Last week’s blog post focused on analytics and their impact on coaching and your safety culture. This week’s post provides tips you can use today and take to the bank tomorrow!

Five Tips to Take Your Driver Improvement Program to the Next Level

1. Make it Personal

• Get to know each driver personally (soft skill), not their truck number
• Create a relationship based on mutual respect
• Communicate, educate and reinforce

2. Coach Quickly and Often

• Coaching is most impactful when performed close to the time of the event
• Daily coaching may be necessary, depending on the number of drivers, the number of coachable  events, speed of improvement, etc.
• The Driver Mobile App facilitates self- and anywhere coaching for drivers who may not often come to the office
• Drivers typically become more involved in the coaching process over time

3. Don’t Make it Punitive 

• Focus on good driving skills – call drivers regularly
• Identify areas for improvement – often you can let the video do the coaching by itself
• Tenured drivers often see bad behaviors for the first time when they see their own videos

4. Measure & Reward Improvement

• Let drivers know what impacts their safety score and how they can improve
• Implement monetary and non-monetary recognition awards

5. Always Continue to Improve

• Continue to coach risky behavior to lower driver and fleet safety scores
• Encourage friendly competition between coaches
• Encourage friendly competition between drivers
• Continue to evolve other areas of your coaching program beyond video

The impact of coaching goes far beyond improving safety in your fleet. Most coaches state that consistent and professional coaching sessions build stronger relationships with their drivers. This is accomplished through open and honest conversations, encouragement, commitment and trust. Relationships are not built on happenstance conversations or one-way conversations.

It’s likely you’ve heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again … and expecting different results. Unfortunately, that’s what many fleet managers do every day. For those without video safety, they train their drivers but continue to experience collisions and litigation. For those with video safety, they see the same behaviors, but don’t coach their drivers and wonder why they continue to experience collisions and litigation.

Coaching drivers – with video – is the best way to improve safety in your fleet. Not only will you experience fewer collisions (and near collisions), but you’ll experience savings throughout your fleet and an improved safety culture.

To gain more insights into coaching, download the eBook, “Coach Your Drivers to Safety and Success” today!