RepoRt 2 - octobeR 2012

public transportobservatory of employmentin

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

© International Association of Public Transport, 2013

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the International Association of Public Transport.

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content

recruITINg ANd reTAININg sTAff: oNe of The bIggesT chAlleNges fAcINg PublIc TrANsPorT comPANIes woldwIde! 4

overvIew of drIvINg jobs IN euroPeAN PublIc TrANsPorT 6

ProfIle of PArTIcIPATINg comPANIes 7

PerceNTAge of drIvers ouT of ToTAl sTAff 7

mAIN chArAcTerIsTIcs - Average age and seniority 7 - sickness absence and dealing with absenteeism 7 - Attractiveness of jobs and satisfaction of employees

(and loyalty): what does turnover show? 8

mANAgerIAl PrAcTIces - salaries 9 - working time options 9 - female drivers 10 - work-life balance 11 - Training 11 - recognition 13 - career development 13 - senior drivers 14 - Promoting driving jobs 15 - security 15

coNclusIoN 16

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public transportobservatory of employmentin

doublINg The PublIc TrANsPorT mArkeT shAre would see The Number of emPloyees workINg IN PublIc TrANsPorT oPerATINg comPANIes double from 7 To 14 mIllIoN, INcludINg A lAbour ProducTIvITy INcreAse of 1%.

Public transport creates green jobs in the local community that cannot be transferred to other areas of the country or abroad. According to the International labour organization’s definition,green jobs (2) are those which help reduce negative environmental impacts, ultimately leading to environmentally, economically and socially sustainable companies and economies.

In june 2009, uITP launched its PTx2 strategy for the public transport sector with a clear and

strong ambition to double the public transport market share worldwide by 2025.

In 2011, uITP unveiled its urban transport scenarios based on the first findings of the observatory of employment (1). These scenarios provide quantified evidence that achieving PTx2 is an essential ingredient for delivering green growth and creating green jobs.

RecRuiting and Retaining staff:

one of the biggest challenges facing

public tRanspoRt companies woRldwide!

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Nevertheless, public transport companies in Africa, Asia, europe, latin America and the meNA region are today facing the difficult challenge of attracting, recruiting and retaining qualified and motivated employees. moreover, in some regions of the world like Africa or latin America where informal jobs represent 30 to 40% of the total number of jobs in public transport, formalising public transport will radically change job profiles by increasing the level of qualification required.

Although common to most of the uITP regions, this challenge varies in relevance and degree of acuteness across the continents and can be summarised as theneed to:

� develop education and training programmes to bring people to the level of qualification necessary to work in a formalised public transport system;

� enhance the image of public transport and public transport companies and enhance the status of jobs in public transport in order to promote public transport companies as an attractive employer.

The challenge is to recruit in large numbers, hire qualified staff and make employees proud of working in public transport. This triple challenge calls into question the attractiveness of the public transport sector as an employer, the business culture and the hr managerial practices.

It is clear that the attractiveness of the public transport sector depends not only on its own ability to attract employees but also on the economic situation and thejob market conditions. however, human resources practices play an essential role and cover a large number of aspects, including promotion of public transport as an employer and communication on the attractiveness of jobs in public transport. other more specific hr practices include the degree of flexibility in jobs offered to diverse segments of the population (including young people, women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, senior employees), career development opportunities, the levers to motivate and retain employees and tools to combat stress and illness.

It is in this context that the uITP commission on business and hr management decided to carry out a survey on the attractiveness of driving jobs, starting with the european situation. The study aims to select and use indicators that make it possible to identify and analyse good managerial practices that make a company likely to be attractive to employees.

The present document provides some of the preliminary results of the ‘Attractiveness of the job of driver’ survey, carried out in the framework of the observatory of employment (3). This observatory aims to provide key figures and arguments to support the advocacy efforts of uITP and its members regarding the importance of employment and recruitment in the public transport sector. The objective is also to provide uITP with a tool to measure the progress of the implementation of PTx2 regarding recruitment and employment in the mid and long term.

(1). see report 1, uITP observatory of employment, April 2011.

(2). more precisely green jobs are decent jobs that:• reduce consumption of energy

and raw materials;• limit greenhouse gas emissions;• minimise waste and pollution;• Protect and restore ecosystems.

