Nowadays ride-sharing, or ride-hailing, has become a popular practice among people from different countries, and many companies of the sector start operating in new regions. Careem Company also did so by entering the market of Saudi Arabia but the organization has experienced certain difficulties there. They are caused by employers’ unwillingness to work for it full-time and a lack of communication channels with Careem management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ways to deal with the problems used by similar organizations of the sector and suggest an appropriate strategy for Careem.
One way to eliminate the first issue, which is to increase the level of drivers’ trust for the company, might be providing employees with insurance. This approach is taken by Curb, a taxi company that concentrates on working with professional drivers (“Top 6 Rideshare Services that Drivers are Using (and Why)”). People hired by this organization are fully covered with insurance (“Top 6 Rideshare Services that Drivers are Using (and Why)”). This lets them understand that the management takes care of its drivers and their vehicle. Hence, it helps the company to attract new members of the team and retain those who have been working for Curb for some time already.
Another method of making drivers regard their employer as reliable and wish to work for the company for a long time is by giving them extra bonuses, including an opportunity to invest in the business. The problem is that although spending a required number of hours working for ride-sharing companies, drivers are not considered full-time workers and therefore, are not entitled to stock options and other corresponding advantages. Gartenberg states that the described method is “a complicated workaround to a unique problem facing the ride-sharing companies, who can’t grant stock to their drivers due to Securities and Exchange Commission rules”. Hence, the solution is to provide drivers with a chance to invest and get extra money which will affect their attitude towards their employer positively.
In fact, Uber and Lyft that lead the ride-hailing in the USA are launching bonus schemes that will allow drivers to invest. The programs planned by the two ride-hailing organizations are not similar to Lyft’s one being less complicated. After completing 10,000 rides, a Lyft-driver will receive $1,000 that he or she can retain by themselves or put towards shares of the organization (Gartenberg). Finishing 20,000 gives drivers the right to get $10,000 (Gartenberg). As for Uber, its bonus program is going to have more tiers than the scheme of Lyft and cover the majority of the workers (Gartenberg). Such programs can help employees and potential drivers see a ride-hailing company as a reliable employer and consider the work as the main occupation and the major source of income.
The second issue that prevents Careem from obtaining and keeping drivers easily is the lack of communication channels between so-called captains, independent drivers who own a car and work for the company, and the management. Therefore, new ways of providing this interaction should be thought over and implemented. The following example can be considered: Ola, an Indian organization of the ride-sharing sector, has developed learning programs that provide communication between workers of different levels (Poojary). Besides, under the programs Uday and Elevate, the employees are stimulated to learn and attend specialized events to get a general understanding of the business they are working for (Poojary). In fact, Ola believes that employee engagement is of great importance for a company.
The point is that entrepreneurship is beneficial both for an organization that needs motivated and interested workers and its employees who seek self-development and promotion, not just earning money. Therefore, Ola focuses on teaching freshers, for example, graduates or university students (“Ola to Hire over 100 Freshers from B-Schools, Top Engineering Colleges”). They are helped to improve their skills and overcome the difficulties of the transition period (“Ola to Hire over 100 Freshers from B-Schools, Top Engineering Colleges”).
Certainly, new employees also get feedback from the management of the company and can communicate with more experienced colleagues while learning (Poojary). Hence, this technique provides new workers not only with an improvement of their knowledge and abilities but also with communication channels to other people working for the company at different levels, including leadership.
Another program of Ola is Uday that is orienteered on those employees who have been a part of the company for some time already. Special attention is paid to the improvement of their skills and abilities (Poojary). Moreover, workers are encouraged to attend specialized training where they can try on new roles, like giving a public speech or tackling business problems (Poojary). Through the usage of this method, a better understanding between different employees of the organization might be achieved. Besides, one can see more opportunities for him or her or decide to change the specialization. Of course, such training is a great communication channel because they let people share their experiences.
On the basis of the methods, ideas, and techniques used by other companies of the ride-hailing sector, a strategy for Careem might be developed. Since the main ground for the organization’s failure to receive profit is its poor ability to retain captains and attract new ones, the key point of the strategy should be raising trust for the company. Besides, it is important to create opportunities for drivers to communicate with the management and ensure them that they are a significant part of the business.
Increasing Drivers’ Trust for Careem
Insurance Coverage
One of the ways for Careem to make drivers see the organization as their major and possibly sole employer and a reliable source of income is to provide them with insurance. This will be a sign for captains that Careem company takes care of them and their cars. Besides, the method might make the organization more attractive as an employer from possible workers’ point of view.
Opportunity to Invest and Extra Bonuses
Another decision that might help the company to solve the problem analyzed is implementing a system of special money rewards for a particular period of being a driver of the ride-hailing organization. Moreover, there should be an opportunity for captains not only to keep the money received that way but also to invest it in the company. This might change drivers’ attitude towards Careem and help them regard it as more reliable.
Creating New Communication Channels
Implementing Learning Programs
The other aspect of the issue is that Careem captains lack channels of communication with the management of the company. In order to satisfy this need, a program of training for new employees and those who have worked for Careem for some time already might be created. During special events organized under the program, drivers will get a chance to learn more about the business, interact with other employees of different levels, and discuss their professional issues with the management.
To sum up, it is important to press the point that in order to be successful in the market of Saudi Arabia, Careem, a ride-sharing organization, should consider the experience of other participants of the sector. The organization might follow the example of Uber, Lyft, and Curb by providing captains with insurance and developing a system of extra bonuses that might help Careem to retain drivers. The employee programs of Ola can also be useful for creating Careem’s own channels of communication between drivers and workers of higher levels and new ways of self-development and promotion for captains.
Works Cited
Gartenberg, Chaim. “Uber and Lyft Reportedly Giving Some Drivers Cash Bonuses to Use towards Buying IPO Stock”. The Verge. 2019. Web.
“Ola to Hire over 100 Freshers from B-Schools, Top Engineering Colleges.” Gadgetsnow. 2019. Web.
Poojary, Thimmaya. “Here’s how Ola is Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture with Its Specialized Learning Programmes”. YourStory, 2019. Web.
“Top 6 Rideshare Services that Drivers are Using (and Why).” Gridwise, 2017. Web.