Why Behaviors Matter

Accidents, customer complaints and chronic operational issues all cost you time and money. And the cost of accidents to agencies isn’t just financial. There is an emotional and physical component that defies quantification.

Economically accidents drain an agency of both personnel and budgetary resources. So that any reduction in the accident rate can be significant on many levels. Beyond accidents, customer complaints take time and money to address. An agencies reputation for customer service in the community can help both ridership and funding. Chronic operational issues can also take a toll on an agency's ability to provide safe, efficient service.

In the final analysis, the organization’s success is in the hands of the front line employees who deliver service and interact with the public. Yet in reality, operators work independently, having limited interaction with supervisors or managers, unless they are involved in a reportable incident. In this work environment, it is difficult for management to get an unbiased assessment of how well operators are performing.

The transit workplace is generally an environment where most operators receive "no feedback". This is due to the fact that performance management and discipline are usually triggered after a negative experience, like a customer falling when onboard the bus or an accident that involves vehicular damage. After such an incident, the employee is often more concerned with denying responsibility and avoiding punishment than changing their behavior. Conversely, operators who are not involved in reported incidents are largely ignored.

Opportunities to evaluate operator performance while driving the route are infrequent at best. Transit operators have intermittent contact with supervisors while in service, so the chance to provide meaningful performance feedback is rare. Supervisors or instructors boarding a vehicle for a check ride are usually known to the operator, who will be on his/her best behavior while being observed.

For too many agencies, the most reliable performance data is gathered after-the-fact, in the form of accident reports, customer complaints, security incidents, rule violation reports, and patterns of absenteeism. The agency response is usually reactive, and includes damage control, disciplinary action and/or remedial training. Meanwhile, the root causes of the problems remain undiagnosed and persistent, likely to be revealed when another operator gets involved in an incident.

So how can at-risk operators be identified so that the process of behavioral change can occur before they get involved in a collision? By integrating a Safety Culture that delivers a singular message while relying on the proven process of observation and feedback.