Unprecedented demand for the haulage industry is leaving the workforce stretched and stressed. With shortages of drivers, trucks, and equipment, is increasing staff levels the right way to expand your business or should organisations look to technology-based alternatives for improvements to their processes?
Hypothetical questions like ‘people vs process and technology?’ arise when a company needs to expand or adapt their operations. Hauliers who are experiencing administration headaches and growing pains will need to introduce an efficient process which distributes work evenly or they will be left with little option other than to increase headcount.
Having the right workforce, with a great ethic and strong values are key to operating a business. People offer creativity and perspective to resolve issues and capitalise on opportunity. However, in small to medium-sized hauliers, teams are often smaller increasing responsibilities and dependency onto the individual.
If the people within a business each excel in one area and lack knowledge within the other, the business cannot operate without an individual for too long. For example, if the only accounts person in the company goes on holiday, invoices won’t get raised and cash flow will be impacted. By this standard, work can become inconsistent, and efficiency could decrease, leaving the company open to loss. Therefore, the strengths that an individual brings to the company can also cause detriment.
Technological process can mitigate these issues. By introducing a future-proof system, best practice can be shared across the business. Businesses can continue operating unimpeded when a certain member of the team goes on holiday or falls ill, their work can be simply picked up by another member of the team. Businesses such as Border Aggregates and Simon Clowes Transport have managed to simplify their workload and expand their operations by introducing a technology process. Previously these companies had people-driven processes that relied on key-individuals. After consideration, both companies welcomed a technological solution to their business and managed to reduce their administration processes by up to 80%, giving them 40% more time to accept new customer orders and expand.
Technology processes will build strong foundations for future generations who join a business. Younger generations are being raised using technology and will expect to be using a future-proofed process when entering a business. By putting in place a system, new starters can adapt to their placement much faster without relying on veteran members of the workforce for their knowledge.
Whilst introducing a technology process is important, it is not a remedy to resolve all problems. Introducing a solution will streamline your operations, whilst strong-skilled people will be required to make the decisions and do the actions that technology and process cannot. Technology is the key to providing sustainability and standardisation, yet people are needed to provide creativity and clarity to situations that hauliers may face. Welcoming a new, slick and efficient process will provide the tools that the workforce need to perform their jobs adequately and correctly.
Companies can often value people and processes differently, however, with the right focus on both, they can provide the opportunities that a company needs to fulfil their goals. If businesses focus on separating the two and choosing one path over the other, they may risk building a complex web of key-person dependency or mitigating creative ideas from team members. The reality is that each haulier is unique in the way they operate, with their workforce and processes working together to set them apart from their competition.
HaulTech’s multi-award-winning technology solutions, allows hauliers to expand and adapt with the same resources and staffing, whilst simultaneously decreasing stress levels and allowing the workforce to focus on other tasks in the meantime. If you would like to learn more about building future-proofed processes for your business and giving your workforce the right tools to excel at their jobs then contact HaulTech today by clicking here, calling 01782 662244 or saying hello@haultech.co.uk.
