If you think driver meetings are a drag, you should have been around 25 years ago.
On a typical dreary Saturday morning on any fall weekend, clusters of drivers could be seen out in the parking lots of various hotels and banquet halls. Puffing away on cigarettes, they await the inevitable: a breakfast of soggy scrambled eggs, greasy bacon, and flaccid toast, followed by a droning lecture on everything we drivers were doing wrong.
These meetings weren’t joyous occasions. Consequently, as many drivers as could pull it off found ways to avoid those meetings. They should have been learning sessions, or at least a good time to ask questions, but in the companies where I worked, most of the hot air was unidirectional.
While those driver meetings were grim, our managers didn’t have the tools available today. Carriers with a bit of imagination can make driver meetings if not enjoyable, at least educational and productive.
Get more engaged
Fleet communication practices have evolved over time, and there’s still a surprising amount of variation in how fleets engage with their drivers. While some companies still rely on older methods, many have adopted more modern and flexible approaches.
CarriersEdge CEO, Jane Jazrawy, surveys hundreds of fleets annually for the Best Fleets to Drive For program, and scores them on if and how they conduct driver meetings. She’s gathered some interesting data.
“One of the more concerning findings was that 13% of fleets reported having no group meetings at all — relying solely on one-on-one interactions,” she told trucknews.com.
“Such fleets often cite logistical challenges, such as drivers being spread out across different locations and schedules. As a result, they don’t even attempt group meetings, focusing instead on individual communication and check-ins. In contrast, 58% of finalist fleets in the program offer some form of virtual meeting option. These often include live or recorded video sessions that drivers can access at their convenience.”
While one-on-ones are still valuable, they can’t replace the benefits of group meetings, including shared information, mutual discussion, and a sense of community.
Group meetings, versus the one-on-one format, offer the benefit of discussion and group participation.
“You’re no longer just delivering information, you’re opening a dialogue,” Jazrawy says. “Meetings become an opportunity to gather insight from drivers, learn about potential issues at specific customer sites, or uncover patterns you might be aware of otherwise.”
John Farquhar, national risk services specialist at Gallagher, has conducted dozens of driver meetings throughout his career. He’s an engaging speaker, and he speaks driver-ese — which always helps knock the barriers down. He tries to keep his audience engaged and thinking.
Once he gets onto a topic, hours-of-service, for example, which usually draws out differing opinions in people, and different levels of understanding, he scans the room for the driver with a furrow in their brow.
“That driver probably disagrees with me, but at least he or she is thinking,” he notes. “They may want to ask a question, but they don’t want to be the first to raise their hand. I try to get one driver talking, and invariably, others chime in. That’s when the discussion begins. I’m no longer talking at them; we’re sharing information and opinions as a group.”
Fleet goals vs. drivers’ goals
The traditional view of driver meetings as noted above seems positively Medieval compared with today’s more enlightened views on engaging drivers and building a healthy and safe company culture.
Obviously, the fleet drives the meeting agenda, covering topics it believes need to be addressed. These could range from improving hours-of-service compliance to reducing out-of-service rates during roadside inspections.
There are plenty of opportunities to do that through online training, so do you want to waste an hour at a driver meeting going over the fundamentals of the HoS rules?
That time could be better spent discussing the learnings from online training and opening discussions so the drivers are more engaged in the learning.
Structure your presentations in a way that delivers the required messaging, but don’t overlook the drivers’ need for learning, growth, and engagement.
Effective training goes beyond compliance or technical skills — it fosters connection, builds shared purpose, and supports both the professional and human development of employees, suggests Kriska Holdings’ safety and training supervisor and health and safety chairman, Guy Broderick.
“I think if someone really wants to engage their drivers, they need to focus on more than just the technical stuff,” he says. “They need to focus on the human side of the business.”
Recalling his own experience as a driver, at driver meeting, he was interested in hearing about how the company was doing, the owner’s vision of the company and future plans as well as learning something related to his job.
“It didn’t always work out that way,” he says. “Those meetings weren’t super engaging, and sometimes downright combative. When I moved over to the safety side, I wanted to change that dynamic, and I started bringing in outside experts to inform and educate our drivers.”
A recent human-centered training session developed for the company’s driver trainers, in collaboration with Trucking HR Canada, had a profound impact: full engagement, no distractions, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants.
