Labour Day represents a much-needed break for many of us, or even an excuse to plan a long weekend getaway. However, Labour Day is more than just a day off from work; it commemorates the hard work of the men and women on the frontlines of the workforce. For this coming Labour Day, let us take the time to appreciate the unsung heroes of the logistics industry – our drivers.
Drivers form the backbone of the logistics industry. Regardless of the many productivity and efficiency projects implemented by companies, the actual operational success ultimately lies on the professionalism of the ground crew. As the industry heads into an overdrive with more goods being shipped than before, it is important to understand what makes our drivers tick. Understanding the different personality types of our drivers allows you to better engage them, assign them suitable roles, and ultimately making your logistical operations more effective.
So, for this Labour Day, here are the 7 kinds of drivers in the logistics industry:
1. The Super Hardworking Driver
This driver has almost endless stamina to carry out multiple jobs in a day. They gladly accept multiple jobs scheduled back-to-back and come back for more. They are the ones who can work 12-hours a day non-stop. Also, they enjoy getting rewarded according to the number of jobs that they have performed, rather than from a fixed salary. Without enough jobs, the Super Hardworking Driver will get restless and will show signs of stubbornness and moodiness.
For the Super Hardworking Driver, they are most suitable for home delivery, including the e-commerce space or parcel delivery services. For home delivery, around 40 deliveries can be expected a day, seeing this driver rush from point-to-point with almost no time wasted in between. For this driver, they see these deliveries like a game with a leaderboard, racing to compete with their peers to achieve the maximum number of jobs delivered every day and aiming to “beat their previous high score” of the number of deliveries achieved a day.
However, the least suitable jobs for the Super Hardworking Driver are companies where deliveries do not form a primary function of the company. An example would be a driver whose responsibilities are to perform ad hoc errand services for multiple departments of a company. Being used to being a strong performer who completes multiple jobs in a day, the Super Hardworking Driver will find their abilities overlooked in such companies. As a result, they may not feel motivated to carry out their jobs properly and may even find more worthwhile pursuits elsewhere.
2. The Meticulous Planner
For these drivers, optimization is the name of the game. They may not necessarily cram their schedule with multiple deliveries, but they make sure that no time is wasted between deliveries and during deliveries. The Meticulous Planner thrills over the challenge of juggling different time constraints and figuring out how to perform all the tasks successfully.
Their delivery locations are usually to industrial or commercial areas, servicing large shopping malls or warehouses, where long vehicle queues for the unloading of goods are expected. Ask the Meticulous Planner and he will tell you that these delays are accounted for even before the deliveries have started. The Meticulous Planner remembers the peak periods for unloading of goods at different locations and also the different requirements of the locations where some warehouses require the use of forklifts or how to manage when there are height restrictions for their trucks. Also, he knows the best routes to take from point-to-point during different times of the day. Most of all, the Meticulous Planner immaculately crafts his schedule to ensure the least amount of time wasted.
For the Meticulous Planner, they are most suitable for distribution jobs, including movement of goods from warehouses to retail outlets or priority shipping. Distribution jobs are usually time-sensitive, where business operations such as supermarkets or retail stores depend on timely deliveries to function. For these drivers, they enjoy the challenge of handling these different constraints and will take pride in finishing in a timely manner, sometimes even way before the end of his day.
However, the least suitable jobs are e-commerce deliveries. Even though e-commerce deliveries is a demanding field, the Meticulous Planner may not find the job satisfying due to the lack of challenges when it comes to planning his route. He may not find the use of his time and planning skills put to good use, which may lead him to lose focus and motivation to carry out smooth deliveries.
3. The Extremely Patient Driver
As the name says, this driver does not mind spending hours to perform less than 6 deliveries a day. The Extremely Patient driver excels in dealing with local customs clearance processes. The Extremely Patient Driver usually spends most of his working hours at the customs checkpoints, ports or airport terminals, queuing to be cleared by customs officers for deliveries across countries via sea, land or air. Since clearance could easily take hours, the Extremely Patient Driver knows how to occupy himself by reading newspapers, playing mobile games or listening to music. Interestingly, this driver usually is tech-savvy since he spends a huge portion of the day interacting with his mobile phone to kill time.
For the Extremely Patient Driver, he is the most suitable for import and export deliveries. While challenging, import and export deliveries do not come as often as e-commerce deliveries. For the Extremely Patient Driver, this translates to occasional breaks from work that he can devote his time to other pursuits. Furthermore, the long stretches of waiting time from queueing for clearance means more time for the driver to catch up on his favourite TV shows or beat another high score on the games on his mobile phone.
However, the least suitable jobs are e-commerce deliveries. As the Extremely Patient Driver is used to the long periods of inactivity aboard his vehicle, e-commerce deliveries will overwhelm him in a short span of time. The high stress and demands from the nearly non-stop process of e-commerce deliveries will likely affect the motivations of the Extremely Patient Driver.
