5 Steps to Motivate Your Small Supply Chain Parties
One of the things we hear often from our CoRsafe customers is the difficulty they have in engaging with their smaller supply chain parties, particularly transport carriers.
As a first step, it’s worth spending a moment in their shoes to consider some of the common reasons these parties may resist;
They don’t think it applies to them (lack of understanding)
They don’t want to reveal information to others (lack of desire to engage)
They don’t know what to do or where to start (feeling overwhelmed)
They don’t understand how to assess or to close gaps (lack of knowledge or skills)
They don’t have time to address (low priority)
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The first question we ask our customers is “How have you engaged these parties?”. In some cases it’s been an email, or a once off phone call. However, to really get buy in from these parties, there are five steps we recommend you go through:
Step 1: Building Awareness
This is about finding a way to communicate why things need to change, what CoR is, why it matters and how it’s relevant to them. There are good definitions and resources to explain this on our website for both AU and NZ, or the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) for Australia only, or Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency for New Zealand only.
Step 2: Building Desire
In order for a party to want to prioritise meeting their CoR obligations and responding to you about managing it (e.g. engaging with manuals, training, audits and closing gaps), over conflicting demands of dealing with other operational challenges or day to day activities, they need to know ‘what’s in it for them’, and be motivated to do something because there is a benefit, or an impact on them if they don’t.
Step 3: Knowledge
Many of the people in smaller businesses responsible for managing CoR are also wearing a number of other hats, and may lack knowledge or experience in this space. It’s important to reassure them that managing their CoR obligations is often just about documenting and formalising what they are already doing. There are plenty of resources out there to help them get started including tools or checklists on the NTI Better Business Hub, NHVR resources, or their local transport association. You may also have policies or forms that you can share to help get them started.
Step 4: Ability
Becoming competent at managing CoR takes time and support. You may find that as your supply chain parties start to get engaged and become more aware of what is needed, they may feel overwhelmed. This is a time that they need your coaching and encouragement. When things are hard, or we get stuck, it’s easy to put the issue aside, stop trying to form a new habit and move on to something we are more comfortable with. Be sure to check in regularly and be available to bounce ideas.
Step 5: Reinforcement
Reinforcement is about monitoring progress (such as with CoRsafe KPI reports), getting feedback and then doing something about it. If there is no incentive or consequence, many parties will not prioritise things that are new, hard or unknown; this could be a deadline, working it into contracts as a requirement, a regular check-in to discuss progress, or an incentive. The old management saying ‘we manage what we measure and pay attention to’ is very true here. This step is also about sharing stories, and celebrating progress, which in itself can be motivating for many people.
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To recap, this doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or frustrating process for you or your supply chain parties. Like anything we do, the more you invest and put in effort, the greater the reward.
So to get started here are our final top tips:
Communicate the why. Why CoR is important and what’s in it for your supply chain parties.
Listen to feedback. Try asking questions and listening to all feedback and / or objections.
Offer your support. Provide links to agencies e.g. CoRsafe, NHVR, or association resources.
Set goals and consequences. If there is no incentive or consequence, many parties won’t prioritise the work.
Follow up. When something is only mentioned once a month, it often fails to become a priority. Consistent follow-up is crucial to direct attention and motivate your supply chain parties.
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We hope you found this blog post useful, please reach out to your client services manager or our Change & Culture Expert Kelly McLuckie to chat about how you can implement these tips, and better get your parties motivated and on the journey.
