Keeping Your Workforce Motivated
Motivating employees to be more productive is among the top responsibilities of fleet management. Employees affect the sales numbers and delivery times in any fleet operation, and they need constant motivation to perform at their very best. Fortunately, with a little bit of effort, fleet managers have numerous ways to motivate their teams.
The Importance of Motivation Highly-motivated employees are self-driven, and they work 20% better. The benefits of a motivated workforce are plenty and include enhanced productivity, innovation, and problem-solving.
Employees who feel valued at the workplace are always looking for ways to be better at their job, and their creative ideas improve business performance. On the other hand, unmotivated teams have higher absenteeism rates and are more likely to resign. A 2021 study by Gallup found disengaged workers at a higher risk of leaving, with 48% of employees actively looking for other jobs. Typically, disengaged workers spend a lot of time avoiding tasks and fail to meet deadlines. This poor performance affects a company’s bottom line. To illustrate, US companies lose $450-$550 billion every year due to disengaged employees. As such, fleet managers should find ways to keep their teams motivated.
How to Motivate Your Workforce
Most fleet employees work out of the office, but there are ways to incentivize them for better performance. Some tips include:
- Equip Employees
Employees perform better when they have the tools and information required to do their job. Whether it’s new vehicles or communication tools, empower employees to utilize all their skills.
- Foster a Positive Culture
A fleet company’s work culture contributes significantly to employee engagement. A culture that inspires open communication and collaboration makes employees feel comfortable. Ideally, your workforce should not fear management, and you should discourage negative office politics. Effective communication is critical as workers who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to achieve peak performance.
- Set Expectations
Fleet employees should have a clear understanding of the expected results and targets. When you tell people to do their best, you leave a lot of room for confusion. So, clearly define departmental and individual targets and hold your team accountable if they don’t meet goals. Fleet managers should also be ready to clarify expectations and adjust targets as needed.
- Provide Training
Training programs empower drivers to enhance their skills and make them feel more capable of reaching their targets. Thus, organize frequent training sessions that equip employees with different certifications. Training also helps employees advance their career paths, leading to better job satisfaction.
- Employee Recognition
Recognition is a powerful motivator for fleet employees. Public awards, prizes, and verbal praises are ways to recognize outstanding employees. Recognize employee milestones and anniversaries as well, and organize weekly lunches that show workers that you value their input. Fleet managers don’t have to wait for the end of the week or month to recognize employees, as spot bonuses are excellent tools to keep up the work momentum.
- Offer Incentives
Monetary incentives are great, but your employees need other motivations to stay engaged. Some ideas include extra vacation days, reserved parking spots, tickets to music festivals, spa days, gift cards, and speakers.
Keep in mind that employees want different kinds of incentives, and you should ask your team members how they prefer to be rewarded. Some people like cash rewards, while others want extra days off.
- Create Work-Life Balance
Fleet employees face many challenges, and a good work-life balance ensures they get the rest and nutrition required to do their job correctly. As many as 87% of employees expect their employers to grant flexible schedules that help them strike a work-life balance.
Another tip is to encourage employees to talk about their work challenges rather than getting stressed. For example, during Men’s Health Month in June, you can hold forums that sensitize employees on healthy lifestyles.
Our fleet management solutions at Safety Track help your employees accomplish more and stay safe. Contact us today to enhance your fleet’s productivity.