Internshala

Buisness Case Contest

The motivating factors for any of the driver that join Uber are physiological in nature, they
join as it gives them a reliable source of income, it has the best earning per hour of $19, ie
$1 per hour higher than that earned by a trucker. Also the downside of being a trucker is
you spend a lot of time away from the family and the trucks in the developing countries are
not as advanced and comfortable unlike those of the developed markets. So,in a country
like India where being with family and close to home is an important factor in choosing jobs,
the flexibility that Uber provides makes it an de facto choice of many. Since human needs
are constantly evolving, so in order to keep the morale of Uberians i.e. the driver partners
of Uber- high in an ever challenging market in which more and more localized competition is
coming up and to enhance their productivity, meanwhile maintaining their loyalty, their
motivation level needs to be kept high. The comprehensive engagement program called as
UBerian Engagement pRogram or UBER.

UBerian Engagement pRogram (UBER):

The major challenge of driving a taxi is the low engagement of the employees, hence a
disconnect between the company and employees. The first objective of this strategic
program is to maintain an extensive database of the survey result of the drivers who are
joining so as to find their intrinsic motivation factors which works better in the long term.
Uniform as the name suggests help build unity, it can be as simple as a common T-shirt for
all, this has been used by many Japanese companies to instill a sense of equality among all,
hence a driver partners can emotionally connect to the company and will feel proud to be
part of a vast network i.e. Uber rather than just drivers.
At hiring phase:
The first and foremost to make the drivers feel that they are a part of the
organization a bi-monthly orientation meeting with the new drivers that join where they will
get a chance to interact with the management which will give them a sense of attachment
with the organization, the management can share their future goals and how Uberians play
an important role in it, onboarding new drivers is a bit like warming up your engine before
you start it will increase the life and efficiency of the engine i.e. the driver partners.
According to HireRight, background screening firm in its 2015 benchmarking survey found
that the orientation programs and training events improved new employee retention by
41% and appointing mentors help by 32% in longer retention.
For the new drivers providing a mentor who could be even an existing experienced
Uberian with good rating, this will not only improve the engagement of the workforce but
also give an extra sense of responsibility, and confidence to the experienced Uberians and
make them visualize their positions in the network. In the form of senior/experienced
Uberians as their mentor, new Uberians have the opportunity to clarify their doubts and
questions without any feelings of hesitation, intimidation. They also get a chance to learn
from their failures/hardships at work. All these steps generate a general feeling of being
cared for by the company. This will also be effective in managing the lifecycle of the
Uberians through their first 100 trips as regular feedbacks can be taken and changes
incorporated. Further it can be considered that the program was effective, if the now fresh
Uberians are able to train the newly recruited persons in future and this cycle is maintained.
Constant Communication:
It is hard for the driver partner to feel engaged with the company as they spend
hours and hours on the go in the cab isolated with the only communication taking place
through the device. It will be a good option to have the Uber outsourced customer care
centre where executives call the drivers just to see how things are going and it can be a
good opportunity for the Uberians to give feedback or any ideas that can improve
companies operation as they are the ones directly interacting with the end customer. This
will give UBER also an opportunity to innovate and focus on profit making. Besides this,
seeing the idea getting implemented will give the Uberian a sense of achievement and just
the feeling that the Higher management cares will improve the morale and the
motivation.
A bi-monthly newsletter for the Uberians talking about the latest trends in the
industry, how to improve the efficiency of vehicles, the future plans of the company and
how the uberians play an important role in realising the business objectives. Also publishing
their personal/professional achievements/ideas/suggestions, their motivation level can be
boosted, Further introduction of the awards like best idea award/best achievement award
will make a difference in their lives while making them feel connected. In this way they will
get a sense of responsibility too realizing that they are working for a better tomorrow of the
company as a whole.
Experience Matters:
For the experienced partners the program would include soft skills training which will lead
to customer delight. This in turn, will improve the word of mouth marketing, providing
overall benefit to the company by increasing revenues. The training along with the
mentorship programme will give the experienced Uberians the confidence and satisfaction
of working with such a big organisation.
Budgeting:
The execution of the following will require minimal budgeting as newsletters can be made
digital and communication can be through mails on the registered devices, although the
option of subscribing to a hard copy as well can be given with an option of 18 local
languages since these Uberians come from diversified cultures, speaking different
languages. The cost of hiring additional call customer care executives far the driver
engagement feedback will have to incurred. The most important resource has to be the
employees and driver partners who need to commit to the program to teach soft/
mentoring skills to the driver partners and execute the UBerian Engagement pRogram with
dedication.
A simple questionnaire survey to measure emotional anchoring will be able to check the
initial performance of the program, for example quarterly feedback sessions as:
I feel proud to be an Uberian/What makes working for Uber special?
Do you see yourself as an Uberian in the next 1 year?
The leadership supports my succeeding?
How Working for Uber makes them stand apart from the fellow drivers at other
competitors/Local agencies in terms of work culture/other benefits?
In the long run the customer retention and driver partner retention will give us the
effectiveness of the program.