Truck driving during the holiday season is stressful. The busiest week begins on December 10th. Then, shipping demands increase even further in the final week before Christmas. USPS processes over 200 millionpackages during just these two weeks of the year.
However, this is just one segment of the shipping industry.
Truckers country-wide are under increasing demand during the holiday season, pushing themselves to the legal limits to ensure packages and supplies reach their destinations. Fleet managers must understand that workers are going to be exhausted and overworked.
However, showing employee appreciation and focusing on the best interests of your truck driving fleet will help everyone get through the holiday season. A little appreciation can go a long way toward keeping your fleet happy.
5 Ways to Show Employee Appreciation in the Truck Driving Industry
A recent survey found that 80% of employees would work harder if they felt appreciated. Conversely, a lack of appreciation quickly leads to a loss of employee morale and can even increase the general turnover rate.
If employees receive recognition for a specific action, 92% of them will repeat this very action.
The methods below are just a few ways that you can begin to improve employee appreciation and morale across your entire workforce, from loaders to unloaders and even truckers.
1. End-of-Year Bonus
Employees like money. After all, your workers log long hours and work for you because they’re able to live a great life off of the wages you pay. However, during the holiday rush, workers are stretched to their limits with:
- Increasing workloads
- Long hours
- An increase in stress
One way for workers to breathe a sigh of relief and feel appreciated at the end of the rush is to receive an end-of-the-year bonus. Managers will need to understand the company’s financial position and whether they can afford to offer a bonus. A bonus may or may not be something that you can afford.
However, if you can fit a bonus into the budget, it will:
- Improve morale
- Show employees that you appreciate them
Accounting teams and human resources should plan for offering an end-of-the-year bonus annually.
2. Team Christmas Party
Christmas or holiday parties are logistically difficult to schedule in the trucking industry, so you may need to hold multiple parties. For example, you may need to hold two or three parties to allow everyone to attend, such as:
- Local truck drivers
- Long-distance truck drivers
- In-office workers
The goal is to find a way to include everyone in the party, and this is possible if you sit down with stakeholders and plan ahead of time. Holding a holiday party or even a New Year’s party is a good way to end a chaotic season and make your team feel appreciated.
3. Personalized Cards
Unfortunately, a rough year for a business can cause financial hardships, not allowing you to offer bonuses or hold a team party. However, you can still offer personalized cards to employees.
Even during good years, personalized cards are a great way to say, “I recognize and appreciate your efforts this year.”
The more personal the card is, the better. Try to:
- Mention specific areas where the employee truly shined this year
- Outline how the employee’s contributions led to company growth
You can and should start handing out personalized cards after busy, stressful seasons. A little thought and a “thank you” are enough to keep employee morale high.
4. Holiday Contests
Holiday contests are another great idea that can bring your team together like never before. A few thoughts are:
- Favorite costume contest
- Best holiday saying contest
- Raffles
The rise of social media makes contests even more fun and impartial. For example, you can hold a costume party and display the posts on social media or your website to allow the public to vote on the best costume.
By doing this, you’ll promote your business and bring workers together in a fun, exciting way. And the winner of the contest should win something, such as a gift card or gift basket from a local business.
You’ll find plenty of contest ideas online that you can use for inspiration for your holiday contest.
5. Extra Days Off
We appreciate that some businesses cannot offer this perk for their workers, but if you can, it’s the ultimate form of employee appreciation. Workers are pushed to their limits during the holiday rush and trying to find ways to offer extra days off is a great idea for trucking fleets.
- You may try to see if it’s possible to offer:
- The week after Christmas off
- Extended weekend after the rush
If you can find a slow period where work is slow, this is often the opportune time to provide your team with a few additional days off of work. Days off with pay are nice, or you can offer workers the option to take a few days off without pay if the business cannot afford to pay for the additional time off.
‘Tis the Season
Holiday seasons are always a stressful, crazy environment. However, everyone in the trucking industry will be under immense pressure, from truckers to employees on the logistics team. Taking good care of these employees and showing your appreciation for them will keep morale high.
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