Why courier companies should prioritise training

Technology, safety protocols, and industry standards are forever changing in the delivery industry, which makes it challenging for courier companies to stand out from the rest and remain innovative within this highly competitive market. While there are many aspects to delivery service, courier drivers are known to be the most valuable components of any successful courier company. This is because they greatly affect the company performance, hold a high level of responsibility due to handling and delivering of customers’ packages, and without them, courier companies would not be able to operate. Whether businesses make use of in-house drivers or outsource their employees, conducting effective training and learning with courier staff are absolutely essential in order to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality rendering of the delivery service.

Being a courier driver is a profession that does not necessarily require any form of formal education such as diplomas and degrees, but by providing your courier staff with powerful training initiatives such as parcel management, occupational health and safety, and client management, you can invest in their personal growth, combat risks on the road, improve workforce productivity, reduce high employee turnovers and keep your workers actively engaged and upskilled.

However, with the hustle and bustle of the courier industry and having drivers on the road all day, many may argue that there is little to no time to provide employees with the proper training they require to make sure all duties and responsibilities are carried out successfully. Yet, modern online training technologies have developed solutions to overcome these commonly-faced industry obstacles while helping your courier company save time with shorter training cycles.

An example of this would be just-in-time (JIT) learning – a form of learning that supports the notion of on-the-go training by giving employees access to on-demand information when needed. These kinds of information can be anything from company processes, health and safety regulations, assistance tools, customer service training modules, or product and/or service information, and can be accessed using any internet-enabled device. Whether it be mobile learning or microlearning lessons that support JIT learning and can be accessed on cellphones, tablets or laptops, these approaches to training foster a continuous learning culture, help sustain all-time quality control and evidently showcase the direct relationship between job performance and training.

While training may be viewed as an additional expense, the benefits of investing in your employees with effective upskilling solutions will allow for an even greater return. Here are some of the many benefits proper courier training can have on your employees and the business itself:

Confident and professional employees

When employees feel confident, it is reflected in how they present themselves, deliver their service, and communicate with customers. Effective training keeps courier staff members from doubting their abilities as they will have all the knowledge needed to perform their job tasks efficiently.

Courier drivers also handle different sensitive and confidential information. Hence, they must be able to handle every bit of information professionally and with discretion. They need to be able to protect the confidentiality of that information and treat their customers with absolute respect. Furthermore, delivery drivers must be reliable and take accountability – a few aspects that can be covered with soft skills training.

Higher staff retention and enhanced driver satisfaction

When losing an employee, a great amount of time and money goes into recruiting, screening and onboarding their replacement. Companies may also experience severe downtime in performance and productivity – which does not exclude the courier and delivery service industry. Retaining drivers can be a challenging task which makes any courier company vulnerable to that risk. By actively investing time and money in your employees through engaging training, businesses improve confidence and create a positive and healthy company culture for employees, which in turn keeps them engaged and furthermore decreases employee turnover.

Providing training opportunities for your courier workforce also gives them a sense of feeling valued and cared for regarding their personal and professional growth. This will put them in an overall better mood which will also allow them to perform better in their role.

Reduced risk on the road

An expectation for most couriers is to make timely deliveries in a variety of weather conditions – whether it be wind, rain, or sunshine. Unfortunately, not all drivers have experience driving in different environmental conditions, which could result in poor decisions, aggressive driving, hard braking and possible accidents.

When courier training includes educating employees on how to make the right choices behind the wheel, drivers gain the necessary skills needed to make safe driving decisions. Delivery training can help in reducing the occurrence of on-duty accidents and can go a long way in saving the lives of drivers and others on the road as well. Courier training can entail both educational and practical driving sessions and can cover everything from development courses, defensive driving, vehicle familiarisation to eco-driving.

Whether it be the jeopardy of the employees, vehicles or freight, courier companies are responsible for the payment of bills when any form of accident occurs on the job. Safer driving decisions result in fewer fines, accidents, and possible damage to freight and produce efficient deliveries, careful employees, and lower expenses.

Good health condition and physical appearance

Some delivery services require the distribution of heavy and bulky material, while others entail the delivery of small packages. With the distribution of large and fragile material comes the requirement of careful and heavy handling and lifting. This means that employees need to be in good physical condition and should be well-trained on how to handle and care for delicate and heavy freight.

Additionally, the physical appearance of courier employees is imperative as they serve as representatives or extensions of the courier company.

Better maintained vehicles

Through training courier drivers on how to make safe decisions quickly, check their own daily driving habits, and any changes that impact their delivery route, couriers essentially take better care of vehicles. When couriers drive vehicles properly, there is less wear and tear, unexpected breakdowns, as well as money and time spent awaiting repairs.

Lesson Desk offers companies a course on vehicle safety and maintenance to provide employees with the necessary skills and tools necessary to perform vehicle checks and general maintenance. This includes an introduction to defensive driving followed by tips for driving safely and defensively, as well as a guide to performing interior and exterior vehicle checks using a vehicle inspection checklist, both before and after driving.

The need to prioritise courier training has never been more important as drivers are essential to the company’s success, performance and daily operation. To effectively train your courier workforce on the go, contact learn@lessondesk.com or visit our website for more on how you can digitally keep your employees upskilled and engaged today.