NUMBER # 3 – Make them feel like they are a part of a team . Of course , that depends on the client . If it ’ s just a food delivery every now and then , that ’ s a little bit different than if the driver is routinely working with a hospital chain . We have that camaraderie with our employees , our dispatch team and our city managers . And those managers bring that down to the driver level as well .
I have a client that I ’ m working with now . It ’ s a pharmacy chain . There are many pickups at different locations . That means I ’ m sending multiple drivers out . So , building that level of camaraderie is all about showing all of those drivers that we ’ re all going towards a similar goal . I make sure to thank the team as a whole as well as the individual drivers . So , if you ’ re one of five drivers servicing that chain , I ’ m going to make sure you feel part of that team and a part of Dropoff .
NUMBER # 4 – Match the driver to the client . If it ’ s picking up from office or something of that sort , you want a driver who ’ s good at building in an extra level of customer service . That goes back to the onboarding and identifying your driver . Say it ’ s a college student who ’ s just looking for hours and quick money . A client with a high need for customer service may not be the best fit for them . But if it ’ s someone who ’ s retired looking for something new , they are more likely to understand the customer service aspect and may be a better fit . Identify your driver and match them to the job .
CLDA How about the don ’ ts ?
RICHARD
NUMBER # 1 – Not communicating is the biggest don ’ t . If you don ’ t give that feedback and attention , you ’ re going to see high turnover for sure . There are several options for ICs , so it is important to show them you care and pay attention to their work ethic .
work for some reason , we have another who ’ s trained and ready to fill in for them .
NUMBER # 3 – Don ’ t forget to celebrate wins . If you have a really good week , make sure everyone knows and find ways to celebrate it . If your only communication is negative the impact will reflect on the service level
NUMBER # 4 – Don ’ t avoid or sugarcoat problems . You need to be transparent about client issues and offer a way to work with them to solve them . Instead of framing an issue as a criticism , approach it by saying “ This is how we can do better . This is what the client is look for . Let ’ s work on this together to find a way to deliver that for them .”
CLDA Give us some final thoughts about retaining good drivers .
RICHARD I can summarize it in one word : camaraderie . It ’ s all about making them feel like more than a number , more than just another name on a dispatch board . You want them to feel like they are a part of the team . When you do that , you set the tone and that culture brings in new drivers . As your clients grow and expand you simultaneously expand and fine-tune your fleet and celebrate those victories by praising your drivers .
Bring positive energy to new drivers as they ’ re coming in and interacting with veteran drivers . It goes a long way and will impact their relationships with clients . We see that in our analytics . We see it in our low turnover and high customer satisfaction . It pays off in so many ways if you make the effort building those relationships . CLDA
NUMBER # 2 – Don ’ t allow them to stagnate . Of course , that depends on your market . We have multiple clients with different operations . We can offer our drivers several routes and different types of deliveries . And that way they ’ re becoming more versatile . It also means that if a driver can ’ t
Victor Richard , Dropoff Atlanta City Manager
Jonathan Taibel , Dropoff Director of Market Operations
22 customized logistics & delivery Magazine spring 2022