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You have to take care of the people that take care of you and if a driver is dependable , you ’ re going to make sure they want to stay . It goes beyond money . It ’ s the personal relationship .
CLDA How do you keep them invested in your company ?
TAIBEL To make them feel invested in the company they have to feel invested in the people they work with . You ’ ve got to let them know that you have their back and that you ’ ll be there for them . When things don ’ t go well , they need to know you ’ ll stand behind them . If you ’ re able to build that loyalty with a driver , they ’ re going to stick with you till the end of time .
When they stick with us , we promote them , as I mentioned earlier . The last person we promoted to the city manager position for the city of Houston was somebody I hired as a driver in 2016 . This is a scenario that has played out all over the country for us . As long as I ’ m with Dropoff I expect he ’ ll stay with the company because he sees this as a relationship . I still reach out to him at least once a month , even now .
You have to take care of the people that take care of you and if a driver is dependable , you ’ re going to make sure they want to stay . It goes beyond money . It ’ s the personal relationship .
The company is individuals . When I interview people for our management roles , my sole focus is protecting our company . At the end of the day , everybody we bring in must be someone who cares . We want to work with people who care about the work that they ’ re doing ; people who care about the people that they are supervising . And that is something that I try to emphasize with my employees , especially those working directly with our IC drivers . That mentality filters down from the city managers during the onboarding of drivers . And that attitude translates into bringing on drivers who care about what they ’ re doing . Caring creates an environment of trust and loyalty , of relationship .
I think if you understand where a driver is coming from and what they ’ re trying to accomplish it allows you to get a good idea of how long they ’ ll stay . If their primary goal is money , they may stick with you for a good length of time . But you can only hold on to them for so long before they ’ re asking for more money . And if you can ’ t provide it , they ’ ll move on .
RICHARD I think the best example of our drivers being invested in our company is when they ask if they can bring their friends and family members on board . I ’ ve had quite a few drivers ask me that . So , retaining and the nurturing drivers actually helps you build your fleet because they enjoy the experience , and they refer others .
CLDA Give us a list of the dos when it comes to driver retention .
RICHARD
NUMBER # 1 - Keep communication open . That keeps people invested . It keeps them focused and it filters down to how they treat your clients .
NUMBER # 2 – Vary your interactions with drivers . If the only time they hear from you is with negative feedback , that gets old quickly .
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