This is a summary of the discussions and action items from the September 2022 meeting.
Primary Take-Aways
- Fleet Planner model is now running at full speed and is viewed as being better than the old model. Loads are coming faster, and there is better communication. Keep building on this!
- Good communication = when a driver receives proactive communication and is told the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of a situation…especially when something changes or goes bad.
- Road Captains talk to new hires. They want to ensure we keep the quality of new hires up, finding those who want to be a “Nussbaum” driver.
- Brokered loads are still a significant pain point. There was widespread consensus that CH Robinson loads are a problem. It is difficult to get correct load information from them. Appointment details can be unclear or wrong information. Compare to Echo Logistics who communicates very well and are very helpful.
- Drivers are understandably focused on what makes the day-to-day pleasant or unpleasant. Often regarding customer location difficulties, brokered load experience, and so on. Many suggestions are tied to what makes a driver’s ‘day-to-day’ either smooth or frustrating.
- The “planned appointment” time can cause issues. Frustrates a driver when they feel like they rush on a load, start their clock, and then end up waiting. It would be helpful if they had input on their ETA or if there was a “why” shared behind a ‘planner’ appointment time.
- If Nussbaum ever adopts a Profit-Sharing plan for drivers, the strong direction was to use “% of Pay” as the mechanism.
- Drivers have considerable interest in receiving more financial data more frequently and understanding the ESOP better. There are questions about what a 2nd ESOP sale might mean. Also, we should consider creating a simplified P&L to engage drivers on profitability. The transparency on financial matters seems much appreciated.
Action Items Breakdown
- Make Nussbaum’s BOD and Trustee a bit more visible. Use Dashboard Radio, perhaps.
- Look into brokered load inaccuracies.
- Put a counter/shelf in the driver’s break area for folding laundry.
- Bigger toilet seat at the Channahon facility!
- Consider name tags and more signage in the office to help drivers with new faces.
- Explore ways to keep personal touch and share appreciation with family/spouses of drivers.
- Review the possible addition of a dog run to the west of the Maintenance building.
- Hands-On for Certified RED is hard to schedule. Review ways to make this less of a barrier.
- Review Operations between 1700-1800 to ensure proper phone coverage plan.
- Review OOR allowance for compliant fuel stops.
- Look into the ETA Calculator feature on the LiNK trip plan. Make sure it is useful and helpful.
