Finding ways to ensure your drivers drive your fleet vehicles safely can become a major challenge if you don't create some form of sustained motivation. Even if your drivers mostly keep a clean driving record, you may still worry about them becoming complacent. As a fleet manager, this is always a nightmare scenario, though creating driver incentives can easily change things.
The question is, what kind of incentives truly work with fleet drivers? Take a look at these particular rewards and challenges for six common road safety challenges.
Recognition Among Driving Peers
Sometimes recognition in your company can motivate drivers to keep up their safety records. While financial rewards might motivate some drivers more than recognition, a combination of both usually works.
Recognizing the accomplishments of your drivers, though, can work on a psychological level since truck drivers seldom get the praise they deserve. It's a tough job driving fleet trucks to specific locations to deliver products.
The more recognition you give them (including on a national scale if possible), the more they'll stay cognizant to staying safe on the road.
Two challenges this could help solve include eliminating the chance of having distracted drivers in your fleet. It can also help temper any potential misbehavior (like road rage).
Cash Rewards or Bonuses
Using telematics has become a major way to keep fleet driver safety records clean. Even if these technologies might not work with every driver (like mobile tracking apps), your best drivers should always receive some kind of reward.
Giving your top-tier drivers cash rewards or bonuses can still be a huge motivator. While this should complement personal recognition, cash bonuses work to solve major road safety challenges. For instance, it can help drivers keep up higher CSA scores so they continue to feel what they're doing is worth the effort.
Plus, gaining cash proves to them that what they're doing is saving the company money. Using a telematics system is already going to help on costs from potential accidents or maintenance. Rewards like this ultimately work on a symbiotic level where each of you win financially.
Rewards That Are Tangible
Public recognition above is great, but you can add to it by giving your best drivers tangible rewards like trophies or plaques. When they can actually see a reward for what they've done, it reminds them every day of what they've done and why it's important to keep their driving record up.
Congratulatory letters are often great motivators, especially if you post them on a bulletin board for all the other drivers in your fleet to see. Once other drivers see real evidence of what's possible when maintaining a safe driving record, they'll feel inspired to start doing the same.
Tangible rewards can solve two major challenges from the road: Taking more care when driving in inclement weather, and never driving while tired.
Health Programs
Maintaining the health of your fleet drivers should become another top priority. Considering they have to sit for long hours while on long road trips, their health could suffer greatly without a health program in place.
Their health can also become harmed from driving in a.m. hours without enough sleep. Designing a program allowing them to take better care of their health reduces potential accidents exponentially.
Providing your drivers tips on local gyms they could visit, or even using exercise equipment in their trucks, can help them keep their bodies healthy.
The same goes with motivating them to eat healthier. Eating in restaurants on the road doesn't help, yet giving them incentive to eat their own healthy food guarantees better physical and mental health.
Contact us at Wilmar, Inc. where we can help you find solutions to better managing your company's fleet.