“When people see the content is built for them, not recycled from elsewhere, they respond with appreciation and attention,” Broderick told trucknews.com. “I think if someone really wants to engage, whether it’s a training team or their drivers, they need to focus on more than just the technical stuff. They need to focus on the human side of the business.”
Zoom, Teams, and podcasts
Digital platforms such as podcasts and virtual meetings, Zoom or Teams example, have become increasingly efficient tools for engaging with drivers.
Along with various speakers and presenters, and the ability to use PowerPoint or video, such as when reviewing dashcam footage, virtual meetings maintain the group dynamic much more effectively than one-on-one meetings with drivers.
“People ask questions. People raise their virtual hands. They’re doing a lot more interactively,” Jazrawy says. “The industry is getting used to these tools, and people are not afraid of speaking up in virtual meetings anymore.”
What began with Facebook Live driver meetings, in which carriers could interact with drivers in real time through chats and Q&A sessions, has evolved into more sophisticated and engaging formats like virtual meetings and even podcasts.
Podcasts have gained significant traction in trucking, especially in the U.S. Canadian carriers beginning to adopt them as well, notes Jazrawy
Initially used as a one-way method for carriers to share updates and company news, many of the best-performing fleets also include drivers as guests. This shift has turned podcasts from simple information broadcasts into interactive, engaging conversations, says Jazrawy.
“If there’s no follow-up, it’s like the meeting never happened.”
Jane Jazrawy, Best Fleets to Drive For/CarriersEdge
“These digital channels offer substantial benefits,” she adds. “They are accessible any time, making them ideal for drivers who spend long hours on the road to access the content while driving. But I don’t think podcasts alone should replace actual meetings. I think they can be a really cool addition to a carrier’s communication portfolio.”
One of the downsides to digital, she cautions, might be the lack of follow-up or feedback from drivers. Surveys show high-performing fleets — the ones in the Best Fleets Top 20, take feedback from any sort of driver meeting very seriously.
“If there’s no follow-up, it’s like the meeting never happened,” Jazrawy says.
When used well, especially in a collaborative format that includes driver voices, podcasts and virtual meetings can enhance communication and contribute positively to driver morale and retention.
While they may not replace the value of in-person meetings entirely, they serve as a powerful supplement, offering flexibility, reach, and a more modern approach to connecting with drivers.
Topics for your next driver meeting
In addition to the priority topics your safety department has identified, such as HoS compliance or the special needs of a new customer, try including some other relevant topics drivers will find interesting and can take something from, rather than pure business.
Dennis Buswell, a safety-and-compliance training instructor, and consultant based in Cambridge, Ont., recommends fleets keep driver meetings engaging and relatable by including lots of interactive elements of interest to drivers.
- Review dash cam videos with real-life scenarios, highlighting exceptional driver actions. Encourage discussion and active participation.
- Share drivers’ personal stories along with experiences from your own driving career.
- Invite other stakeholders, such as operations, dispatch, and shop personnel to participate in the meetings. This opens interdepartmental communication and fosters better understanding of the whole operation.
- Consider outside guest speakers relevant to drivers, such as financial planners, health and nutrition experts, or lifestyle consultants. Demonstrate that your fleets is concerned with drivers’ well-being.
“The key is to make the meetings interactive and relatable as possible while maintaining open communication and mutual understanding,” Buswell says. “Don’t just lecture your drivers; involve them.”
When planning the meetings, leave time for discussion. Don’t cram the agenda right to the minute.
Jazrawy’s Best Fleets to Drive For carrier surveys show about 65% of fleets hold meetings quarterly. Some more frequently than that thanks to virtual formats. Many fleets host multiple versions of the same meeting virtually to ensure better access for everyone, without needing to bring all drivers into a terminal all at once.
Overall, while traditional approaches are still in use in some places, the trend is clearly moving toward more flexible, inclusive, and tech-enabled communication strategies.
Because so much of the basic information can now be shared through other channels, such as recordings, emails, or digital dashboards, live meetings can be reserved for deeper conversations, problem-solving, and collaboration. In short, they can become far more than just routine check-ins. They can become a tool for continuous improvement.
And one final suggestion from Gallagher’s Farquhar: “Make the meetings fun. Leave’em laughing.”