(3). report 1, published in April 2011, available on the uITP website, www.uitp.org

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Oslo

Gothenburg

Helsinki

ManchesterAmsterdam

London

Dublin

BrusselsLille

ParisRennes

Berlin

Bordeaux

GenevaLausanne

Turin

Madrid

BarcelonaBilbao

Porto

LisbonCagliari

Milan

BergamoVerona

Budapest

Bucharest

Stuttgart

DüsseldorfBochum

Frankfurt

Hannover

Lublin

Brno

Istanbul

oveRview of dRiving jobs

in euRopean public tRanspoRt

( 2010 is the RefeRence yeaR foR all indicatoRs )Map participating coMpanies

> 40 companies > 18 countries

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The majority of the surveyed companies operate several modes.80% of the surveyed companies operate urban services, whilst 18% operate a combination of urban and rural services.Almost two thirds of the companies are publicly owned, while one third are privately owned.

pRofile of paRticipating companies

In companies which operate only one transport mode (bus or tram) the majority of the staff are drivers, and drivers account for between 61 and 74% of the total staff.In companies which operate only metro/rail, the proportion of the number of drivers is around 20%.

peRcentage of dRiveRs out of total staff

PerceNTAge of drIvers ouT of ToTAl sTAff (2010)

80%

60%

40%

20%

0bus light rail metro/rail,

buslight rail,

busmetro/rail,

light rail, busmetro/rail, light rail

metro/rail

for a large majority of companies (60%), the share of drivers out of total staff is between 50 and 95%.

main chaRacteRistics

AverAge Age ANd seNIorITyThe average number of years of seniority is 14.15, with a rather large variation between the minimum average seniority (6.5 years) and the maximum averageseniority (21 years). with one exception at 33.5 years old, the average age is rather homogeneous, standing at around43.8 years old, with a maximum age of 49. seniority is higher in countries like germany, Italy and Portugal (15 to 20 years). In the eu-27, the average age is similar for all modes, at about 43 years.Against a backdrop of demographic changes in europe and an ageing workforce, most of the surveyed companies recognise the role of hr work in ensuring that employees remain employable and acknowledge

the need to develop targeted programmes to promote the psychological and physical health and wellbeing of drivers.

sIckNess AbseNce ANd deAlINg wITh AbseNTeeIsmThere is a slight difference between absenteeism for the total staff (13 days) and for drivers only (14.3 days). The median is close to both averages (respectively 13 and 13.4 days) and the standard deviation rates are not particularly high or low. These elements hint at a quite dispersed and even distribution, with interesting differences between values. values for total staff and drivers respectively range from 3.15 to 21.11 days, and from 2.3 to 25.9 days. These differences can be explained by the various ways

in which days of absence are added up, but socio-economic and regulatory factors also have an impact and influence. The most important factor is the way in which companies handle absence due to sickness and their practices have been shown to be interestingly different from one country to another. while in some companies and countries absence may not be rigorously dealt with, in other places absence can be severely controlled and sanctioned through in-house rules, national labour regulation or local customs. regulatory frameworks differ from one country to another. for example, in some countries there is some flexibility in contracts, whilst in other countries the first day of absence due to illness is not paid. This obviously has an impact on the absence of workers, whether they really are sick or not.

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A wide variety of in-house practices are in use, ranging from a social and managerial approach to a rather monetary one. on the one hand, to address this problem, most companies have introduced a close follow-up of absent employees (e.g. regular visitsat home) and have improved the working environment in the company (e.g. creation of fitness rooms and leisure activities). one successful measure also involvesreshuffling the organisational structure by focusing on and giving responsibilities to managers in charge of bus lines or groups of bus drivers. on the other hand, and used in roughly half (48%) of the companies, bonus systems based on presence (or absence) are in place to incentivise employees to come to work. This monetary approach is widely accepted in some countries, while it is either fiercely opposed by labour unions or considered unnecessary in other places (especially where labour conditions are less protective of the employee for the latter).

cross-checking of data on absenteeism with two other variables [size of company and ownership of company (private/ public)] does not make it possible to identify distinctive groups of networks.

for drivers, absenteeism due to sickness varies from 10.9 to 16.8 days per year.

socio-economic and regulatory factors have an impact and influence. The most important factor is the way in which companies handle absence due to sickness and their practiceshave been shown to be interestingly different from one country to another.

ATTrAcTIveNess of jobs ANd sATIsfAcTIoN of emPloyees (ANd loyAlTy): whAT does TurNover show?Turnover is an important indicator of the attractiveness of a company and the loyalty of employees. comparing the rate and rhythm of ingoing and outgoing flows gives an indication of the length of time employees stay in a company and thus of their satisfaction with the conditions in the company, whether they are related to well-being, wages or status. These are of course not the only reasons for employees to stay in a company; personal factors (family) and other external conditions (e.g. employment opportunities) also have an important role to play.

