Last Thursday, May 1st, we celebrated the Labor Day: It was a great time to take a break, disconnect a bit and enjoy time with family.
However, this is also an opportunity to reflect on the struggles and achievements achieved by workers over time and rethink the routine of your fleet drivers.
Many professionals deal with exhausting routines, traveling for hours from destination to destination with few breaks for rest, which harms their quality of life and their performance at work.
we separate 5 strategies that you, fleet manager, can apply in your company to solve problems of long working hours and also to engage and motivate the team. But before that, let's understand a little more about how this holiday came about?
The origin of the workers' holiday
Why is it important to invest in your employee's quality of life?
5 tips to improve drivers' quality of life
The origin of the workers' holiday
Workers' Day came about because on May 1, 1886, in the city from Chicago (USA), a group of workers at the time organized a strike and set this date.
After this memorable act, every year on that same day, workers from different parts of the world began to organize strikes in their cities, making the movement and the date a global landmark. However, the holiday was not considered during this period; the holiday was only officially made official in 1924, thirty-eight years later.
The date has international relevance as it has always dealt with struggles, through strikes and demonstrations, seeking better working conditions for workers. Although it is not yet ideal, the struggles have brought some improvements that have already eased the workers' skin a little. Let's take a look at some of the achievements of Brazilian workers:
- Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT)
- 8 hour daily journey
- Right to paid annual leave
- weekly rest
- Right to social security
Why is it important to invest in your employee's quality of life?
Companies that prioritize and aim to quality of life of its employees are rewarded with a much more dedicated and engaged worker. This extra dedication is advantageous for both sides, whether for the short and long-term well-being of the employee, or for the success and growth of the company.
From the moment that the driver feels welcomed by fleet management of your company, begins to work in a more dedicated and attentive way, also aiming to help improve the work environment.
Another highlight is the team consistency. Companies that benefit their employees in any way, working towards a comfortable and welcoming environment, have less chance of losing your employees.
When an employee works with a manager who cares and values their efforts, a bond of exchange is automatically created in which the employee will reciprocate by valuing and supporting the company.
5 tips to improve drivers' quality of life
Now that we understand the history of Labor Day and the importance of seeking better working conditions for the team, let's check out 5 strategic tips to ensure that your fleet of drivers feel welcomed and valued.
1. Driver bonus and appreciation programs
Valuing workers is one of the most efficient ways to motivate them to continually seek improvement in the service it provides. Therefore, the implementation of recognition programs is an excellent alternative to engage employees.
An example is the National Positive Driver Registry (RNPC), a program that aims to benefit and encourage positive practices in traffic.
Programs that encourage employee development through rewards — whether financial, such as salary increases or periodic bonuses, or non-financial, such as time off or professional development opportunities — awaken in the driver the desire to evolve within the company on his own initiative.
O Golfleet, through the system of video telemetry, has enabled the implementation of several successful cases. One of them is that of the company Lavoro, which, based on the data collected, real-time information and alerts generated by Verbal Coaching, was able to develop strategies to reduce expenses previously considered unavoidable.
Lavoro created the Safe Driving Program for Labor, which enabled the implementation of safety policies with benefits for both drivers and management. The savings obtained from these actions paved the way for the future implementation of benefits for employees.
However, the adoption of bonus measures needs to be planned carefully, with well defined rules that avoid turning the work environment into a competition for performance. The goal should be to promote the joint growth of everyone, in alignment with the company's values.
2. Caring for drivers’ mental and physical health
The profession of driver requires attention and concentration 100% of the timeAny carelessness, any slip-up can be very costly, for the company and for the worker himself.
With this, it is evident that care with the driver's mental health is extremely important. Hours on the road, often lonely, can be detrimental to drivers' psychological well-being, making it extremely important for the company or manager to pay due attention to this.
Read more: Traffic psychology: check out how to have more safety and quality of work in your fleet
In addition to psychological attention, as it is a job in which the driver spends hours sitting in the same position, with repetitive movements and a lot of concentration, the take care of your physical health becomes of utmost importance. Request Routine tests It is a good way to show care and concern for employees.
A offering health plans for employees is an alternative for solving and preventing these possible problems effectively. Provide quality of life, for example, making the driver aware of the importance of a good night's sleep and your well-being helps in employee loyalty, bringing benefits to both sides.
3. Better working conditions
One of the most effective strategies to engage employees is to improve working conditions. After all, the work environment has a great impact on people's well-being and motivation — and can be one of the main sources of stress or disinterest. This motivation of drivers is the role of the fleet manager, in addition to, of course, the company providing the necessary instruments for this to happen.
In the case of drivers, this starts by offering a quality fleet: vehicles that are inspected, updated and equipped with features that make everyday life easier and work safer and more efficient.
Read more: Vehicle safety items: which are mandatory?
Thinking about offering better working conditions to drivers, Golfleet provides the module Speed per Way (VVia). This feature allows you to monitor drivers' speed during journeys, promoting greater safety and helping to avoid risky situations throughout the journey.
In addition to benefiting drivers, the VVia It also brings benefits to fleet management. With alerts generated in real time, the manager can monitor the individual behavior of each driver, reinforcing control and contributing to a safer and more efficient operation.
Combined with a good organization of routes and schedules, this care helps the employee to focus on what really matters — their responsibilities —, increasing commitment and dedication to the company.
4. Positive feedback policies
Along with implementing recognition and bonus programs, the company can also include positive feedback policies, providing positive returns to its workers.
Structured feedback provided by managers/supervisors is great tools to engage increasingly the employee to the work environment. When praised, the worker tends to feel good and continue working towards constant evolution so that these returns happen more often, benefiting the company, management and employee.
The platform Golfleet provides a driver ranking via telemetry, facilitating the implementation of this feedback culture. With this tool, the fleet manager has the possibility of being transparent with his drivers through the data made available on the system dashboard, ensuring that this culture is statistically assertive in the choice of feedback to employees.
Are you interested in this possibility of ranking drivers? Watch the WebCast Drivers as allies in fleet management and understand the right way to list and value your drivers.
5. Opportunities for growth within the company
It is extremely important to offer opportunities that enable employees to grow within the company. Make it clear, from the moment of hiring, that ways of progression will be made available, whether in terms of position, salary or even professionally.
This can be done by offering courses that enrich the curriculum of the worker, expanding their opportunities within the company itself. These initiatives work as a way of build employee loyalty and engagement, encouraging him to dedicate himself more and more to achieve new goals and positions.
Understanding and applying these strategies to improve drivers' quality of life and well-being is a great path to the success of your management. The idea is to encourage the importance of companies prioritizing employee satisfaction, understanding that the growth of companies is extremely aligned with the engagement and dedication of the worker.
We hope these tips contribute to the good development and growth of your company and management. Aiming for collective evolution within a company is the best strategy for an excellent team manager.
For greater awareness of shared strategies and other more in-depth tips, we have separated one of our Complete and free eBooks de How to turn your drivers into allies, always aiming for positive development in fleet management.