4. The Absent-minded Driver
In order not to be mistaken, the Absent-minded Driver does not put his attention away by choice, but by circumstance. Similar to the Extremely Patient Driver, the Absent-minded Driver usually performs one or two delivery jobs a day. However, the nature of their deliveries is usually long-haul or inter-state operations. Being on the road for long stretches of time and seeing a similar view of highways for hours on end, this driver will usually start to space out while he drives. He must focus on the road and has to stay awake for driving long hours like 4-8 hours a day with very little breaks or stops. As such, he has a tendency to be so focused on the road that he is prone to become absent-minded towards overly detailed things.
For the Absent-minded Driver, he is the most suitable for long-haul deliveries. For this type of deliveries, it minimizes the level of detail that this driver has to pay attention to. As such, the Absent-minded Driver does not have to expend a lot of energy to account for the different rigours and demands of deliveries with a shorter duration.
However, the least suitable job for the Absent-minded Driver is distribution deliveries. As compared to long-haul jobs, distribution deliveries involve paying attention to multiple details and even unspoken know-hows that ensure a swift delivery. Since the Absent-minded driver is used to dedicating maximum attention to the driving itself and minimal attention to detail needed to perform his job, thus distribution deliveries may introduce a steep learning curve that may turn off this driver.
5. The Strong Driver
This driver is the archetypal hefty driver who can probably carry your wardrobe up a flight of stairs without breaking a sweat. He is usually in the moving or servicing business, well-built from years of experience moving heavy items. Furthermore, they know the most efficient way of packing irregularly-shaped items in the vehicle and the best way to unload goods. More interestingly, the Strong Driver usually possesses a skill set akin to a handyman as disassembling furniture and reassembling it is required for moving. Ask any Strong Driver and he will be able to assemble or fix a table or wardrobe.
For the Strong Driver, he is the most suitable for deliveries that move furniture or unassembled heavy goods. These types of deliveries capitalize on the literal strength of the Strong Driver. He is really good at moving furniture and equipment with no or minimal damage at all. He is very cautious to ensure the items he moves does not even get so much as a scratch on them, protecting the good with extreme care. Furthermore, he gets to put his more secretive skills to action, motivating him as well as leaving a more efficient result for the customers.
However, the least suitable job for the Strong Driver is e-commerce deliveries. The nature of this type of delivery involves the movement of small consumer goods of insignificant quantities. As such, the Strong Driver may feel that such deliveries can be too demanding and cannot capitalise on the experience gained from the moving business.
6. The Tech-Savvy Driver
This driver is a rare find, where he has incorporated technology into his deliveries. A Tech-Savvy Driver usually has multiple time- or route-optimization applications installed on their phones. Furthermore, they relish the opportunity to share their knowledge. The Tech-Savvy Driver also possesses multiple phones for different types of deliveries, allowing him to keep track of the details of the different deliveries such as e-signing of goods. This driver absolute detests inefficiency such as bureaucratic processes, and he aims to utilise technology to reduce or eliminate such excesses.
He has a lot of apps on his phone, most of which are designed to speed up the performance of his phones. He is the go-to person with regards to technology and knows which phone works best with the apps required for his work.
For the Tech-Savvy Driver, he is the most suitable for e-commerce deliveries. This type of delivery lets the technological know-how of the driver fly as he uses the mobile applications and tools at his disposal to automate their deliveries. This could be in the form of scheduling or navigation like using Google Maps with voice function enabled.
However, the least suitable job for the Tech-Savvy Driver is long-haul delivery. The technical knowledge of this driver will not be put to good use in long-haul deliveries that occur once or twice a day. This driver will be unable to overcome the huge amount of time taken from the physical transportation of the goods.
7. The Most Respected Driver
This driver is the pinnacle among his peers and contemporaries within the industry. The Most Respected Driver is molded by years of experience and knows almost every trick of the trade. They know which are the best routes to take for different times of the day. Furthermore, every driver that works with him look up to his example and regularly seeks his advice for the efficient execution of their deliveries.
Not only that, the Most Respected Driver is the strongest influencer in any company. All drivers will look to him for direction and will ask him for advice. Whatever the Most Respected Driver says, the other drivers will follow. All drivers aspire to reach this pinnacle. The management would do well to look for his buy-in for implementing technology or new process flows.
For the Most Respected Driver, he is suitable for most types of deliveries. This is because he has an efficient way of achieving success in any field, derived from years of experience. Furthermore, the contacts built along the way will serve to his advantage as they will recommend him the best time to deliver certain goods.
In sum, we need to acknowledge that there are many kinds of driver. Knowing the personality profiles of your driver allows you to gauge the level of interest and suitability of the jobs assigned. Furthermore, it allows optimization of deliveries assigned based on the driver preference. In turn, it aids drivers in performing their jobs within their comfort zone, ensuring operational success in the long run. Drivers are the mission-critical crew that can make or break a successful delivery operation. As such, do not take your drivers for granted nor ignore there strengths and weaknesses when it comes to planning their delivery tasks.
Do you have a driver personality type you’d like to share? Let us know down in the comments!
