The people who are chosen to be trainers in your organization are probably highly skilled professional drivers with a track record of safety and consistency. However, does a great driver make a great trainer? Not always. Taking a look at the satisfaction and engagement of your trainers is beneficial for new hire retention and engagement. New hires need someone to look to, not only to learn driving skills, but also to learn how to behave within your organization.
Recently, I spoke with one of our trucking clients who said that one of the issues they’re having is that one of their trainers is a great teacher who works well with new drivers, but his bad attitude when he’s not training is evident for new hires to see. This is problematic because new drivers are looking to this individual for cues on what behaviors are acceptable and what aren’t. Unfortunately, this trainer is showing new drivers that it’s okay to act inappropriately to dispatchers and other operational employees.
So how do you know where your trainers are on the engagement spectrum? You can do this by gathering formal data in the form of an engagement survey, or by having 1-on-1 conversations with trainers and asking specific questions that address both satisfaction and engagement. Ask your trainers questions about how proud they are to be the face of your organization, what they like and don’t like about training, and what they would do differently. Taking the time to find out how engaged your trainers are feeling can seem like just one more thing to do on an already packed to-do list, but the payback – in the form of more satisfied and engaged new drivers – makes it worthwhile.
Need help in assessing how engaged your drivers are currently? Start with our Strategic Engagement Survey, our New Hire Check-In, or our one-of-a-kind Strategic Contact. For more information, send us an email or call 800.800.5476.
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