Unsuited work or mismatching skill and aptitude to the job costs an estimated R 500 000 per annum per driver. Replacing a driver costs a year’s salary on average. How do we calculate these costs?
The Driver Information Bureau recently conducted research with a number of reputable South African companies to determine how much good and bad drivers are actually costing them.
The measurements shown below were applied to each of the drivers in the study:
| Description | Best 30% | Good Drivers | Bad Drivers | Worst 30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 48.00 | 47.44 | 48.65 | 47.30 |
| Tenure in months | 54.80 | 71.81 | 47.41 | 29.70 |
| Production | Each driver was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4 | |||
| Fuel consumption | Each driver was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4 | |||
| Written warning per year | 1.58 | 1.34 | 6.11 | 7.69 |
| Final written warning per year | 1.80 | 1.75 | 1.42 | 1.50 |
| Minor accidents per year | 0.32 | 0.31 | 1.21 | 1.76 |
| Medium accidents per year | 0.44 | 0.86 | 1.65 | 1.99 |
| Serious accidents per year | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.14 |
| Minor damages per year | 0.30 | 0.22 | 0.26 | 0.40 |
| Medium damages per year | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.30 | 0.16 |
| Serious damages per year | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.04 |
| Total damages per year | 0.32 | 0.26 | 0.62 | 0.60 |
| Customer complaints per year | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05 |
| Public complaints per year | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
Table 1: Result of trial
The study looked at all aspects pertaining to drivers and a cost was allocated to each aspect.
| Description | Good Performers | Bad Performers |
|---|---|---|
| Minor accident | R 838 | R 3 259 |
| Medium accident | R 6 475 | R 12 346 |
| Serious accident | R 10 000 | R 65 882 |
| Minor damage | R 546 | R 662 |
| Medium damage | R 327 | R 2 137 |
| Serious damage | R 0 | R 570 |
| Customer complaints | R 121 | R 108 |
| Public complaints | R 36 | R 66 |
| Operator complaints | R 696 | R 981 |
| Total cost to the company | R 122 656 | R 373 349 |
Table 2: Driver Cost Comparison
An interview was also conducted with a further 18 transporters who estimated the costs of rehiring a driver as follows:
| Lost production: | R 40 000 |
| Hiring costs: | R 5 000 |
| Driver trainer evaluation: | R 2 000 |
| Retraining: | R 35 000 |
| Total: | R 82 000 |
Table 3: Cost of losing a driver year 1
The Cost difference between a good performing and poor performing driver was calculated at R400 000 per annum.
One is likely to eventually fire the performing driver and incur another R100 000 locating and hiring a replacement driver. Rule of thumb, the cost of a poor performing driver is therefore in the region of R500 000.
The cost to the Driver financially and emotionally should also not be discounted.