tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69614246034003280232024-03-08T06:22:07.523-08:00Truck Views Reyburn Transportation Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00589775748874004400noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961424603400328023.post-5371079184189894942019-09-12T14:24:00.003-07:002019-09-12T14:24:29.084-07:00Creativity
<br />
In the trucking industry is very important to take time to
step back and look at challenges that are facing a company. Many times, these problems
are right in front of our faces and we approach it one of two ways; we either
fail to see the issue at hand or choose to handle it the same way we always
have and expect different results. As an industry, trucking fails to take the
time to see if there is a different way. How can we use creative solutions to
solve old problems? All too often I hear, “this is the way we have always done
things”. This type of thinking is not productive to creating unique solutions
to problems that exist. If you continue to have the same problems over and over
again without any resolve, why not step back and think about new ways to solve
them. This is not always easy. It takes time, energy, thoughtfulness, and
leadership. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<br />
Let’s dive a little deeper into a real-world example and
then look at how we could creatively solve that problem. Many companies offer
one type of pay package for drivers. Why? Companies often lose drivers because
their “one size fits all” pay package no longer works for that driver. While it
would be unfeasible to have an individual pay package for every single driver,
it <i>is</i> possible for a company to develop two or three different packages to
cater to the multitude of drivers that cycle through a company at any given
time. Some drivers may only be concerned with how much money they make at the
end of the week while others may want good pay but are more concerned about
home-time. Developing these different packages allows everyone involved, from recruiting
to operations, to be able to cater to these drivers. A Lease Purchase OTR
company could create a package with a lower truck payment where the driver is
expected to work every week but will have higher net pay at the end of each
week. The driver that wants more home-time could sign a lease with a higher
weekly payment, but he gets a full 8 days (Saturday through the next Sunday)
home every 8 weeks. He will not make as much, but his motivation is regular
extended home-time. This example may or may not work for your company, but
these are the types of solutions that will make a difference in differentiating
your company form the competitors. There are many small changes like this that a
company can implement to create a real difference. <br />
<br />
<br />
When thinking about solutions, it is vital to look at
company culture. Each company has its own individual culture and when we think
about finding answers to reoccurring problems, it is important that these potential
resolutions fit within that company’s culture, otherwise, they will not work.<br />
<br />
<br />
Working on creative solutions allows a company to create a
dynamic culture where they can focus on solving actual problems, not just
putting Band-Aids on old problems. This will have a real impact on the bottom
line. As always, be careful to nurture the idea, get buy-in from all and stakeholders
within the company.<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Reyburn Transportation Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00589775748874004400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961424603400328023.post-17102126919369891782019-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:002019-08-23T14:01:37.946-07:00Perspective <br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">INTRODUCTION
</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">At one point or another we have all thought to ourselves,
“what <i>is</i> that person doing?”. In the trucking industry it is especially
easy to have this mindset. “Why did my dispatcher give me the wrong address?”.
“Why didn’t the driver use his hours more efficiently?”. “Why can’t the
customer service representative find any loads today?”. We are all stuck in our
own mindset of trying to accomplish what we need to do that we forgot we are
part of a larger puzzle that needs to fit together in order to be successful.
More often than not in the trucking world, we have such a heavy workload
stacked on the soldiers in the trenches, that they become frustrated with the
other parties who “failed” them in some way. That frustration builds and no one
takes the time to discover <i>why</i> that failure happened and <i>what</i>
could be done in the future to prevent it. It is important for everyone to
understand the roles of the people they are working with; if people are only
concerned about their own perspective, they can never help create change or
come up with ideas that may improve operations or generate efficiencies. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">True understanding leads to improved communication between
all parties. It is very easy for people to say they understand, but have they taken
the time to <i>really</i> understand the issues that are facing the other
people they are working with on a daily basis? Taking time to learn about what
others are responsible for, and the challenges they constantly face, is crucial
to the success of an organization. If people in an organization are not
striving to look beyond their own challenges, then walls of misunderstanding
will begin to build-up. And those walls are very difficult to tear down. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A TALE OF
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES – A Driver is Late for a Morning Delivery </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Fleet
Manager:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> It’s 07.30
and I cannot get my driver on the phone. He has a 09.00 delivery, is 30 miles
out and is not moving. Why is he not driving towards delivery? He has one thing
he has to do this morning which is make this delivery. I have 35 other drivers
I need to help and I am spending all of my time this morning trying to get in
contact with him and make sure he delivers on time. Why can’t he just do his
job? I was into work on time. I know he is a good driver, but when I finally
talk to him on the phone it is going to be the same old story. Customer service
is going to be very upset when I let them know about this. I don’t feel like
dealing with them yet so I will just try a little longer to get this driver on
the phone and get him rolling. He is a good driver, he will make it on time. I
will talk to him later about picking up his phone when I call him. I finally
got him on the phone and he just woke up and it’s 08.20. He said he can start
driving right away; he should be able to make delivery. It’s only thirty
