How to Make your Driver’s Day: Things We Know Drivers Love

When leaders at many businesses think about feedback from their employees, their minds naturally leap to the negative. But the reality is, when you open a continuous feedback loop and empower your employees to share their thoughts and needs, you’re also going to hear a lot of positive feedback about how to make your driver’s day.

Over the years, we’ve seen thousands of pieces of feedback, and we regularly analyze what drivers are saying from a “big picture” perspective, allowing us to get a good gauge of drivers across the industry and their needs.

And if we’re honest, there’s a lot to love! We see some very positive feedback from drivers, particularly as they engage with WorkHound as a tool and learn to trust their companies.

So, how can you make your driver’s day? Read on as we offer you some perspective!

The Positive Side of Things

If you’ve looked at our trends reports at any time, you’ve probably seen that we talk a good bit about whether feedback in a certain category skews positively. From the data we gather, we know that drivers have a lot of good things to say about topics in certain categories.

“We receive great positive feedback about people,” says Katherine Vanderford, Director of Customer Success at WorkHound. “When a member of the company really saves the day or makes something really easy for a driver, they are really quick to call that out. Shoutouts to anyone who helps a driver out are really common.”

In addition to receiving positive feedback related to people, there’s also a good bit of positivity shared when a company itself steps up

“Adjacent to people doing good things, we also get positive feedback when expectations are met for your drivers,” Vanderford says. “When drivers are promised something and that expectation was met or the company went above and beyond to make your driver’s day, they are always willing to give the company credit.”

Exceeded expectations are a common theme for feedback right now, actually. The busy spring season has drivers asking for — and receiving — home time with family.

“We’re hearing a lot of feedback lately about drivers who want to get home for graduations or open houses to end the school year,” Vanderford says. “When a driver asks for that time and then the company makes sure that they get it, it means a lot to the driver. That’s because in the industry as a whole, drivers historically haven’t often been able to make it to those types of life events. The companies who make good on their promises really stand out to drivers.”

What Drivers Love

Beyond these overarching categories that tend to elicit positive feedback, there are also some specific programs or benefits that enhance driver happiness. Compensatory pay programs, for one.

“Pay programs that compensate drivers for non-driving time really improve driver loyalty,” Vanderford says. “When drivers are stuck with a customer, held up for truck maintenance, or if they have to do training, a lot of companies don’t compensate drivers for that time, despite being required parts of the job. Paying drivers for that time and understanding that their time is valuable is important.”

Additionally, drivers shine (and offer up praise) when they’re treated with respect.

“The things that drivers appreciate are very foundational,” Vanderford says. “It’s about having healthcare coverage that’s consistent and reliable that also allows them to take care of their loved ones. It’s about having reliable and consistent work. It’s about having access to retirement benefits, which are relatively uncommon in trucking.” 

Ultimately, every driver has unique and distinct needs — different things that make him or her happy. But being treated as essential is an important step in the right direction.

“At the end of the day, drivers like being treated as the professionals they are,” Vanderford says. “It’s not about their job title or uniform; it’s about how your company culture behaves toward them. It’s about supporting and embracing drivers and their professional careers.”

Ready to find out what your drivers love? Sign up for a free demo to learn how WorkHound can help!