We are thankful for yet another successful Road Captain Summit. Even though it was snowy and cold, we had a great day out at Timber Pointe Lodge. The fire was warm, the meals were delicious, and the company was even better. We want to extend a big thank you to all our Road Captains for being a part of the day and for all your daily efforts in serving others and helping contribute towards Nussbaum’s success as Employee Owners.
Below are some themes and takeaways that were collected from the event.
Primary Themes & Take-Aways
- Retiring trailers at 12 years old—It was discussed that trailers would be pulled off the road and sold once they hit 12 years old. There was some concern that we may have some customers who reject our trailers if this happens. A couple of individuals shared that our customer PCA will reject trailers that are older like this. Operations and Sales is planning to investigate this further with PCA and other customers of ours.
- The ESOP discussion generated a lot of good conversation among the group members. There were questions regarding the second sale and when this would take place. The Executive Team shared that there are a few different things affecting the timing: interest rates, inflation, moving out of an “Endure” market, and ensuring that Nussbaum is overall stable. A second sale could happen by the end of 2024. Keeping communication consistent and simple will be helpful along the way.
- New drivers are having a hard time retaining all the information that they take in at orientation. Specifically, details surrounding how to use their tablet, choosing the correct directions, and navigating between their logs and the LiNK app.
- Continue to encourage a phone call and proactive communication to drivers when things change on a load or something pertinent needs communicated right away. This goes beyond Operations.
- It feels that the ETA calculator is more of a frustration for drivers rather than a helpful tool.
Potential Action Item Targets
- As the number of dedicated drivers grows, how can we look at making some of them Road Captains as well?
- Explore new training methods for driver orientation when it comes to navigating the tablet, trip planning, working through directions and load assignments, and logs.
- Look into ways that we can improve the ETA calculator.
- Continue to work on cleaning up driver directions and notes that are sent out.
- Providing a card to new hires that would list their DM, Performance Supervisor, Roadside Coordinator, Driver Relations Manager, and Road Captain