minutes away. It’s 09.05 and he is late; they told him he will not be offloaded
until 14.00. What was he thinking? Now I have to try to work with both him and
customer service to make sure his week is not messed up. I better get ready to
go butter-up customer service for a good load to save his week.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Customer
Service: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">It’s 08.05
and I don’t have enough loads for the trucks that are in my area today but now
I must work with my customer about a load that is late for delivery. They don’t
offload trucks that are late until the afternoon. Hopefully I can pull some
strings and get this truck offloaded. Probably not. I already had to do this a
few days ago for a different truck. They are not going to help me again. I will
just wait and see if he makes it on time before I send anything out. Well, it’s
08.55 and he is <i>still</i> 10 minutes out. I will email the customer and see
if they can help me. They can’t help me out and will get him in at 14.00. I
don’t understand why these Fleet Managers can’t just make sure the drivers are
there on time. It’s not that hard. Now not only is my customer upset at me, but
I have everyone breathing down my neck for his next load so we can make sure he
still has a good week. If the driver would just be on time, none of this would
happen. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Professional
Driver</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> (23.30 the
night before): I just got a call from my wife about my son getting caught
sneaking out the house. I spoke with him for an hour about why he was sneaking
out and what his punishment will be. I am really concerned about him and I cannot
get to sleep. It’s 03.00 and I still cannot go to sleep. I need to get some
sleep so I can make delivery on time tomorrow and get my next load on. 07.00 my
alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button. 08.20…OH NO! That was not the
snooze button that was the off button. I have 10 missed calls from my Fleet
Manager. I am going to be late. I just need to throw on clothes and go. It’s 08.40
and traffic is moving slow; no one will let me move over. I am going to be
late. I just got to the receiver; it’s 09.05 and they are not going to offload
me until 14.00. The lady at the window told me they had an 11.00 open, but we
didn’t let them know we would be late until 08.55 and somebody took that
appointment at 08.50. I have my Fleet Manager on the phone telling me I need to
be on time and asking why I couldn’t just make it there on time. Well, why is
my Fleet Manager not doing anything for me? Why can’t customer service just
work with one of our “best” customers to keep me moving? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Understanding
Each Other </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In the
situation described above, everyone is only looking at it from their own perspective.
No one is trying to understand what the other positions are dealing with
because of the late delivery. They are upset now because they will have to work
through a difficult situation. There are times where being upset with people
that you work with is warranted, but it is very important to be careful that
the first reaction that you have is not anger; try to understand what may have
happened and if there was anything that could have been done to prevent the
given situation from happening. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">When
something like a late delivery happens there will be a number of things that
you now have to deal with, but that is your part of the equation to deal with.
The best thing one can do is try to help others to ensure the situation is
dealt with from a place of understanding. If a customer service representative
has no idea what the driver was going through and puts pressure on the Fleet
Manager, who in turn puts pressure on the driver, it could cause that driver to
feel underappreciated and decide to leave. That lack of understanding now not
only caused a late delivery, but now the loss of a driver. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">WHAT CAN
WE DO ABOUT IT? HOW DO WE BRIDGE THE “UNDERSTANDING GAP”?</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of the crucial elements of forming cohesive operations
is for everyone to truly understand what the other parties are doing; not
surface level understanding, but <i>real</i> understanding. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Drivers should understand a Fleet Manager’s
responsibilities, which will help them do a better job and make their own day,
and single truck operation, flow more smoothly. For example, checking in with
their Fleet Manager when they arrive at a receiver will allow that manager to
be able to contact customer service, letting them know that everything is
running smoothly with that driver and pre-plans are on pace for pick-up.
Customer service representatives understanding that having the correct address,
pick-up numbers, and commodities on a load sent to a driver ensures that they can
check-in on time with no issues and be loaded quickly. Understanding that if
those things are not done correctly and there are delays, it can cost the
driver. Fleet Managers understanding exactly how drivers make money, whether it
is percentage or mileage, and doing everything they can to help that driver
maximize his earning, will lead to less turnover on his fleet and in the end
make him more efficient at being a Fleet Manager. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is what I mean by perspective. We all need to really
slow down and listen to the people we are working with. If you do not
understand their job how do you do your own job in a way that will make others
more successful and in turn, make yourself more successful? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><i>Looking outside of your own four walls
allows you to see the bigger picture of what is taking place</i>. When everyone
in an organization knows what the left and right hands are doing, they are able
to work in cohesion and push in one direction for the best possible results. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">There are several possible ways to go about increasing the awareness
of what challenges others are facing in the company. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Job Shadows</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">a.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have the people in your organization spend time
with people who are in other roles. The object is always time. How much time in
the long run will you create for your people when they are working as one team
instead of separate departments who have their own way of doing things.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">b.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have debrief sessions after these job shadows.
