How one producer uses a rewards-based app to tie driver behavior to the bottom line.
An employee gives a company around 36,000 heartbeats per workday—heartbeats they will never get back. It’s our job, and our responsibility, to make those heartbeats count for all involved. Simple alignment is one of the best things we can do to make this happen.
“The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths so strong that it makes the system’s weaknesses irrelevant,” said legendary management consultant Peter Drucker. These are not words to be taken lightly. The late Austrian American’s lectures and writings contributed to the foundations of modern management theory.
Consider drivers. They are likely the people who interact the most with customers and have a huge influence on the business’s health. It’s a no-brainer to align their choices with the enterprise’s best overall interests. The question is, how can we do this?
Computer engineer and materials industry veteran Manny Tejano created Rocket Start LLC to provide a solution. Starting with drivers, he facilitates the intrinsic alignment of staff through workplace gamification. The rewards-based platform uses ratings, badges, and feedback to achieve exceptional work output and happiness. Let’s look deeper through the eyes of a ready mixed producer who successfully applied the program.
WHAT’S IN A GAME?
Murphy Concrete & Construction (MCC Inc.) of Appleton, Wis., uses Rocket Start to help tie employees’ actions to the enterprise’s best overall interests. Berlin Bolle, the general manager of MCC’s concrete team, is quick to point out that calibrating internal motivation with company goals not only works, but it pays for itself.
The enlightened ownership of MCC wisely understood the value of employee alignment and had long-ago established an employee incentive program. The program provided an extra $1 per safe hour based on meeting coarsely defined and measured monthly goals. The lack of precision, however, reduced the program to a bonus “entitlement” for being present, replacing all possibilities of impact with a “just pay me” mentality.
In 2022, MCC onboarded Rocket Start to transform the incentive program. Computerized gamification has allowed the producer to define very specific actions and results. When goals are achieved, badges are awarded. Here’s the kicker: The badges translate to bragging rights AND money.
One driver built an elite hunting rifle with his Rocket Start money. Another took his entire family on vacation. MCC Quality Control Manager and Technical Sales Director Tim Hendrickson says the magic lies in drivers’ ability to directly connect their actions to internal (bragging) and external (money) incentives.
MCC Transportation Manager Chris Dillenberg cites tire costs as one of the many ways gamification has saved the company money. If a driver is diligent about pre-check and careful driving, tires will last longer. The all-in costs of replacing a new tire can easily exceed $2,000 when considering parts, procurement, installation, and downtime. The Rocket Start app tracks the driver’s specific actions and links them to specific results, such as reduced tire costs. Peer group pressure, intrinsic internal competitiveness, and financial incentives all help deliver self-rewarding behavior.
Dillenberg also highlights the benefits of the “squeaky clean” badge, which is awarded at two levels: basic and show-truck. As a result, he says the company’s six-year-old trucks often look brand new, enhancing MCC’s public image.
BETTER INCENTIVES FOR DRIVERS
Notably, the new program uses only positive incentives. Whereas the old program would negate the monthly safety bonus for one speeding ticket, drivers in the new program earn points for each safe day. Rewards are issued after reaching a point threshold.
Additionally, while the old program rewarded all drivers the same each month, the new program is more generous, rewarding the top drivers much more. Due to intense competition, the top drivers per category change constantly. The opportunity for drivers to earn greater monetary rewards brings a considerable driver retention bonus for the company. Minimal staff turnover saves money!
Tires, safety, personal protective equipment, and cleanliness are just a few of the ways gamification connects employee behavior and actions to company goals. Bolle says the economic impact of the well-defined alignment goals covers the program’s cost. Most importantly, the program results in better service for the end customer, reinforcing MCC as a service leader in the industry.
“The drivers are in the driver’s seat by defining what a good employee is and getting rewarded for the behavior needed to get there,” says Bolle. He adds that the program clearly “helps the employee do the right thing when not being watched.”
The program has worked so well that plans are now being made to expand it to other elements of the company, including bulk hauling, hot mix asphalt, excavation, and quality control.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” is a phrase often attributed to Peter Drucker. While there is debate over whether he said those words, we can agree that an organization’s culture should align with its strategic goals. Employees who enthusiastically execute well-aligned daily tasks will drive success.
“Culture makes the company,” says Bolle. “While Rocket Start will not make the culture, it will enhance it.”
Craig Yeack has held leadership positions with both construction materials producers and software providers. He is co-founder of BCMI Corp. (the Bulk Construction Materials Initiative), which is dedicated to reinventing the construction materials business with modern mobile and cloud-based tools. His Tech Talk column—named best column by the Construction Media Alliance in 2018—focuses on concise, actionable ideas to improve financial performance for ready-mix producers. He can be reached at [email protected].