The drive to better customer service

Johnston’s Coachlines leads the tour coach industry in driver training. So it’s hitting the road with a safe, quality service and highly skilled and qualified drivers.

Leading the industry

Johnston’s wants to lead the industry and gain a competitive advantage by having its drivers qualified with National Certificates. It has set a three-year target to get all its driving staff qualified. “Our drivers are the face of the company and the education and learning targets recognise that,” says Ian Greenslade, Johnston’s National Operations Manager.

Industry Training is becoming a well travelled road for most of the drivers—with about 90 per cent of drivers already hooked onto the training scheme. Customer service and safety have taken on a new meaning as drivers learn that they’re doing things well, gain new skills and learn new ways of doing things.

Recognising skills

“We’ve got drivers who have been on the road for 20 years and this is the first time they are getting formal recognition for their skills. Their experience has been overlooked in the past.”

Boosting recruitment and retention

“The whole thing is a fantastic morale boost for the drivers. We make a big deal out of it—because it is a big deal.”

Johnston’s has a financial incentive attached to achieving qualifications. And that helps act as a recruitment and retention mechanism. Johnston’s drivers have also taken on the role of on-the-job trainers and assessors.

“The need for assessors has seen people take up leadership roles who would never had had the chance or inclination to in the past. That’s opened doors to working more closely with management within the company.”

Positive ITO

Ian says the company couldn’t have done it without the help of the New Zealand Road Transport and Logistics Industry Training Organisation. “The ITO has been incredibly positive. It looks for opportunities for us. I'm impressed with their proactive approach.”