The Top 5 Tips Carriers Have for Using WorkHound

If you’ve read our blog or checked out some of our case studies, you’ve probably realized we love to showcase the insights and perspectives of our customers. While our WorkHound team knows the ins and outs of how the platform works, our customers are the experts in how to use the tool in a truly meaningful way.

When we ask our customers a series of questions about their experience with an employee feedback program, we always save the best question for last: “What best practices for using WorkHound would you share with others?”

Their answers to that question tell us so much about our feedback tool and how it’s used in real life. So, what’s the secret?

Without further ado, here are the top five tips our customers share about finding success using WorkHound:

1. Get Buy-in and Determine Ownership

“I own WorkHound. Every problem that comes in through WorkHound, it’s my problem until it’s solved. This tool works best when someone is dedicated to the results you get out of it. You get out of it what you put into it.”

“Getting the buy-in from the top level of the company is the most essential part of making it work.”

— Joyce Siqueira, VP of Operations at FreightWorks Transportation & Logistics [Read More]

This one’s a two-parter. The first step toward making WorkHound a successful retention tool for your company is to get buy-in across the board. You need to sell leadership on the benefits of gathering feedback, and you need them to buy in to taking action based on driver feedback, not on assumptions.

Companies that find success using the WorkHound platform also typically carve out who “owns” the WorkHound feedback from day one. That can be one person, as it is for Siqueira, or it can be a group of people tasked with accountability for their success through receiving, reviewing, and responding to feedback.

2. Review Feedback Regularly

“ It’s given us an opportunity to sit down once a week and go through the comments we’ve received. We can walk through them all 30 minutes at a time, and then we break off and come up with action items. Having the feedback allows us to slow down and go over what the drivers are telling us. It’s been so good for us to hear about problems and concerns that we wouldn’t have been able to hear about in the past.”

— Harman Cheema, CEO at Cheema Freight Lines [Read More]

While it’s a great first step to offer drivers a platform for sharing feedback, if their concerns and questions arrive in your office and sit, that doesn’t benefit the drivers or your company.

It’s essential to review driver feedback at regular intervals so that drivers don’t feel like they’re being ignored or like their voices don’t matter. Carve out time to review and prioritize feedback for action. Speaking of action…

3. Act Promptly on Feedback

“With drivers able to comment anonymously, we are seeing how they really feel. We want to make sure drivers know we have quick access to any concerns they have so we can get issues resolved. Our drivers have been pleased, so much so that we’ve implemented this in some of the other companies we have under the PS Logistics network.”

— Ashley Cunningham, Retention Manager at P&S Transportation [Read More]

Feeling ignored or disrespected is at the heart of many instances of driver turnover. In order to overcome this challenge, companies have to earn the trust of their drivers. Asking for driver feedback — and taking prompt action related to that feedback — helps build that trust.

As you take action, drivers will see those changes being implemented and understand that their thoughts matter. That means they’ll be more likely to share additional comments and concerns in the future, helping to guide your company’s actions and reduce turnover.

4. Take the Good With the Bad

“A lot of the feedback we got during the COVID-19 pandemic was harsh. That feedback was informing us about what communication needed to occur, what did we need to reinforce, what other help was needed. It allowed us to have a very successful pandemic experience, in my opinion.”

— Ian Rozmiarek, Director of Talent Acquisition & Employee Engagement at USA Truck [Read More]

It’s a reality: Not all feedback will be positive. But it’s all positive for your company. That’s because even negative feedback is simply the starting point toward meaningful change and a positive resolution.

Giving your drivers a platform for offering their questions and concerns will provide you with a realistic look at what’s happening, both within your business and outside its walls. You can then use that information, good or bad, to make decisions and changes.

Actions based on data are always better than efforts based on assumptions.

5. Use Feedback to Guide Relationships

“We’ve opened up a dialogue where drivers can give us more constructive feedback on what their experiences are, on the road and with shippers and receivers. For us to entertain business or to continue to do business, we have to know that our customers are fully aligned with us in being stewards in providing our drivers the best possible experience and amenities. We’ve had a lot of conversations with our customers about the fact that you have to share our mission of showing respect to these drivers.”

— Beth Hamilton, Business Development at Storey Trucking [Read More]

Obviously, the feedback you receive from drivers can help you make changes within your organization to improve the driver experience. But that feedback can also provide you with invaluable information about things going on outside your four walls.

Armed with that information, you can have genuine and honest conversations with your customers about what your drivers need to be successful. In that way, everyone ultimately benefits — your drivers are heard and respected, your customers receive the services they expect, and your business relationships can be addressed or amended as necessary.

Want to put these tips into action with a feedback program for your business? Sign up for a free demo to learn how WorkHound can help!