I have been a driver for a few years but my boss has put me into transport offfice from next week with a veiw to doing taking over as transport manager at end of year. However i need some advice on what other people think makes a good transport planner / manager.
I admit i thought the idea of moving off road into desk job fills me with hate but i thought why not give it a try just looking for tips to find out what other think may help me on this up hill journey
Empathy
and not thinking the drivers always
out to turn you over
You will find people you thought were your friends are not.
Develop a thick skin, a water off a ducks back attitude, and a winning smile down the phone for when you have to give a whinger another “bad run”.
Your main challenge will be dealing with people, both your customers wanting to know where there stuff is or when the truck will be there to collect the goods.
And probably harder the drivers, as somebody said those who you think are your friends probably won’t be, once you’re in the office and give them a job they don’t want.
You’ll have to identify the shirkers, the one the need constant monitoring and those that can be left to get the job done.
Drivers have always whinged about the folks in the traffic office not understanding the job, whereas the people in the transport office whinge about drivers having no concept of customer requirements. In between lies a grey area called communication. If both sides stepped into that space a bit more often and listened to the other side with more empathy, everyone would get along far better… 
m1cks:
You will find people you thought were your friends are not.
I had a few years in the office and this quote is spot on ,you will be suprised how horrible some people can be,on the other hand some of the ones you thought were tools turn out to be spot on,it wasnt my cup of tea the days are very long and sometimes draining,ok for a change now and again,you will find out the bosses are not as bad as you thought aswell 
muckles:
Your main challenge will be dealing with people, both your customers wanting to know where there stuff is or when the truck will be there to collect the goods.
And probably harder the drivers, as somebody said those who you think are your friends probably won’t be, once you’re in the office and give them a job they don’t want.
You’ll have to identify the shirkers, the one the need constant monitoring and those that can be left to get the job done.
you ain’t wrong there muckles 
Try and ask the drivers to help you out rather than tell them what to do.
Our boss works on the ‘You do what I tell you’ mentality and everybody hates him.
Some of the lads try to be as awkward as possible because of this attitude.
Our old supervisor would ring you and explain that they’ve had a problem and need you to help out and the drivers would bend over backwards to help him out.
Now all we hear is ‘business needs’ or ‘it’s gone ■■■■ up’ - and usually they cocked it up in the first place!
davidj247:
Try and ask the drivers to help you out rather than tell them what to do.
Our boss works on the ‘You do what I tell you’ mentality and everybody hates him.
Some of the lads try to be as awkward as possible because of this attitude.
Our old supervisor would ring you and explain that they’ve had a problem and need you to help out and the drivers would bend over backwards to help him out.
Now all we hear is ‘business needs’ or ‘it’s gone ■■■■ up’ - and usually they cocked it up in the first place!
Nothing against being polite and civil with anybody, and most people work better if they’re asked and not told, but some drivers do seem to go out of their way to be as awkward as possible, however polite and civil you are. They basically don’t want to be told anything by anybody.
If you, as a former driver, know what made you tick, then you have a head start in knowing how to keep your drivers happy… 
I did a few years in the office back in the 80’s and back then I was one of the lads so I would help them out and vice versa, it worked well with mutual respect and jobs always got done, if there was a breakdown we would all roll up our selves and chip in to fix things.
I am currently TM for a German company with a depot in the UK and I am certainly not considered one of the lads, there is no respect from either drivers or upper management and I am the one getting the abuse from both sides. Drivers don’t like the fact I know my way around and rough times etc and management think I am too slack with the drivers!! You can’t win.
The last few years the company has spent thousands on tracker systems that could tell us if the driver ■■■■■ in his sleep, and also computer systems (sage turbo) to maximise profits and minimise costs even down to routes, diversions etc.
