EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE RECOGNISED:
Improve driver behaviour just by paying attention to them...

Let’s face it; human beings are creatures of habit, cultivating unique behaviour patterns over time, some good, others bad. Whether it’s how we speak, sit, eat or drive, humans develop what physiologists call ‘muscle memory’, where the brain and body orchestrate automated responses to everyday situations, commonly known as ‘habits’.

The Hawthorne Effect

Back in the late 1920s, an American psychology professor called Elton Mayo began a series of experiments at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago to determine the link between working conditions and productivity.

Initially, Mayo wanted to determine the effect fatigue and monotony had on job productivity. To do this, he separated a group of employees from the rest of the assembly line and subjected them to a number of different tests involving changes in their working environment, like rest breaks, work hours, lighting, temperature and humidity. He placed a supervisor on site to monitor the employees. This person, who informed the test group of all forthcoming changes in their work situation, was regarded as a benign observer, rather than a strict disciplinarian [or spy] by the workers.

As the experiments progressed, Mayo discovered that productivity amongst the test group increased considerably and he came to the conclusion that simply by being proactively and individually monitored by management, employees performed better.

He, in effect, uncovered a profound truth about the way human beings perform at work, specifically, “The need for recognition, security and sense of belonging is more important in determining workers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works.”

Drive-Report’s Hawthorne Effect

The life of a professional truck or bus driver can be lonely one, characterised by long working hours on monotonous stretches of highway. Because drivers are away from the ‘head office’ most of the time, it is difficult for management to get to know each and every driver’s professional aptitude, let alone his or her personal circumstances. It’s not hard to see why so many South African professional drivers feel like nothing more than a number on the payroll.

For Prof Mayo, professional drivers would no doubt make ideal test cases.

With Drive Report stickers posted on fleet vehicles, supported by regular and constructive management intervention using the Drive Report driver profiling services, the Hawthorne Effect is unlocked.

By involving drivers in the Drive Report behavioural analysis process, fleet managers and driver trainers express a genuine concern for the driver, based on issues of improved safety and skills development, effectively making the driver feel ‘part of the team’, and a valuable one at that.

Once drivers embrace the notion that Drive Report is an ‘on-going improvement tool’ employed to help them [rather than a ‘policing’ tool], they consciously strive to drive better, rectifying bad driving habits by replacing them with all the ‘best driving practices’ taught to them by their driver trainer.

Bottom line

The Drive Report system is specifically designed to improve driver efficiency. By proactively using the data generated by Drive Report for coaching purposes, fleet managers unleash the power of the Hawthorne Effect, boosting driver job satisfaction and professionalism, yielding financial benefits such as reduced fuel and maintenance costs while enhancing on-road safety. If these monetary gains are passed on to the driver as part of an incentive programme, a truly holistic win-win situation is created.