Are your drivers frustrated?

Are your drivers frustrated?

Delivery drivers and service technicians are always on the go. Yes, cargo vans are their workspaces, but are they built to maximize their productivity?

Imagine yourself spending all day getting in and out of a van all day with a slippery floor. 

Imagine working in a dimly lit mobile workspace. 

Imagine kneeling in the back of a van with an uneven metal surface while looking for parts. 

Imagine trying to push equipment in a van when the floor keeps bunching up. 

Imagine trying to roll a heavy cart across a soft floor when the castors are sinking into it.

Imagine trying to push a large piece of equipment along the floor while making sure it doesn’t touch the sidewall and dent it. 

Imagine driving around in a noisy van all day.

Imagine the wasted time of securing every box because the floor isn’t grippy enough to keep it in place. 

All these nuisances bring one thing to mind. Frustrations. And what’s worse – unnecessary frustrations. They might seem like small things that can be overlooked, but when they consistently frustrate drivers and diminish their productivity, they can become increasingly unhappy with their job. 

So, the question is, do you want the drivers in your fleet to be unhappy?  Of course you don’t. Here are some key reasons why:

1. In the service industry your operators and technicians are the face of your company. A operator who is unsatisfied often fails to give the best possible customer experience.  They may even be so morose that the customer decides to use another company in the future, one who has a cheerful team of operators to work with.
2. People who like their jobs are more effective. It's been proven that happy employees are more motivated and their levels of productivity are higher. 
3. The more unsatisfied your employees are the higher your employee turnover. High employee turnover can cause problems such as unskilled operators, lack of operators, and wasted time interviewing new candidates.
4. Unhappy operators are less likely to pay attention to both their work and their driving. This can cause a number of implications from poor workmanship to motor vehicle accidents.

As a fleet manager, how can you help keep operators from being frustrated and unhappy?

1. Reward drivers for safe driving and hard work.
2. Respect operators with what they do and the problems they face.
3. Correctly spec vehicles to make them as safe and comfortable as possible.  This is the best thing a fleet manager can do to reduce operator frustrations. 

• Anti-slip rubber mats, rigid floors for safety, loading heavy equipment, and worker ergonomics
• Wall liners to protect and brighten the interior, increase resale value, and moderate temperature and deaden road noise.

Legend Fleet Solutions is a provider of interior protection products to enhance and optimize the efficiency of mobile fleets.