When Brexit drastically halted recruitment from the EU, the driver shortage led to a significant disruption in the supply chains of many businesses, which in turn had affected the delivery of food, fuel and other items across the UK. With the current drivers being overworked, stressed and quitting the industry, the real question was how to retain and incentivise the current drivers while making the industry an attractive employer to more people? Our client, Matthew Haulage, set up a limited liability partnership to reward and retain motivated team members while addressing the growing crisis of driver shortages.
The partnership model is often overlooked but it can be a powerful way to engage staff by turning them into co-owners of a business, which means they are likely to stay for longer and be far more driven to make the business succeed. With a growing backlog of driving tests caused by the pandemic and the haulage sector being in a state of crisis, creating a business structure in the form of the partnership model allowed the drivers at Matthews Haulage to not only own a part of the business but also share in its success. As Dhaval Shah the owner of Matthews Haulage commented,
“We know our success will be largely affected by our ability to attract and retain motivated team members, each of whom must think like, and therefore must be an owner. Since we switched, there has already been a significant lift in staff morale and engagement, which is great to see.”
Just like John Lewis Partners, Matthews Haulage now offers a new partnership model to all its staff that allows them to collectively own the business because it believes that in the long term, the interest of shareowners is perfectly aligned with that of employees and customers. Trevor Brown, the operations director at Matthews Haulage echoes this point by stating that,
“Becoming a partnership is a perfect solution to many issues in the logistics industry. Making colleagues partners in a business instantly lifts spirits and promotes longevity of business relationships.”
Partnerships have long been recognised as an effective business model where everyone is focused on a common goal. Like John Lewis and other Partnerships, the pay of all partners is linked to the success of the business. Although partners will receive exactly the same money as they had previously, now, in addition, partners will also share in the success of the company through the profit-sharing model, you can learn more by clicking on the post below.
When it comes to considering whether the partnership structure is right for your business, you need to consider whether you operate a business where everyone is working towards the same business goal, regardless of their role and whether the businesses success is considered a responsibility that is shared amongst everyone.
Are you looking to promote responsibility, self-reliance and a culture of collaboration in your business? Get in touch.
https://www.transportmonthly.co.uk/matthews-haulage-sets-out-to-solve-hgv-driver-shortage-by-becoming-partnership/
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