It is usually recognised that recruiting good employees and maintaining their long-term loyalty to the company is one of the biggest challenges for the future. Indeed, driving jobs require qualification that involves

initial and vocational training programmes, which generate significant costs for the company. In the eu-27, the qualification and training of bus drivers are harmonised by directive 2003/59/ec that came into force on 10 september 2008. for this reason, high turnover has an impact on the costs related to staff qualifications. To remain attractive to employees, public transport companies need to offer a wide range of opportunities. one of the main areas to focus on is facilitating work-life balance and combining family and work responsibilities.

It is worth noting that in some countries the main reason employees leave companies is retirement. for example, this has been the case in france since 2003 (bilan social uTP 2010, published in 2011). This can be explained by the structure of the age pyramid in public transport companies: the share of employees aged between 55 and 60 has been increasing for several years.

salary of drivers when entering the company (2010)

salary of drivers after 20 years in the company (2010)

legal minimum wage (monthly gross x 13, eurostat, 2010)

relATIve vArIATIoNs: salaries of drivers and minimum wage

sAlAry of drIvers wheN eNTerINg The comPANy = 100

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

spain (4

)

scandinav

ia (4)

france

(4)

uk & Ir

eland (2

)

germ

any (

4)

Portugal

(3)

Italy

(5)

benelu

x (4)

switzer

land (2

)

e & se euro

pe (4 )

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- sAlArIes- workINg TIme oPTIoNs- femAle drIvers- work-lIfe bAlANce- TrAININg- recogNITIoN- cAreer develoPmeNT- seNIor drIvers- PromoTINg drIvINg jobs- securITy

manageRial pRactices

when carried out, employee satisfaction surveys demonstrate that work satisfaction is influenced by a whole range of elements, with the level of salaries playing a limited role. These elements include working conditions, recognition programmes, training, management and collaboration, information and communication, and management of quality and health.

creating a sense of belonging and pride amongst drivers is a top priority, and in return more satisfied employees boost productivity and increase passenger satisfaction.

sAlArIesfor those countries where it exists, the survey shows that salaries are also higher than the national minimum wage. spain and france have relatively

high salaries compared to their minimum wage.

The chart shows (by country or group of countries) the salary level of drivers when entering the company (baseline = 100) compared to the salary level after 20 years in the company and the legal minimum wage.

The chart shows that salaries are higher than the national minimum wage in those countries where it exists. spain, eastern european and south-eastern european countries have relatively high salaries compared to their minimum wage.

regarding the impact of the economic crisis on salaries, a few companies reported that the crisis has affected the salaries of administrative and managerial positions, rather than those of drivers.

workINg TIme oPTIoNsThe majority of companies recruit on a part-time basis. more than three quarters of the companies surveyed do not allow drivers to work only on weekends, but do allow them to work with split shifts. All companies have drivers who do overtime work. however, it was not possible to collect information on the volume of extra hours per driver at this stage.

Although ‘partially’ may cover different and variable situations, more than two thirds of the companies surveyed allow drivers to choose their working shifts in some way. one quarter of companies do not allow drivers to choose their shifts. A very small minority (5%) of companies leave their drivers totally free to choose their shifts. This situation is made possible thanks to sophisticated software.

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workINg TIme oPTIoNs No

yes

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0do you recruit on part-time basis?

52.5%

47.5%

22.5%

77.5%

77.5%

22.5%

100%

can drivers work only on weekends?

do you work with split shifts?

do your drivers work overtime?

cAN drIvers choose TheIr workINg shIfTs?

5%

26%

69%

No Partially Totally

femAle drIversThe share of women out of total staff working in public transport is relatively low. for almost three quarters of companies surveyed, less than 10% of employees are women. In more than a quarter of companies, between 10 to 20% of employees are women. The survey includes one company which is in an exceptional situation, with a 36% share of female employees. These results are in line with the recent european Project wIse that conducted a survey in the 27 eu countries in relation to the situation of women in public transport companies. The project found that, on average, 17.5% of employees working in public transport companies are female. A large number of factors and situations explain such a low percentage.

for more information, please refer to the publication of the project:www.wise-project.net

As the wIse project already identified, the survey of 40 companies confirms the very low share of women employees in public transport companies. This is even lower for the position of driver. There are strong disparities across countries, from 0.36% as the lowest share, to 36% as the highest share. A higher share of women can be observed in the category of tram drivers; one of the reasons expressed by companies is the less selective training and qualification required for this specific mode.

