If your business is one that involves the shipping and delivery of goods from one location to another, then you might be in a scenario where you are considering hiring a fleet of drivers. In doing so, you can cut out the middle man, so to speak, when it comes to your shipping process and stand to save a great deal on your upfront costs of doing business.
However, hiring a fleet of your own is something that results in you as a business owner assuming a great deal more responsibility for your shipping process. If something goes wrong, you are liable. The key to minimizing risk in this regard lies in your ability to hire and train an efficient, effective fleet.
There are various aspects of logistics and planning that go into running a successful fleet. That being said, your top priority should always be to do what you can to ensure that your fleet drivers are safe when on the road. Safe, effective drivers are less likely to make mistakes and, therefore, can help to ensure that your goods are delivered in a timely manner.
Most importantly, however, you want your drivers to be happy working for you and safe at the end of the day. Here are a few tips that can help you to ensure that your fleet is safe when out on the open road.
Never Stop Training
There are several professions out there that only require a bit of training at the start, and then employees are more or less left to their own devices. You should avoid thinking of the training that you provide to your fleet drivers in this manner. Rather, you should take a proactive approach to making sure that your drivers have all of the information that they need in order to be safe when completing their routes.
For instance, from time to time, it is a good idea to give your drivers reminders about the dangers of distracted driving by asking them to view a distracted driver training video. Since distracted driving is one of the most prevalent issues on the road today, everyone could use a reminder about how to avoid it every so often.
By keeping your drivers trained up and constantly looking to improve their safety skills when on the clock, you can better encourage them to keep even the most basic safety principles in mind.
Adopt an Open Door Policy
One issue that many business owners run into when they are in charge of a fleet of drivers is missing out on developments with their employees or changes to the standards being kept. When your team is always out on the road, and you rarely have face-to-face interactions with them, it is easy to allow this to happen.
Many aspects of your drivers’ health and safety can fall by the wayside in this way. Make sure that your drivers know that you have an open-door policy and are always open to hearing their thoughts about how safety standards are being maintained by the fleet as a whole.
