Holding out fora hero
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CM's first Haulage Heroes reveals the people whose colleagues and bosses are so impressed with their effort, ability, attitude, commitment and dedication that they believe they are heroes
Words: Justin Stanton
Welcome to the inaugural Commercial Motor Haulage Heroes. Over these four pages we will celebrate the unsung heroes of road transport those people who regularly go beyond the call of duty and are deserving of wider recognition.
Their stories highlight the common themes of almost extreme levels of commitment to the business and its customers, and of compassion for their olleagues. Half of the heroes you can read about here have overcome some sort of adversity: all of them demonstrate a passion for getting the job done.
Working for three
One Haulage Hero's productivity is such that the person who nominated him says he does the work of three people. Imagine if you could clone these heroes: what difference would they make to your business? Well, human cloning is still some way off, but making the most of your team and turning them all into heroes is not impossible. Investing even a little time and resource into improving your HR approach can produce benefits. Over the page. CM's sister business Personneltoday.com discusses this issue.
If you're kicking yourself because there's a Haulage Hero in your business, but you didn't put them forward, simply look out for next year's edition. We will launch Haulage Heroes 2011 in the 15 September 2011 issue of CM.
Engaging with emptoyees
Employee engagement is a term that not only means different things to different people, but elicits a variety of responses, writes Beth lloinres. For HR professionals, employee engagement can be the holy grail, by creating a meaningful connection between employer and employee, while for an unmotivated worker the term might conjure up an image of patronising management speak from which an irritating strategy will emerge to further complicate the job in hand.
Employee engagement becomes even more difficult when employees work alone, travel extensively or come from old-school industries that can harbour a scepticism of modern business management concepts — such as transport.
So, how can vou reach these individuals, and how can
DONAGH PARTRIDGE AND MATTY KNIGHT
Nigel Partridge, director of Crewe-based Nigel Partridge Bulk Haulage, has nominated his wife, Oonagh, and one of his drivers, Matty Knight, for their help in ensuring the survival of his business. Partridge explains: "We operate three bulk powder tankers, and use subcontractors when needed, to transport sand from Cheshire to customers on the south coast of England; we load back to the Midlands and North-West.
"On 9 October, I was working on a vehicle when the jack broke and the vehicle dropped on me, fracturing my face, jaw and eye socket, cutting through my throat and breaking my larynx, "I was airlifted to hospital in Manchester to have a life-saving operation. I now have nine titanium plates and 35 screws in my face, and I will not have a voice for at least another six months.
"My wife and Matty took over the running of the business; they took on temporary drivers and employed another driver, Gary Edgar, to replace me, "To say that they have done a fantastic job is an understatement: Matty had only worked for me for two weeks before my accident, so it came as a bit of a shock to him to be running the job!"
Partridge concludes: "But through all this, my customers, colleagues, suppliers and mechanics have all pulled together, and we have managed to carry on. I think they are all heroes."
you achieve employee engagement without alienating a workforce that is already under pressure from an exceptionally tough economic climate?
To get to the bottom of it, says Angela Baron, adviser, CIPD, you need to understand exactly what you are trying to achieve. "An awful lot of people don't know what employee engagement is," she says "Organisations see it as people's intention to stay and be happy, but actually that doesn't necessarily mean they're engaged.
"We see it as an emotional attachment with work or with the company—it can be any aspect of working life and it can be different for different people in the same company. People can be very engaged with the team for instance: they don't want to let the team down. But they don't feel that way about the employer or indeed the job."
There are, of course, many thousands of definitions, ideas and tools to help companies implement an effective employee engagement strategy.
Gallup Consulting, for example, presents a model entitled the `Q12 meta-analysis', a 12-statement programme aimed at getting employees to question their role and then grade it, It includes such statements as: 'my supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person'; 'at work. I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day'; and 'I have a best friend at work: But how does this analytical approach sit within those more challenging industries?
Pat Nicholson was a truck driver for 30 years and now represents the industry as a trustee of the Professional Drivers Association. She says: "There is an increasing pressure (to instigate employee engagement programmes). Everywhere you deliver to, it's staring you in the face," she says.
But, she says, many small firms aren't bothered with detailed employee engagement programmes — and that's because of the nature of the work. "It's a very lonely lifestyle. Drivers drive because they like to be on their own and in solitude.
