but more importantly a communicator and needs to have these skills to regularly deal with drivers, and, in connection to a previous point, to schedule training and help drivers feel more involved as real contributors to the meeting of company targets.
Interested in Fleet Management? Check out blog post: Fleet management strategies: what expertise must fleet directors have?
