Last week, as part of our second Annual Week of Webinars, we hosted the webinar, “Driver Professional Development: Building a Program That Works.” Our presenters discussed how fleets can implement a professional development program that works for both their drivers and their managers.

During the webinar, which you can watch a recording of here, our presenters highlighted three things every fleet should understand about engaging and retaining drivers:

#1: Implement Continuous Coaching for All Drivers

Continuous coaching is training that is offered to all drivers, all the time, on a variety of skills. When part of a fleet’s training program, this type of coaching can help reduce liability, as even the safest drivers—who are rarely assigned training directly—can experience a crash. It also ensures a fleet’s drivers stay current with best practices and are less likely to grow complacent behind the wheel.

#2: Engage with Drivers Before They Need Help

Fleets with a proactive approach to driver engagement have the easiest time building a professional development program. If a fleet consistently reaches out to their drivers—especially after they experience a positive event—their drivers will be more likely to accept training from them when it’s needed.

#3: Never Assume Driver Managers Have the Same Priorities as Fleet Leadership

Driver managers are tasked with overseeing operations, coaching on safety issues, dealing with customers, and more. With so many responsibilities, safety management issues can often fall to the wayside. In response, fleets should seek to consolidate and automate as many of their driver managers’ processes as possible, so each manager can give safety issues the time and attention they need.

How to Implement These Tips

Implementing the advice above can seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be with the right tools.

The Idelic Safety Suite® is the trucking industry’s leading driver management platform, consolidating all of a fleet’s third-party systems and driver data into a single location.

With Safety Suite, fleets gain unparalleled visibility into their training data and overall program. Managers can assign a 30, 60, or 90-day professional development plan to a driver, track their trainer’s progress as they administer the training, and then see their driver’s AI-derived Watch List Score drop as the plan progresses.

If you’d like to learn more about how your fleet can improve its training program with Safety Suite, watch a 2-minute demo or sign up for a deep dive here.