Smaller firms appreciate loyalty
"Smaller firms appreciate the loyalty and don't get too involved, and you'll generally find longer terms of employment." Quite simply. she says: "There isn't the bullshit."
For Baron, Nicholson's views do not mean that employee engagement either does not, or cannot exist, for professional drivers.
"Some, of course, will say that the word 'engagement' is just management gobbledegook and an effort to squeeze people harder, hut there is plenty of evidence to show that, if people feel a sense of pride and self-worth as far as their contribution to the job is concerned, they are more likely to he engaged and will go that extra mile.
"I don't think that in challenging industries it's either less important or more difficult to achieve," she says.
Paul Willis, trainee and support manager at Gregory Distribution, agrees. He says: "Employee engagement is more difficult in our industry because once a driver has left the depot he's on his own. But it's all to do with communication," he says. "We give our drivers a FDA and we are in constant communication with them. It helps them to be committed and loyal to the company. They feel wanted and part of a team, rather than an individual."
So, it seems that worthwhile employee engagement need not require analytical programmes or extensive research, but can be achieved by fostering an environment that promotes a certain state of being.
"Having pride in an organisation can happen whether you employ Ion-y drivers or hotneworkers, so therefore companies that have a central overarching objective to which people can sign up are more likely to have an engaged workforce," says Baron.
Katie Truss, professor of management at Kent Business School, says the key strategies to build up employee engagement are "good leadership, employee voice, and giving employees meaningful work that is well matched to their skills". •
GARY RILEY
Gary Riley joined APC Overnight in 1999 and has been a hard-working, committed and loyal employee throughout his career with the company", says Emma Scott-Evans, head of HR.
Riley started as a parcel sorter, was promoted to team leader and then promoted again to supervisor. He was then promoted to transport supervisor and is now the assistant transport manager. "Gary has the major responsibility of managing transport for our busy night operation that turns over an average of 60,000 consignments per night," says Scott-Evans. This is no mean feat. In short, it is Gary's job to make sure all the vehicles [about 120] come in on time and leave on time." What has really impressed everyone at APC is that Riley's career growth has been achieved despite a year-long battle against cancer and coping recently with a close personal bereavement.
This is all testimony to his tremendously positive personality — he is cheerful, approachable, willing to take on any challenge and always gives 100c/.. it is hardly surprising that he is well thought of and respected by all of his colleagues," she says. Scott-Evans adds: "Why would we like to nominate him as our haulage hero? Because he is an insOration to others against all odds, from humble beginnings as a parcel sorter, he has battled personal adversity and is now enjoying success in a significant management role."
RICK HALFORD
Rick Halford has been transport manager at Panic Transport for six years. His main role at the Rugby-based. 60-truck Pall-Ex member is to come in at 5am each morning (including Saturdays) and route approximately 100 pallets that are received throughout the night from the network's hub.
Halford was nominated by senior traffic and operations manager Paul Whelan. He says Halford regularly goes beyond the call of duty: "He lets agency drivers into our yard at the weekends; he takes the 4arn calls; and he regularly takes paperwork home."
Indeed, Halford struggles to take his entire holiday allocation each year: not because the company doesn't let him, but because his sheer drive prevents him.
Becoming a father for the first time earlier this year hasn't dented Halford's commitment. Whelan explains: "Even with the added stress and fatigue this entails, he has never lost his sense of humour, dedication or professionalism."
In conclusion, Whelan says: "Rick is a valued member of a busy traffic office, who never shows anything other than the utmost dedication to the company, its customers and his colleagues."
MARTYN BOWERS
Marlyn Bowers is operations director at Newcastleunder-Lyme-based TLP Pallet Express. He was nominated by his sister, Anita Jameson, who is finance director.
She says: "Martyn has worked for the family business for 20 years and every day he has given 110%. When my father set the company up in 1990, we distributed 600 parcels a night from one office with two members of staff, one night driver and four day drivers.
"Thanks to my brother's hard work and commitment to the company and customers, we now have our own base and have 14 trucks and 28 members of staff. We now deliver and collect 380 pallets a day via The Pallet Network. Martyn unloads and loads the pallets himself with some assistance from a colleague.
"Martyn is here from 5.30am till 10.30pm most days, always covers other people's absences through sickness, and never moans. He just asks for a KFC now and again.
"I think he is a haulage hero because he has kept the company going through the difficult times without moaning and groaning. Martyn is our hero."
If that's not testament enough, Jameson declares: "We'd need three extra staff to do what he does."