Lockdown’s been hard on us individually and hard on many businesses. Many have been pushed into remote working, even if their role doesn’t suit remote working. Furlough will have made many employees disconnected from their employer, they will have worried about job security and potentially planned a change in career direction. Communication will have been a challenge for many businesses and some employees will be feeling like they’ve lacked support.
So how could all this impact the driving at work culture in your organisation post lockdown?
There could be more remote workers post lockdown and they will be making work journeys from home. Less interaction time with drivers will make managing the driving activity more challenging. Managers will need to improve their visibility and up their leadership game but on a remote basis. It’ll take some practice to get it right, and maybe even some training!
Lockdown has reminded us how powerful relationships and friendships are. The human element hasn’t been completely replaced by our smartphones yet. Maybe that’s an opportunity to recalibrate driving at work objectives? After all, it’s all about looking after ourselves and each other when we’re behind the wheel.
I think this links to a likely focus on wellbeing. Many people will be anxious about getting back to life as usual, they may lack sleep and feel fatigued, it all impacts on driving ability.
Company culture will be of great importance. If you have employees who felt poorly treated during lockdown, you may need to build bridges by focusing on your culture. If they’re feeling disenfranchised, they won’t necessarily be looking after your vehicles.
Here are some tips to help you focus on that post lockdown driving culture:
- Create a guide on driving standards for remote employees.
- Ask for regular feedback on how remote working is going and focus on driving.
- Look for some quick wins, it can be something as simple as truly listening to an employee and acknowledging their commitment to the business.
- Involve your team to think through how your driving activities could change post lockdown. Maybe there’ll be more Zoom calls, maybe there’ll be more home deliveries to make. Work as a team to think up strategies to tackle potential issues.
- Engage with individuals who spend a lot of time behind the wheel and ask whether they feel supported and part of the team.
- If you have concern on driving performance, with individuals or teams, be honest, give some feedback, have a conversation and develop an improvement plan.
- Don’t be afraid to revisit your aims and objectives to ensure they’re relevant with post lockdown working methods.
I’ve developed a driving at work culture survey. I’ve you’d like a copy, please get in touch at [email protected]
