Page 160 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

the mobile performance management process � 139

trucks can be driven remotely (and we’re not saying it couldn’t happen
someday) there will always be someone needed to get behind the
wheel and put the vehicle into first gear. As with the truck driver
of yesteryear, today’s also works long hours behind the wheel, often
driving 11 hours a day with another three hours of paperwork, fueling,
or other activities such as inspections tossed in. Truck drivers account
for the highest total number of all work-related deaths, 12 percent, and
if you are one, you are five times more likely to die on the job than the
average person. Unlike those of the twentieth century, today’s drivers
can’t disappear when ferrying a load from one location to another.
Operator performance—including location, fuel usage, amount of
time driving, engine idle time, speed, gear optimization, whether the
truck is loaded or empty, and which direction it is heading—can all
be tracked mobilely. So there’s no hiding out at the diner anymore,
because—who knows? —they might even know what kind of pie
you’re eating.
Con-way’s mission statement says that “our employees are our big-
gest competitive advantage,” and so it should, because not only are
truck drivers the sine qua non of the trucking business, they’re hard to
get and to keep. There were 1.8 million heavy truck drivers in 2006,
and a good number of them are expected to retire soon. In 2005, there
was an estimated shortage of 20,000 long-haul drivers, a number that
is expected to grow to 111,000 by 2014. “Retaining and attracting
drivers is obviously a key differentiator in a tight workforce,” Tyler
told us. The need to attract, develop, motivate, and retain talent is
a top priority for trucking industry leaders such as Tyler. Due to the
nature of their business, most performance management has to be
done mobilely.
“The typical truck stop cowboy that everybody has in their mind
is not the case anymore,” Tyler says. “They’re very sophisticated busi-
nesspeople; more of a skilled workforce than I think the general public
gives them credit for.” At Con-way, a $4.3 billion freight transporta-
tion and logistics company operating in 18 countries with 26,000 em-
ployees, even little performance improvements can make a significant
difference.