As a company, you're always looking for ways that you can achieve improvements in the driver performance of your fleet. We're here to help you maximize your benefits and succeed. Many times positive reinforcement goes a longer distance than punishments. In fact, we always encourage fleet management to use positive reinforcement to get better results in general. It can help you to improve a lot.
Recognize and Reward: Positive Driver Reinforcement
Through positive reinforcement, you recognize the fleet drivers who have done an upstanding job. Those who have made a real effort to improve driving behavior deserve praise.
Some of the rewards included range anywhere from formal to the informal schemes. Before you dive into embracing positive reinforcement with fleets, you should understand how some things might work better at your company than others.
The Formal Approach
In the formal approach, you take a weekly reward and give it to the best driver. You might also include another scheme where drivers can earn points based on the performance of their driving. As they build up points, you might give them a gift card or other reward through the point system.
Another way that you might do this is through a recognition scheme where you have a "Driver of the month." This comes complete with a presentation and certificate from the senior manager.
The Informal Approach
The informal approach employs more of a smaller scheme that works almost as good with fleet drivers. In this way, you reward drivers who have a good driving performance.
You might give them a meal out with the CEO of the company, or you could make it as simple as every good driver will get a free coffee or free tea at the canteen.Another way to give rewards is through dishing out the best parking spaces to the best drivers.
Hundreds of Ways to Positive Reinforcement: Get Creative
You have literally hundreds of different ways that you can positively reinforce behavior. The most important factor should be how it fits with the company culture. You don't necessarily have to feel limited by any of the rewards above, and you can create your own rewards.
Positive Reinforcement: Four Laws of Driver Improvement
If you follow the simple laws for driver improvement that we have outlined, you will find that around 90 percent of your fleet drivers will improve faster because they want to get the rewards, even when it's a small reward. The first law is to exceed everyone's expectations.
Everyone's satisfaction will depend on the gap between what they have come to expect and what they will receive. With any recognition or reward scheme, make sure to involve your staff and figure out what motivates them.
Second, give recognition or a reward as soon as possible. You want to praise the driver as soon after the event as is warranted. This can often result in more motivation than delayed rewards. Third, give the appropriate reward because the wrong reward can either demotivate or dish out a poor message about your drive.
For example, the drivers of a team who reach a target shouldn't be given a track day experience because this could send the wrong message. Instead, it could also demotivate them when they fail to win the reward, which will have an opposite effect. You want to avoid using a cash reward scheme because this risks drivers thinking that they will be entitled to cash that you have given out of kindness.
If you want to learn more about positive reinforcement to reach your goals, contact us. We'd love the opportunity to work with you.
