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A year ago EA Sween joined ELEVATE and they ranked 25th (low-performing) in our customer score ranking. 1 year later, they are our 2nd (high-performing) ranked customer! The progress was so exceptional that I asked if they would be willing to share highlights of their story.
EA Sween was kind enough to share their ELEVATE driving results best practices. Thank you to Curtis Whittaker - GM (Texas CDC’s), Randy Russell – Transportation Supervisor (Austin), and Adelfo Vidana Jr. – Transportation Supervisor (Lewisville), for sharing your experiences.
Idealease: Your team has done great with ELEVATE. How do you feel about that?
Curtis: It is refreshing to see the team embrace the ELEVATE scorecard and use the metrics to drill down to the processes in their operation that needs improvement. Utilizing the ELEVATE scorecard to drive results in various aspects of our fleet has become key to a better and more efficient supply chain. Focusing on our processes and finding ways to improve them by using metrics from ELEVATE is a smart business strategy that will benefit most any supply chain organization.
Idealease: After you receive the ELEVATE™ scorecard, what happens next?
Adelfo: I always print it the day I get it. I have a last-minute meeting with the driver team and make multiple copies and provide them all to the drivers during the meeting. I explain where we have improved and where we need improvement overall, and I post them in laminated sheets as a nice presentation on our wall. It is the first thing anyone sees when they enter our building and walk down the hall. I always make it a point to be sure the drivers see that the new monthly results are in and that we continue to stay on top.
Randy: I post them in the Lead Driver office, where they get their ELD’s and debrief in the morning, so they can view them. I will highlight the top performers and underperforming too.
Idealease: When necessary, what does a driver coaching session look like?
Adelfo: Having a respectful 1:1 coaching session proves highly beneficial, so you can go into detail with this individual and figure out the root cause and a solution as well.
Idealease: Is there a favorite or most powerful slide or tool that has the highest impact?
Randy: I love the “top drivers” and “bottom drivers” slides. The "top drivers" slide allows me to praise performance and point out individual drivers to show they are being scored and that I appreciate their effort. The "bottom drivers" slide allows me to see where and who needs the most improvement. Before it was brought to their attention, they simply did not know that they were doing anything wrong. Now they do.
Idealease: Sounds like EA Sween focuses on communication and teamwork. These are obviously the building blocks of a successful team. Do you reward drivers for improvements?
All: We do 10-week contests with the top performing team winning company hats, bags, travel mugs, Chuck Bucks (internal reward credits), etc. Making it a competitive environment with prizes helps drive behavior so much more. It is beautiful how ELEVATE works wonders and when your managers acknowledge the hard work the drivers put into this as well.
Idealease: Any final comments?
Randy: I always look forward to this report coming out, because I know how well my drivers are doing. It was not the case when I first got here, so it is nice to see measured improvements. It is a real feeling of accomplishment. Thanks again.
