Surveys Improve the Driver Experience!

Making sure our drivers have a good experience is paramount to our success. So, we recently launched Driver Surveys across all opcos to gauge drivers’ opinions and highlight any areas that may need attention.  

There are four types of surveys (first impression, early experience, ongoing experience and exit survey). Each surveys asks drivers to rank their experience on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and also allows for comments. A first impression survey might ask a driver to rank statements such as, “The orientation prepared me well to work for this company” while the ongoing experience survey might ask a driver to rank, “This time next year, I see myself still working for this company.”  

“Through this process, we get great stories and also learn where corrective action needs to be taken,” says Dave McGarvey, VP of Strategy & Development for DNJ. “We welcome feedback because our drivers are our customers and we don’t want to be guessing what they need.” He goes on to say, “A complaint is simply an opportunity to optimize our business and a compliment is a chance to celebrate our business. Either way, we want to be ‘in the know’ because we want our drivers to stay with us for the long haul.”  

IMC’s Director of National Recruiting, Meghan Turner, agrees. “The surveys are just one way we strive to give our valued drivers a voice and a choice about their experience working here,” she notes. “Surveys let drivers know that they are not just a number – they are being heard and any issues they face will be addressed.”

The surveys can be completed via phone, app, or email in just a couple of minutes. So far, the average survey score is 4.1 (out of 5) and the feedback has allowed IMC the opportunity to look into any issues that arise. “We received feedback that some drivers were having issues with our electronic logging devices,” says McGarvey, “Using their feedback, we’ve been able to adjust those ELDs and rectify the issue.”

Likewise, McGarvey wants to know why a driver might choose to leave. “I just received an exit survey,” says McGarvey. “The driver said they loved working here and that they were only leaving because they are going OTR but that if they ever come back to intermodal, they’d come back to IMC. It was nice to hear that and, without the exit survey, we wouldn’t have had this insight.”