Effective Video Review: Better Coaching

Imagine witnessing one of your most reliable drivers texting while driving, violating your safety policy, and ultimately putting lives at risk. You think about all of the things that could have gone wrong, and your emotions are running high…but this driver is also a long-time friend. How do you manage this potential bias when it comes to coaching this driver?

It can be difficult to separate emotion from business, but bringing emotions into the coaching arena can interfere with safety.

“Many fleet managers rose up through the ranks, starting their career as drivers,” said Sanjay Sinniah, manager of review operations for Lytx^®. “They understand that seat belts get uncomfortable and that drivers want to talk to their families while they’re on the road. That personal connection can make it difficult to stay objective when a driver demonstrates unsafe behaviour. ”Sinniah said that, if the company uses the wrong kind of video safety programme as part of its safety initiative, the problem may be amplified when coaches are assigned to evaluate video clips of their former peers.

“Drivers may have been working together for years, so it’s hard to stay neutral when they come across video clips of their peers,” he said. “Out of a sheer sense of loyalty, they might ignore video clips of unsafe behaviours if their friends are involved.” When this happens, you’re left with an inconsistent and biased review process that can undermine the overall coaching effort.

Third-party video review, one of the key features of the Lytx DriveCam™ video telematics programme, identifies unsafe driving behaviours, no matter which driver is involved, and delivers a prioritised list of driving events to guide unbiased coaching. It takes emotion out of the equation and helps ensure that all drivers are treated the same, whether they’ve been with the company for three months or 30 years.

Over the years, Sinniah has spoken with many clients who have expressed gratitude for the external review that is part of the DriveCam^® managed services programme. When a driving event triggers video capture, the clip is uploaded and analysed by highly-skilled reviewers. The reviewers are trained to identify more than 70 unsafe behaviours, which they mark for coaching. They don’t care who was involved — only that the behaviour is identified.

The DriveCam programme’s third-party review has three additional benefits:

• Users are only given the video that matters, rather than having to sift through hours of video to find coachable events. This takes a significant burden off of fleet managers and their teams, freeing up time and resources for other initiatives.
• The pressure is off of former drivers who’ve become coaches and managers, who are no longer asked to make difficult judgment calls against friends.
• Coaching is more targeted, effective and consistent, helping drivers to improve their skills and succeed at their jobs.

Source: https://www.lytx.com