We have monthly (let’s hurl abuse around) management meetings were we are told how much we have lost in the month and how I need to reduce this and save that, and if I bring up the fact that a truck was sent from North Yorks to Nairn/Inverness with a load and returned empty I’m told its due to “customer demands” we used to renew vehicles every 3 years now our newest is 09 plate and I am constantly asked why they cost more to run now that they did years ago.
As said above, it’s ok for a change but I can’t wait to get back out on the road full time.
I’ve done both over the years. I think all drivers should spend a month in the office, and all allocators / planner / T.M’s a month on the road as part of everyones training, that way, both parties will have an insight into each others jobs…Wishfull thinking perhaps, but might help…
As per the OP’s original question, some drivers will be jealous of you, some won’t like the fact you know the crack and cant pull the wool over your eyes, but most, if you treat them with the respect they deserve, will do like wise with you…
Good luck with the job, if you don’t stay in it for long, at least you’ll have learnt something different, and may benifit you later on in life when you’re tired of the road …
Know what your doing, learn how to influence people, be friendly, be professional if you have something to say to a driver take him/her to one side never do it in front of an audience.
Don’t worry to much about technical skill this will come with practice, people skills are the most important thing bar none, if you lose the dressing room It’s going to be uphill for you all the way.
You don`t have a clue what you are doing.
You should know better being an ex driver.
You`ve got it round your neck.
You want me to have friday night out!
Get used to these, I get it when I go in the office, but when I offer to swap with said moaning ones they all seem to suddenly not know better. Just dont ask people to do something you wouldn`t be prepared to do yourself.
Been there, got the T-shirt, came back to driving; basically cos it’s less hassle for better money.
My two cents worth; the first day you walk through that door as an “office boy”, you will hear a distinct “Whoosh” sound behind you. It is your bridges burning; and once you cross that Rubicon you can never go back to being a driver at that company. Because however good, fair and effective you may be as a manager, you are no longer considered part of the “team” by your former peers.
Of course, this also means you are the “new boy” on the office team. So you’re right back at the bottom of the heap. As a driver, your colleagues were not bothered because they knew you weren’t after their job, and they were comfortable with the fact that they did their job as well as you did. In the office , everybody thinks everybody else is after their job, usually because they spend eight or more hours a day ■■■■■■■■ bricks about their latest ■■■■-up being exposed. You need eyes in your arse, and a comfortable Kevlar vest with special reinforcement in the back.
If you do it, make sure you have a good supportive circle of friends outside work. You’ll have none in it; you’re on yer own. Oh, and one other piece of advice that I was given and have always followed; do NOT, under any circumstances, be tempted to screw the payroll. Most management careers which end in tears do so because the manager got caught with his fingers in the till or the typist.
thanks for that!
Im now dreading the idea things like drivers hours and routes i know but their is a lot of the paperwork stuff that i have never thought about things like vosa does anybody have an idiots guide to vosa!!
Hi
I worked in a logistics office for about 15 years and as many would say its a very lonely job, your trying to impress the management with your skills keeping the customers pleased, drivers all on side and all without upsetting anyone… you gonna have days where every customer is gonna ■■■■■ and moan, hold you accountable for late deliveries… then you’ll take it out on driver, then word gets around and they start to work to rule…Personally Id had enough after 15 years
Only advice I can give is this if your thick skinned, stone hearted and can take enough crap from all directions without breaking into a sweat, if you can keep claim when all things are going wrong, just cross the dots and the T’s … cover your back and everything will turn out rosie…
If you smoke and are over weight and cant handle stress then your just lining yourself up for a heart attack or the grave
A simular situation;
I worked as a minicab driver and the boss asked me to become a controller.
1 thing I learnt was some drivers can, and will be a nightmare, and make problems for themselves.
You learn to become a diplomat of the highest order, and you MUST NOT allow drivers to bully you.
If drivers moaned about the way I was doing the job, I would always be polite and try to explain the difficulties of the job, but some drivers don’t care.
As I used to say to some drivers;
"I can, and have done your job, can you do mine?
Do you require a Transport Managers CPC for that roll ?