shAre of femAle drIvers ouT of ToTAl drIvINg sTAff

lowesT: 0.36% – hIghesT: 36%

shAre of womeN As PArT of ToTAl sTAff

ANd drIvers (2010)

female male

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0Total staff (average

number of employees)

85.71%

14.28%

91.73%

drivers (average

number of drivers)

8.27%

less than 5%

5-10%

more than 10%

38%28%

35%

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work-lIfe bAlANcemore than three quarters of companies (up to 82.5%) provide an assistance programme in the event of psychological or socioeconomic difficulties, such as addictions and debts. They also provide a specific health programme covering nutrition, check-ups, insurance coverage, work environment, as well as sport facilities.

A little less than one third of companies also provide nursery facilities for their employees.

work-lIfe bAlANce: do you offer your emPloyees...

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0An assistance programme

(support in the event of addiction, debts, etc.)?

No

yes

82.5%

17.5%

82.5%

17.5%

30%

70%

80%

20%

A specific health programme

(nutrition, check-ups, insurance, coverage, work environment)?

Nursery facilities? sports facilities?

TrAININgIn the eu-27, the directive 2003/59/ec on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers came into force on 10 september 2008. This directive requires compulsory ongoing training to be provided (35 hours per 5-year period).

It is therefore no surprise that all companies surveyed offer additional training, mainly training in customer relations, refresher training, and in eco-driving and stress management.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

shAre of comPANIes ProvIdINg sPecIAlIsed TrAININg (2010)

do you offer additional training?

No

yes

100% 92.5%

7.5%

92.5%

7.5%

77.5%

22.5%

77.5%

22.5%

If yes, in: customer relations?

If yes, in: eco driving?

If yes, in: stress

management?

If yes, in: basic or

refresher training?

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92.5% of comPANIes surveyed offer TrAININg IN cusTomer relATIoNs

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cAreer develoPmeNTThe job of driver offers limited career development opportunities. however, internal promotion forms the basis of career management and different options can be planned and organised, such as:

� managing a group of drivers; � becoming a trainer; � alternating with ticket inspection functions;

� becoming polyvalent between modes (metro, light rail, bus);

� working in the field of social welfare promotion: - mediation team;

- intervention in schools to explain the role of public transport;

� becoming specialised in services for People with reduced mobility (Prm).

About 60% of the respondents offer multimodal driving positions, around 70% offer promotion opportunities after less than five years of experience, and almost 90% offer promotion opportunities after five years of experience.

companies may develop career management policies that vary the tasks performed by drivers as they grow older. These tasks could include driving, selling tickets,

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

oTher recogNITIoN meThods

do you carry out surveys on driver

morale?

No

yes

57.5%

42.5%

40%

60%

62.5%

37.5%

57.5%

42.5%

do you organise competitions

on best driving performance?

do you offer official recognition?

do you have appraisal systems?

one of the main challenges expressed by respondents was the need to “ keep younger drivers motivated and fit for the next 40 years as drivers in the company (…) in such a repetitive working environment and a career with few career development opportunities ”.

providing customer information and performing maintenance.

An ergonomic approach to work organisation and equipment is also a key factor in lengthening the working life of drivers and preventing certain physical problems.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

boNus sysTem: do you APPly A boNus sysTem lINked To:

rate of absenteeism?

No

yes

47.5%

52.5%

40%

60%

22.5%

77.5%

Number of accidents? Number of customer complaints?

recogNITIoNThe use of bonuses is variable. less than 50% of companies use bonuses related to the rate of absenteeism. only 40% of companies give a bonus related to the number of accidents, and less than a quarter offer a bonus related to the number of customer complaints.

besides the use of bonuses, around two thirds of companies carry out surveys on driver morale, make use of appraisal systems, or offer official recognition. furthermore, 40% of companies organise competitions related to best driving performance.

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seNIor drIversmaintaining long-term employability is also an important challenge for the hr department, especially in the context of an ageing workforce and in relation to a job where health and safety requirements are very important.

Around two thirds of the companies surveyed offer specific positions and specific arrangements for older drivers; 42.5% offer them flexible working hours, and 45% offer polyvalent positions. A large majority of companies offer part-time work, and only one third offer additional paid leave.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0do you have specific

arrangements for older drivers?

No

yes

42.5%

57.5%

45%

55%

52.5%

45%

62.5%

37.5%

35%

65%

No data2.5%

flexible working hours?

