It’s easy to lose sight of the humans who make up your business.
But forgetting about your drivers results in productivity falling and that means that, ultimately, profits are affected. People need to be inspired, which is why we strongly believe in the importance of strong and visible leadership when managing a fleet. We would like to give you an insight into the best business leadership advice we’ve acquired over the years.
Foster positive reinforcement
How do you appraise someone’s work? There must be a carefully struck balance between praise and criticism. Usually, it’s advisable to go for the ‘sandwich’ approach – a compliment either side of mentioning something they could improve on.
This reminds the employee that, overall, you recognise their achievements, but aren’t shying away from constructive suggestions. Business leadership advice can fall down to small, valuable shots of praise, which contextualises areas for improvement.
Talk about career goals
Many people find value in moving up the career ladder. They might want to manage a larger, more complex fleet or they might be ambitious to move into a global role with worldwide responsibilities. We all need a sense of momentum, or else we might question the direction in which we’re going. As such, take time to learn about employees’ long-term goals in your business. Where can they see themselves? How might they utilise their skills and passion to the greatest capacity?
Use such information to guide the agenda of monthly/quarterly/yearly catch-ups with your workforce. Together, you can envision a strategy – with qualified targets – that’ll put them in sight of where they want to be. Then, steadily, each action adds up to that aim, making them conscious of the bigger picture.
Inspire with your brand values
You might have a clear image of what your company stands for, but your drivers may be in the dark. Motivation is about more than bringing urgency to a role. It also has to encompass the traits that make your business unique and ensure that drivers see it as fulfilling.
Head back to the core of your brand and what it stands for and remember that a service or delivery fleet will have a lasting impact on its customers. If your drivers are onboard, it’s likely that this impression will be positive, displaying your business in good light.
Get involved on every level
Leaders have to earn their place at the top… but they shouldn’t be above lending a hand to their most basic operations. Our final piece of business leadership advice is, simply, to re-acquaint yourself with a ‘bread and butter’ role. This could mean travelling with a driver, helping with financial records, or tracking and communicating with a fleet personally every once in a while.
It shows humility, which will inspire others to do their best for you. Plus, it exposes potential grievances for how this or that is performed; stale, inflexible processes are a sign that you aren’t paying much attention to the team.
By acting on this advice, you’ll incentivise your fleet workers a little more every year, building a fantastic culture for success. But you can go further, too, with a cogent expense plan. Check out our fuel cards and expense tracking systems to give employees what they need on the road.
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