From recruitment to recognition, discover strategies to create a positive work environment for drivers and school transportation admins.
by Bob Donson, Sunny’s Worldwide
January 3, 2025School transportation professionals have a crucial job. Driving students to and from school involves a detailed knowledge of the rules of the road, student safety, and district guidelines. People who take on this role often love their job for all the opportunities they have to make others’ lives better. In turn, they are more likely to enjoy their careers if they have a positive work environment. With these tips, schools and districts can build a school transportation team that supports itself and the students it serves.
Recruitment
A great school transportation team starts with the right recruiting strategy. Administrators should research rates and benefits for transportation professionals and aim to meet or exceed those in order to find the best candidates. As with any profession, school transportation can recruit motivated, engaged professionals who are interested in staying in the position long-term. Investing time into recruiting the top candidates can yield benefits in building a team of empowered, reliable transportation professionals. Recruiting directly from the community offers advantages by hiring people who are already invested in the health and safety of the community and its students.
Successful Onboarding
People in school transportation come from many backgrounds, requiring a dynamic and customized onboarding process. Some may have little knowledge or experience with professional transportation or working with children. Others may have decades of experience, needing little assistance learning district policies. Successful onboarding should involve many steps, including:
Driving assessment
Training in district rules
Safety skills and practice
Understanding of role expectations and benefits
When new employees understand what they need to do and have a variety of tools at their disposal to improve, they can often outperform expectations.
Strong Administration
Transportation directors can feel more secure in their jobs and their responsibilities when they are governed by a strong administration. Strong does not necessarily mean strict or micromanaging behaviors toward employees. Strong administration has the confidence to make decisions that benefit the school, its students, and staff. Effective administration increases the likelihood that good employees will stay, knowing that they have sufficient support to do their jobs. Administrators who hire people they can trust are more likely to empower those transportation professionals to make effective decisions that keep everyone safe and on time.
Training
Every school transportation employee should receive regular training to perform their duties. Although school bus drivers will come to the job with proper credentials like their CDLs, they will likely need additional training to complete their jobs safely and comfortably. Administrators should consider offering routine training in-house and from independent school consultants, including:
Non-driving training opportunities may also make sense, such as ergonomics, personal wellness, and other important parts of a healthy work environment.
Mentorship
Although having great administration is beneficial, it does not replace the advantages of mentorship within the team. Experienced drivers, who understand all the district routes and rules and have spent years keeping children safe and engaged, can give newer employees valuable advice as they start their careers. These relationships are often mutually beneficial. New drivers get the advantage of their mentor’s knowledge to help them avoid making mistakes, while experienced drivers may learn new things about devices and other technology that can help them refine their performance.
Access to Technology
Schools often use technology to complete safety checks and other tasks, and transportation professionals should have access to the same tools. For example, schools might provide tablets with software to teachers and administrators, so they can quickly verify that they have all the students in the event of an emergency.
Transportation professionals should receive the same or similar devices, as well as tools that allow them to check traffic or weather patterns from the road.
Open Communication
Employees who feel like they can bring up their concerns to a considerate administrator who will support them are more likely to voice worries than to let them fester, highlighting the advantages of open communication. Many new drivers face challenges in the early months of their responsibilities, and even the most seasoned transportation professionals will have problems from time to time. An attitude of open communication between staff members and supervisors can help to bring issues into the open for evaluation and solution, so that drivers feel more comfortable in their daily tasks.
Empowerment
School transportation professionals often must make key decisions independently, and they should be empowered to make those choices. An unexpected blockade in a road, a student in crisis, or other environmental hazards may not give a driver sufficient time to ask for backup from an administrator. Instead, administrators should hire drivers they can trust in these situations and provide them with the tools they need to keep moving along the route safely. Empowering transport staff can also minimize calls for assistance that interrupt administrators from their other duties.
Safety Drills
Safety is a key part of the school day, and involving transportation professionals in safety drills can improve success during emergent conditions. Safety drills help students and staff members familiarize themselves with the school’s safety plans for various emergencies.
Because accidents or disasters can happen at any time in any location, drivers must have access to this information. Transportation professionals should have the opportunity to practice following safety guidelines when getting students on or off the vehicle. They should also practice in regular drills with students, so that the children understand what to do during an emergency.
Benefits
Although not all drivers work full-time, they may need benefits if the schools want to retain top talent. Consider offering benefits such as:
Retirement planning
Paid time off
Negotiated raises
Recognized seniority
When drivers and staff feel like they receive competitive pay and benefits, they are less likely to look for other opportunities.
Recognition
When coupled with great pay, benefits, and professional support, recognition goes a long way to rewarding successful and committed transportation professionals. People like to feel valued, especially if the recognition is not used as a replacement for competitive pay or benefits.
Administrators can use recognition to honor individuals or teams for their hard work. Celebrating years of service, accomplishments, and even birthdays can build a teamwork atmosphere that encourages everyone to work together.
Building a great school transportation team starts with a plan to create a positive work environment for all staff members. Schools rely on transportation staff to maintain safety while moving children to school and back home each day reliably and on schedule. By investing time into fostering a strong team from recruitment to retirement, schools can maintain transportation professionals who are eager to do their jobs and stay as long as they can.
About the Author: Bob Donson, vice president of sales at Sunny’s Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation, brings 16 years of experience in sales and customer relations across the hospitality, golf, and transportation industries. His client-focused approach and dedication to understanding each client’s unique needs have driven over a decade of success in exceeding expectations. Bob remains committed to delivering seamless ground transportation with the world-class service that defines Sunny’s Worldwide.
