A Great Coaching Tip For Road Warriors

So often articles written by trucking professionals discuss the driver shortage, cost of fuel, new types of equipment, and revenue per mile.  However, rarely do we talk about the ugly truth about trucking…the impact trucking has on the truckers family.

 

The sad part about our business is that we hear the stories from drivers regarding the impact trucking has had on their family.  Divorce, family disconnection and loneliness are very common traits within the family of a trucker.  However, there is HOPE!  Our drivers life can be strong and fulfilling even when they are on the road.

 

Here are some tips on how to coach them to keep their family connection strong while your drivers are truckin’:

Use technology and social media to your benefit

1. Get a smart phone with a camera feature on it.
2. Use their smart phone to take pictures of their travels. Take a minute to snap a photo of downtown city skyline, a national monument, city capital buildings, historical markers, sunsets, sunrises, oceans, mountains, etc.  Capture pictures that tell their story while on the road.
3. Learn how to email or text these photos directly to their family each day. Let their family see the country through their eyes.  Their pictures will tell a thousand word and help their family appreciate what they do.
4. Use these pictures as talking points with your children and family. Ask them to look up interesting facts about the image you sent them and talk about it during your next call home.
5. Learn how to use facebook and/or twitter to keep a record of your life and your travels. Post their pictures on facebook directly from their smartphone.  Get a twitter account for the driver and their family members and send each other tweets.  Facebook and Twitter can be a wonderful tool to let their family communicate thoughts and feelings with their loved one.
6. Learn how to use facetime or skype. These tools are like video phone calls.  The driver will get get to see faces, smiles, braces, etc.
7. Set up a daily video call home. If their log book can be managed so that they can be stopped everyday at 8 pm, schedule a daily call or video call home at 8 pm.  This helps everyone get on the same page and get everyone around the computer at the same time.
8. Make it fun!! Have them ask their family to send them texts, tweets, funny selfies, group photos, whatever their family finds interesting and funny.

Trucking is the backbone of the American economy.  What our drivers do as a trucker is important and meaningful.