Do fleet graphics affect employee retention? Let me share a scenario with you…
How Fleet Graphics Affect Employee Retention
I’m the hiring manager for a local home service provider, and I want to tell you about an interview I conducted last week. Like most businesses, especially in the service industry, we’re short-staffed. The employee pool is limited, so I was excited yet wary to interview an experienced service person from a competitor. I was excited because we could sure use the help, yet wary because I didn’t know why they were leaving their current position and wondered if we could offer what they needed.
The Interview
The interview went well. The candidate was certified, understood the hours involved, and was within our pay range. I needed to know one more thing: why did they want to leave their current position? So, I asked why he was leaving. He said he didn’t feel appreciated or treated fairly by the current employer. I asked him to explain. It seems the company seldom recognized employees for a job well done, and worse yet, they didn’t always have the tools needed to get the job done.
A Bad Wrap: The perfect example of how fleet graphics affect employee retention
I asked for examples and heard about broken, missing, or outdated tools, and then I was given another example. The technician told me their vehicle wasn’t up to par. He said it wasn’t only that it was getting older, it wasn’t taken care of. For example, a spring in the front bench seat had broken through the fabric, and if you didn’t sit on a pillow, you’d be stabbed. Another thing was the appearance. The van looked sketchy. It had a vehicle wrap that was several years old that was faded and torn. You could only see half of the company name, and part of the phone number was missing.
The interviewee looked at me and said, “I know the look of the van affected how some customers greeted me, and I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t trust a business that pulled into my driveway in a beat-up van either.” Then he said, “One of the reasons I called your company is your work vans always look professional, so I figured if you take care of your vans, you probably take care of your tools and your team.”
There’s no doubt, that fleet graphics affect employee retention.
People need to know that the work they do is essential and that they’re appreciated, and one of the ways to do this is to give them the tools they need. When an employee travels in a company vehicle, it should be one of their best tools. A worn-out vehicle can drain an employee’s energy. It certainly doesn’t add to their work ethic or esteem. A bad wrap can put a team member in a poor frame of mind, and an employee in a poor frame of mind doesn’t always do their best work.
How is Your Company Perceived?
The other side of the story is how customers view your company vehicle and how they perceive your company. If your vehicles are in poor repair, dirty, with faded graphics, it sends a bad message about the business. A Bad Message is Worse Than No Message
The message your company cars and trucks send is important. Whether your vehicles are delivery vans, work trucks, or 53-foot tractor-trailers, customers, prospects, vendors, and employees see them. Ask yourself these questions. If you were a customer of your own business, would your fleet graphics make you proud to be a customer? If you were considering working for the company, would the condition of your cars and trucks give you doubt about the organization? Fleet graphics affect employee retention and customer perception too.
How Can We Help You?
If you’d like fleet graphics designed to capture attention, printed on state-of-the-art equipment, and installed by expert 3M Certified installers, we’re here to help. If you’d like further information or advice, be sure to Contact Us. or Request A Quote for your fleet or vehicle graphics?
TKO Graphix is a national fleet graphics and vehicle wraps company. Since 1985, we’ve been branding fleets with our full-service solutions including print production, design, graphics installation, removal, project management, and inventory fulfillment. We help businesses, large and small, brand their fleet of tractor-trailers, work trucks, and company vehicles.
We are proud to be a 3M™ MCS™ Warranty graphics manufacturer and employ the largest 3M™ Certified installation crew in the country. Our crew of installers, along with our national network of professional installers, allows us to brand any size fleet, anywhere!
Whether you have a fleet of thousands or a few vehicles, we are here to lead you through the fleet branding process. Contact us today for a free quote.
