Guide
How to build a driver recognition and rewards program: Safety and efficiency incentives that work
Fleets in the trucking industry today face significant challenges with driver shortages and high turnover—but research shows that well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave their jobs. By investing in a recognition and rewards program, you can engage and retain your most valuable resource—your drivers—while also improving safety, efficiency, and your bottom line.
A preview of what’s inside
A great recognition and rewards program can help you engage and retain drivers.
This guide will show you how to build a successful driver recognition and rewards program—whether you have an existing program or are building one from the ground up—focused on empowering drivers through open communication, transparent and clearly defined goals, and meaningful incentives.
Start with data to uncover trends and track your progress
This includes identifying potential hazards impacting road safety and efficiency, like distracted driving, drowsiness, driver fatigue, tailgating, speeding, cell phone usage, no seatbelt usage, and idling, and ensuring they are consistently measurable. Modern safety solutions can automate data collection to inform your program.
Establish clear expectations
Transparency and clear communication are crucial for driver buy-in. Truck drivers should know exactly what the expectations are, how they are being evaluated, and where they stand. Objective scoring, like Samsara Safety Scores, help align recognition with consistent standards and performance improvements. Truck drivers can also gain full visibility into their progress via mobile devices, fostering self-correction and ownership.
Engage and incentivize drivers
Recognition should be frequent, timely, and meaningful, with rewards that fit your company culture. Consider digital gift cards, certificates, company-wide recognition, personalized kudos from managers, or branded gear. The goal is to allow drivers to share in the savings from prevented incidents and collisions.
Help all drivers succeed
A recognition program is an opportunity to engage all drivers in building safer habits and improving driving skills, regardless of tenure or current performance. This can involve refresher training on defensive driving, additional coaching, or peer-to-peer sharing of success stories. Underperforming truck drivers should be given resources and guidance to improve, ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Celebrate ongoing success and improvements
Continuous recognition for efficient and safe driving strengthens engagement, helps retain drivers, and fosters a positive work culture. Samsara Recognition tracks incident-free drive time streaks, sets milestones for automatic badge recognition, and identifies most improved drivers, with progress visible in the Samsara Driver App.