Part time work? Additional paid leave?

Polyvalent positions?

senioR dRiveRs

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

caReeR development oppoRtunities foR dRiveRs: do you offeR...

Polyvalent positions (e.g. combining driving, monitoring, providing

security, etc.)?

No

yes

65%

35%

57.5%

42.5%

72.5%

27.5%

multimodal driving positions?

Promotion opportunities:

After less than 5 years?

Promotion opportunities:

After more than 5 years?

87.5%

12.5%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0rate of absenteeism

No

yes

47.5%

52.5%

40%

60%

22.5%

77.5%

Number of accidents Number of customer complaints

bonus systems foR dRiveRs

wanting to stay on beyond RetiRement age?

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PromoTINg drIvINg jobsThere are two main reasons for companies to promote driving jobs: hiring drivers and improving the image of drivers. respondents often noted that recruitment campaigns were unnecessary because companies usually receive a lot of applications; instead, they use campaigns targeting a specific section of the population. The difficulty lies in finding good candidates who are right for the job, who are motivated and who acknowledge the quality of the job and of the company (and not only the security of the job, for example). criteria are set according to specific objectives, such as the need to recruit more female drivers or to select customer-oriented profiles, for example. In some cases, companies undertake to recruit people with barriers to employment, such as the long-term unemployed.

The intensity of recruitment campaigns is nevertheless closely linked to the local socio-economic situation and job market. In economically dynamic environments, companies tend to have difficulties recruiting, at least during periods of high employment, whereas in other places companies may receive a huge amount of applications. some companies also organise nationwide hiring campaigns and even go abroad to recruit. however, this should not be viewed as the sole factor: company practices (work-life balance, wages) or education play an important role. for example, interviewees underlined the difference between modes, whereby bus drivers only need a licence but metro or train drivers require a technical degree, hence the equal difficulty of recruiting in the rail sector.

securITyThis part of the questionnaire looked at the measures taken to tackle the problem of assaults on drivers. There is a disparate situation across companies in europe: whereas it is very problematic in some cities (e.g. in france and belgium), it is much less prevalent in other places (spain). The situation also depends on the socio-economic climate and the level of security can evolve quickly over time. There are significant differences between types of mode (bus drivers are much more affected) and only a few specific lines and neighbourhoods tend to be affected. security has a major impact on the attractiveness of the job, notably affecting the state of mind of drivers in the company or the willingness of women to become drivers, for example.

meAsures To TAckle ThIs Problem INclude TrAININg for drIvers To leArN how To mANAge ANd ANTIcIPATe AssAulTs; IN some cAses The ATTITude of drIvers Is uNsATIsfAcTory ANd cAN TrIgger vIoleNce. cooPerATIoN wITh PolIce ANd locAl schools To eNlIghTeN PuPIls AbouT drIvINg jobs Are exAmPles of INITIATIves uNderTAkeN by comPANIes.

Driving simulator training for new recruits.

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rid

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The attractiveness of driving jobs and employee satisfaction are the result of a complex combination of factors, mixingrecognition programmes, measures to support a better work-life balance, flexibility in the choice of schedules,career development, training and personal development. The salary level plays only a limited role.

The survey shows that the private or public nature of a company has no impact on the working conditions and the attractiveness of driving jobs.

attracting, training and retaining talented recruits are key to the success of public transport companies. Qualified and more satisfied employees boost productivity, increase passenger satisfaction, and ultimately increase the company’s performance. managing and valuing human capital is a must and should be a priority in the change management process towards a new business culture.

The survey also shows that enhancing the image of public transport and public transport companies is not an easy task. Nor is it easy to enhance the status of jobs in public transport in order to promote public transport companies as an attractive employer. benchmarking of managerial policies is necessary in order to identify and promote good practices in terms of attracting and retaining qualified staff. carrying out surveys and benchmarking projects are part of the remit of the observatory of employment, with the aim of supporting the public transport sector as it moves forward. This is certainly where uITP can best help its members to take up the challenge set out in the sector strategy and which will result in doubling the number of employees in public transport companies worldwide by 2025.

conclusion

The observatory of employment has been created under the patronage of the commission on business and human resources management, at the initiative of its chair sylviane delmas, Inspectrice générale, rATP, Paris, france, and in cooperation with the Transport economics commission.

coNTAcT:cécile sadoux, cecile.sadoux@uitp.orgAdrien moulin, adrien.moulin@uitp.org

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