Pato mulls ways to keep graduate drivers

Samson Osero After employing 15 drivers with degrees, Pato was bothered that they may abandon Trulogic on sighting greener pastures. To allay his fears, he held a midday meeting in the boardroom with eight of the drivers. He wanted to know what can make them stay beyond the “honeymoon” working period. Pato told them: “With your academic background, you stand high chances of rising to managerial positions at Trulogic. Let’s have an open discussion on what it would take for you to wait for the positions.” The drivers kept quiet. Some were weighing on whether or not to use the opportunity and ventilate their current problems. To break the silence, Pato assured them that nobody would be victimised for his or her views. “Yes, we are driver-cum-salepeople but wearing uniforms while on duty does not befit us. We have personal images to protect in public,” said the first driver. Pato nodded his head in agreement while jotting down the suggestion. He had always wanted drivers to have freedom on workwears. “The transport union, which some of you may want to join soon, demands that Trulogic provides drivers with uniforms. I will revisit this matter with HR”, Pato quipped knowing it cannot be resolved overnight. The next driver asked: “Can Trulogic provide us with modern musical systems in the delivery vans to kill our boredom as we drive around?” Other drivers laughed at the proposal because they already had all sorts of music in their classy smartphones. To save the driver’s face, Pato said: “Unpublished research has confirmed that music can improve work performance among the millennials. The begging question is: Who will be responsible for providing the music at a reasonable cost?” A driver whom others held in high esteem suggested: “Instead of supervisors issuing work schedules for us, we can prepare them as a team.” He received a loud applause that made Pato worried. Supervisors were used to allocating routes to drivers on friendly terms with Pato in the picture. Fearing that supervisors might oppose the new idea, Pato explained that: “Preparing working timetables was a preserve of supervisors. It cannot be taken away because it is enshrined in their job descriptions.” The drivers were disappointed. They had hoped that Pato would buy into the idea so that they are not discriminated against by old drivers. One driver protested: “This meeting shall be futile if you stick to some of the existing rigid work arrangements.” Pato interjected with tongue in the cheek: “Let’s continue brainstorming before we evaluate the suggestions for further action.” As a group, the new drivers had been debating whether or not to join Trulogic’s recognised transport union. They settled on the formation of a Drivers Consultative Forum (Forum) in which they can table their grievances to management. CEO Ben was to chair Forum meetings and its membership would consist of a few managers and representatives from the millennial drivers. Pato did not like the suggestion because it would imply that he was unable to solve the drivers’ problems at departmental level. He also feared a backlash from the militant transport union which would regard the Forum as a competitor in resolving labour disputes. Ben would be pleased dealing with the Forum because it will set the stage for dismantling the transport union. Pato told the drivers: “Formation of the Forum is a weighty matter that would involve other stakeholders like HR and management. For now, let’s sleep over this innovative employee relations idea.” The drivers demanded to be represented in management meetings by one of their own. Pato tried to explain that the meetings were exclusively for managers but he was shouted down. One of the drivers reminded him that to prepare for future managerial positions, they should be involved in matters management. To calm down the drivers, Pato said that it was better to lobby for the Forum than give them a false promise on their participation in management meetings. Pato had always wanted to undertake an advanced management course abroad. But budgetary constraints and Covid-19 related travel restrictions had blocked his dream. It was not surprising that he did not support employees in his department for learning and development opportunities. When the drivers complained of lack of training in marketing and sales, Pato brushed off the concern. He reminded them that their majoring in marketing enabled them to qualify for their current positions. Pato shot down the drivers’ attempts to convince him about their training for managerial roles. He pointed out: “You shall cross the bridges at the appropriate time.” It dawned on the drivers that their quest leadership training was not a priority on Pato’s staff development radar. The new drivers agitated for a recognition programme tailored to distinguish them from the old drivers. They argued that evaluating them using common parameters would be misleading in choosing the recipient of the Driver of the Year Award. They clarified that besides driving, marketing was a main responsibility on their job descriptions. Pato was at a loss on responding to the sensitive proposal. Trulogic’s Recognition Programmes had been parked aside awaiting the resumption of full business after the Covid-19 related hiccups. One driver remarked: “We should not wait until the end of the year to be recognised for meeting our work expectations. A verbal appreciation from one’s supervisor would be sufficient in the meantime.” Pato kept quiet because he rarely praises his supervisors for outstanding work performance. Yet, the drivers wanted the same supervisors to do a different thing. One of the aggressive drivers who was always hunting for plum jobs told Pato: “Compared to other companies in the logistics sector, Trulogic is paying us peanuts for our dual roles. Keeping some of us at Trulogic for an unknown future would turn out to be a mirage.” Pato explained that salary reviews are a company-wide matter that HR undertook regularly. Drivers who were privy to the last time employees salaries were adjusted told Pato to uphold transparency on remuneration matters. To evade more discontentment, Pato abruptly closed the meeting promising to revisit the raised issues in a similar future meeting. - The writer is HRD Consultant and Author of Transition into Retirement, samsonosero@gmail.com

Pato mulls ways to keep graduate drivers

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Pato mulls ways to keep graduate drivers

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