Good Practice in recruiting safer drivers

5 February 2020

DriverMetrics reduces the risk of work-related crashes for leading global fleets, via our range of scientifically validated risk assessments, eLearning and driver coaching interventions.

Research Director, Dr Lisa Dorn explores best practice in recruiting safer drivers below:

''Psychometric assessments are standardised psychological measurements of knowledge, abilities, attitudes or personality traits; they have been extensively used in clinical and educational settings for decades. Their popularity has also continued to increase amongst all business sectors for recruiting new staff. In this context, Psychometric assessments work by scoring a candidates responses to a set of questions, designed to measure a specific psychological construct, such as personality or leadership style. The way in which a candidate scores provides an indication of their suitability for the role given that constructs have been found to be related to real-world outcomes like job performance.

When it comes to recruiting drivers, traditionally, they are recruited using standard assessment components including an interview with references from previous employers, a licence check and possibly an in-vehicle driver assessment. One of the major difficulties with the interview process is that it can be fairly subjective and drivers may perform well in an assessment drive when under observation. The traditional approach to driver recruitment often relies on gut instinct. On the other hand, Psychometric assessments are more objective and are commonly used for selecting train drivers. These assessments determine trainability, reaction under pressure and vigilance. Such assessments are also very common in both civil and military aviation for both pilot and cabin crew selection.''

For the full exploration please click here.