Many of us use social media on a regular basis within our daily lives. How many of us use it to help improve the way we work? Oh sure you’re on Facebook to see what your friends are up to and how the grandkids are growing. You use YouTube to watch all those popular episodes of your favourite shows or learn that popular new program you just bought. Maybe you follow your favourite sports channels on Twitter, but again that is more for entertainment purposes. Companies are using these platforms for marketing and most of us realize that, but what would happen if we really took the time to use one of those platforms for our business or jobs and see the impact in our careers?

I have a friend that is a truck driver and decided to do just that. He focused on Twitter because he enjoyed the way the platform didn’t require him to communicate with anyone. He also liked the fact that he didn’t have to read long documents to find the information as it was short tweets on the platform. He thought about the things that impacted his job on a daily basis. Time management seemed to be the best place to start as that seeps through into everything Fred did including his pay cheque. He was new to the industry and felt that he was running into problems that other more experienced Drivers may have found out on their own. On a daily basis he figured out that weather, the border, traffic, construction, his experience, transportation regulations, and changes in the industry all played a part in the performance of his job.

Since his main area of travel to date had been the Mid-West, Fred decided to start the test on this area. First he focused on weather and followed the Weather Network and the National Storm Watch stations. Second he focused on traffic and construction. He followed each state’s Department of Transport for construction information and traffic patterns. He followed the Border Patrol and his main brokers he dealt with to learn about wait times at the borders and save time at border crossings. By now Fred felt he could gauge the delays on his trips, so he focused on himself. He followed the FMCSA and MTO for any changes in regulations and also his own company to see what was happening in their business. Finally he followed five of his favourite industry magazines and groups to gain knowledge on the industry. Fred used this system for a month checking his Twitter feed on a regular basis before and during his trip to avoid delays. Overall he found the border and weather feeds the most useful but still uses all the information on a regular basis. He hopes to try other platforms in the future as he found it helpful and improved his performance. If only there was an app for dispatch!

About the Author

Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and is the author of the books; Driven to Drive and Running by the Mile. Challenger Motor Freight Inc. is one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies (platinum member) and is looking for quality team members. To learn more about opportunities with Challenger visit their website at www.challenger.com