Listen to the people about the ideas they came up with after sitting with the
other departments for a day or two. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Weekly Departmental Meetings</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">a.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In these meeting your leadership team needs to
bring updates on improvement, issues, or initiatives within their own
department. Not numbers and statistics, but rather <i>how</i> they are doing
things, what issues have crept up, specific occurrences that have negatively or
positively affected their own operations, etc. Making sure there is real
communication on a weekly basis allows departments to understand each other
before any real issues occur. Don’t go through the motions. Really talk as a
team and understand. This is not the time to throw others under the bus, but to
build understanding and find common ground. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Driver Engagement </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 96px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">a.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">These should not be surface level chats, but
rather real talks. Asking what problems drivers are seeing, what things are
going really well. Engage them and let them shine a light on things as well.
They are the boots on the ground and the ones doing the work. At the end of the
day, the company needs to do everything they can to support these individuals.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We all need to make sure that we are taking steps to support
those around us. Understanding will lead to better relationships and will help
drastically improve the operations of a company. Making sure we really know
what others are doing will help improve overall performance. It is really easy
to pay lip service to the idea of perspective and understanding; it’s harder to
take the time and truly understand the other side when things get tough. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I want to end this blog with a post I saw on LinkedIn by </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Joel Buffington</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My wife and I went
for a bike ride this past weekend, however my in-laws had my bike so I had to ride
my son’s.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It’s a bit smaller with a few
less gears so I found myself peddling faster and working harder than normal
just to keep up with my wife, who made the ride look effortless....</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I had a flashback to
recent rides with my teenage son, him on his smaller bike with less gears and
trail tires and me on my bike with more gears and road tires. When he
inevitably lagged behind, I’d slow down and frequently I’d find myself giving
him old-school dad feedback, “try harder, work harder, it’s not that difficult
to keep up, we had Square tires when I was a kid, blah blah blah.”</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Fast forward to
Tuesday morning, I’m in a management meeting, and the topic of giving/receiving
feedback comes up.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We talked about
delivery, intentions, trust, timing, etc.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Rather than jump to critiques and doling out our ‘wisdom’, sometimes we
need to ride the smaller bike and understand why it’s hard to keep up:-)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>Reyburn Transportation Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00589775748874004400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961424603400328023.post-2366024748982256892019-06-17T08:13:00.000-07:002019-07-08T11:56:57.264-07:00"Change" <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The aim of Reyburn Transportation Consulting is to help
others improve their trucking operations. This probably sounds like such a
simple statement that comes loaded with questions. You may be wondering to whom
we are referring when saying “others”. Who are these “others”? Are we talking
about the owner? Office personnel? Professional drivers? Well, I would say all
three. All three parties need to buy into the change for anything sustainable
to take place. It needs to be sold to everyone who has a stake in the success
of the operation. Often, ideas are floated by upper management with little input
from others and orders are given; the change is enacted without properly being explained
or sold to all parties involved. What has this created? A huge roadblock in the
success of your organization. Many good ideas that could be instances of
positive change just become roadblocks because the idea did not have the proper
buy-in. It is in peoples’ nature to want to feel as if they are <i>part of
something</i> and by bringing them into the process, as much as possible, you
are allowing them to take ownership in that process. Wouldn’t you prefer for
everyone involved to be a champion of that change instead of saying “well, here
we go again”?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All too often I hear stories about how much of a rollercoaster
this industry can be; when things are running smoothly, everyone is happy and
patting themselves on the back. However, when things aren’t going so smoothly, people
start to feel as though it is miserable to work there. Management gets upset
when things aren’t good and the middle and lower management starts to feel the “trickle
down” effect. Why do these “lows” feel like such a punch to the gut? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The major reason for this is because companies
are riding the waves of the market instead of enacting stable change that will create
positive results in both the good <i>and</i> bad freight markets. Change is not
something that should be a process just for when things are bad but, and
probably more importantly, when things are good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People fear change because in many instances, change
is often implemented when adversity strikes and is not necessarily seen as something
needed for constant improvement in both good time and bad times. Our goal at RTC
is to help our clients develop positive change throughout the business cycle. So,
whether you are an owner, office personnel or a professional driver, we can
offer the advice you need to drive yourself forward in the industry. Positive
change leads to happier people, and in this industry, <i>people are our
greatest asset</i>. In my experience, happy people will work much harder towards
achieving goals and performing at their best when they are supported and
connected to the process rather than being in a constant fear of what is next. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many ways to enact change, and this will be a
topic that I address regularly on this blog, but one of the best ways to do it
is through selling it. Find your champions within in your organization and get
their buy-in. If you don’t find buy-in, then maybe the idea needs to be re-evaluated.
Good ideas will take hold and others will become passionate about that idea. Once
that happens, it can be successfully implemented because multiple parties are
now invested. <i>Stagnation leads to complacency and when people are complacent,
they miss opportunities to get better</i>. That’s why, along with change, it is
important to push people to get better. People who are looking to get better
will organically come-up with ideas that will continue to create significant
and beneficial change to those around them. Listen to these top performers
because, <i>regardless of their position</i>, they are the “boots on the ground”
and have the best interest of the organization in mind. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Change is the life blood of an organization. It leads to
improvement and keeps processes and procedures fresh. If your organization is accustomed
to change, it can be flexible enough to tackle anything that may come its way, good
or bad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Reyburn Transportation Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00589775748874004400noreply@blogger.com0