How Do You Gauge The Performance of Your Drivers?

When looking at the employees in a fleet who have the biggest impact on the organization’s bottom line, the answer is more often than not a driver. Drivers are the person seen most by customers. Drivers also are mainly responsible for bettering fuel consumption efficiency, performing non-scheduled maintenance and avoiding accidents. All things that can impact the amount of money brought into a fleet. It’s vital to be using the right metrics in order to evaluate drivers and to cultivate great truck drivers, but the question is what those right metrics are.

Some metrics are standards set up through CSA that measure unsafe driving, HOS compliance, driver fitness, controlled substance use, vehicle maintenance, hazardous materials compliance and crash indicators. Violations of any of these issues through CSA can be quite costly to both driver and fleet. On-board computers can measure much of this and provide a fleet feedback designed to help drivers improve their safety.

The CSA however, only looks at safety concerns. While safety is vital, it doesn't tell the entire story. It’s important that deliveries are made accurately, on-time and damage free, but it’s also important that items are delivered by professional and courteous drivers. While some customers might not care about the decorum of the person delivering their goods, other could, so it’s important to make a good impression.

On-board computer systems, fleet-enforced performance standards and customer feedback surveys, are ways to determine which drivers are excellent and also who needs to improve. Like most employees, drivers want to do the best possible job they can, and constructive and objective feedback can help them achieve that.

One way to help drivers achieve professional success is to perhaps provide them with incentives either through recognition or monetary rewards for good results. Some fleets will look at drivers with issues and move on to someone else, but often these are good drivers who simply need some fine tuning. Finding and keeping good drivers is a challenge for transportation companies, and sometimes the best way to find them is through good training.

Think about measuring your drivers against more than just federal standards. Measure them against your own company standards and against the feedback of your customers. If some drivers don’t measure up well, sometimes it’s best to try to help them first before just moving on in a different direction.

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