Driver engagement: Is this rating system the key to happier, more productive fleets?

The more fleets reach out, the less driver engagement they’re getting in return.

That’s the conclusion of the recent Best Fleets to Drive For article, You Can’t Fix Culture with Pizza.

We all know that increasing employee engagement drives better corporate performance. Companies with highly engaged employees have 21 percent higher profitability. They experience sales increases of 20 percent. And their employee turnover rates drop by up to 59 percent.

The question is: what are the most reliable and cost-effective ways to increase driver engagement?

According to the Best Fleets to Drive For article, fleets don’t just have a morale problem—they have a culture problem. That means transportation companies need to do more than offer short-lived perks such as pizza parties, branded swag, and driver appreciation weeks. They need to build cultures that keep drivers engaged throughout their careers.

We at Netradyne believe driver engagement should revolve around motivating drivers to perform better at their jobs. By harnessing their natural competitiveness, giving them self-coaching tools, and rewarding them for their progress, fleets can raise their driver teams to new levels of safety and efficiency. Netradyne GreenZone^TM Scores can help you do exactly that.

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Why driver engagement is dropping — and what to do about it

We can’t determine the best ways to boost driver engagement until we understand what it means to be engaged as a driver. According to the Best Fleets to Drive For article, building culture is a matter of fostering reciprocal communication with drivers.

The problem is that communication between fleet managers and drivers is often one-way — especially with in-cab camera data. When a driver exceeds the speed limit, rolls through a stop sign, or misses a delivery deadline, he or she will hear about it from the fleet manager.

What about all the smart, safe things drivers do? They go largely unnoticed. And when a driver has a concern or suggestion to share with management, it may have to wait until the next team meeting.
That’s a huge problem. It breeds driver teams who feel unappreciated, undervalued, and replaceable.

As the article says, “Drivers want to be seen. Supported. Heard. And they can tell when it’s genuine — and when it’s just for show.”

Building reciprocal communication with drivers is essential. Although, at Netradyne, we believe it’s just the beginning.

We offer tools and alerts that enable feedback to happen in real time. Our GreenZone Scores help drivers see how they compare to their peers in safety performance. And our self-coaching app empowers drivers to take charge of their own progress as they work towards optimal performance.

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How GreenZone Scores offer a true picture of driver performance

Netradyne's GreenZone Score is the first-ever driver scoring algorithm that uses billions of miles of driving data to show you the true skill level of every driver in your fleet. Each score reflects a driver’s entire workday because it's based on analysis of every second of driving time that was captured by Netradyne’s high-definition AI-powered cameras.

We designed the system with driver engagement in mind, aiming to foster a culture of trust and safety. The system helps build trust by providing 100 percent drive time analysis and highly accurate alerts. Drivers appreciate the fair and clear scoring, and the camera becomes a co-pilot more than a “big brother.”

What makes a score fair? It must divide the driver’s complete numerator (all their safety violations) by the driver’s complete denominator (all instances in which safety compliance was required) to rate their safety performance.

When compliance calculations include only triggered events, they capture only the numerator. This approach presents a skewed picture of driver behavior. Without a complete denominator, compliance rates can become misleading, and a manager must wonder if the driver is safe or just lucky thus far. A driver who runs two stop signs out of 10 might appear to have the same risk profile as one who runs two out of 50, despite the latter having a 96 percent compliance rate.

Yes, every unsafe action detracts from a driver’s score. But more importantly, every safe maneuver adds to it. Drivers and their managers can simply glance at a dashboard to see the impact of each action on the overall score.

GreenZone Scores help balance conversations with drivers. Instead of approaching drivers with reprimands, fleet managers can commend them for the many safe things they’ve done before zeroing in on potential areas of improvement. Managers and drivers alike can use objective data — rather than guesses — to have productive conversations about safety.

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Why drivers—and their fleets—thrive in the GreenZone

GreenZone Scores can also help you build bonds among your drivers. Many companies have used the scores as the basis of their gamification and incentive programs. They’ve deployed leaderboards that let all drivers see the highest GreenZone Scores in the fleet. They award prizes for top scores and biggest improvements.

For some drivers, it’s not so much about the prizes themselves. It’s about the satisfaction they get from earning bragging rights over their peers.

For fleets, a small investment in incentives can trigger a major increase in driver engagement. Drivers who feel positive peer pressure to drive more safely each day are valuable employees.

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Real-World Driver Engagement Success Stories

The benefits we’re describing here aren’t theoretical. Here are some actual results from Netradyne customers:

• An interstate trucking company with more than 100 trucks created a tiered bonus system tied to GreenZone Scores. Within a year, the company paid $1.2 million less in claims and $185,000 less in deductibles.
• A taxi company implemented a cash and prize raffle for drivers with a GreenZone Score of at least 950. In one month, stop-sign violations fell 47 percent and traffic-light violations dropped by 42 incidents.
• A passenger transport service tied driver raises and bonuses to GreenZone Scores. Vehicle insurance costs fell 15 percent due to fewer accidents.

By establishing positive communication with your drivers, gamifying safety, and offering driver incentives, you can build a driver culture that attracts and retains top performers. Learn more about how to improve driver engagement with GreenZone Scores.