CALL IT OFF Employees need to be left alone when driving
I embrace management by walking around and I go out of my way to interrupt seemingly non-work-related conversations and inject myself in the middle of them.
I’m also notorious for trying to infuse comedy into an otherwise nose-to-the-grindstone workplace by sending what I believe to be humorous reply-all emails (sadly, I seem to be among the few who find the emails funny).
I even try to test my employees’ knowledge of trivia by asking them arcane questions about sports, entertainment, politics and business. In short, I do my best to improve morale by distracting the troops from their business-as-usual workday lives, and inject humanity and humor into the workplace.
But I never distract or disrupt my employees when they’re driving to or from work. I refuse to accept calls when I’m behind the wheel and believe everything, no matter how urgent, can wait a few more minutes until my employee has pulled safely to the side of the road or arrived home.
I avoid distracting my employees because, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 3,500 people were killed in 2015 due to distracted driving and almost 400,000 people were injured in distracted-driving incidents.
Not surprisingly, texting is one of the most dangerous activities.
Consider this: Sending or reading a text can take your eyes off the road for five seconds. That’s the equivalent of driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
When it comes to my employees, I encourage them to sign off whenever they are driving to or from work and focus instead on reaching their destination safely.
But getting entrepreneurs to leave their employees alone (and encouraging employees to drop off the grid as they cruise homeward) is easier said than done. According to a recent poll commissioned by Travelers Insurance, 43 percent of employees who drive answer or make work-related communications while driving.
Consider these sobering statistics: 38 percent of employees feel the need to always be available.
37 percent don’t want to miss something important.
17 percent are afraid of upsetting their boss if they don’t answer.
15 percent are not able to mentally shut off from work.
As small business owners, we play a critical role in keeping employees safe on the road. The poll revealed that 27 percent of employees who drive say their boss has called and/or texted even though they knew they were driving. That’s simply unacceptable. And, frankly, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
So, what’s a maniacal, 24/7 entrepreneur to do? How can you take the pressure off employees and encourage them to wait to answer texts and e-mails?
Here are four surefire tips from Chris Hayes, a Travelers Risk Control safety expert: Put it in writing: Create a formal, written policy stating your organization’s position on mobile device use and other distractions while driving. A formal policy is the foundation of your distracted driving prevention program. It should apply to everyone in your organization who drives a vehicle on company business, whether it is a delivery truck, a sales vehicle, a supervisor visiting job sites or an office employee using a personal vehicle to run errands.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat: Remind employees of your policies on a regular basis. Ask every employee who drives on company business to acknowledge in writing that he or she has read, understands and will follow your policy. Use emails, newsletters, bulletin board postings and defensive driving warning signs in company vehicles to communicate your policy in various ways throughout the year.
Do as I do: Let employees know that while they are on the road, no phone call or email is more important than their safety. To further prove the point you, your top managers and other key staff should avoid conversations with employees until they are safely parked.
Shine the spotlight on early adopters: There’s no better way to reinforce companywide behavior than to praise early adopters. So, after you’ve defined the safe driving practices and expected behaviors of your employees, take time out to salute those who do follow the new rules in a congratulatory email, company newsletter, etc. The others will see John or Jane receiving praise and want the very same spotlight shined on them. It’s basic human nature.