Small businesses may want to offer employees more benefits and recognition, but finding the time and resources to build another program can be a different story.

Samsara is taking some of that work off the fleet’s plate with Driver Perks, a new rewards program that gives eligible professional drivers access to offers and discounts from more than 50 participating brands at no cost to the driver or the fleet.

The program launched September 10 in the United States and includes offers spanning food and beverage, wellness, fitness, travel, learning, automotive services, and other categories.

The Same Program Whether You Have Five Drivers or 5,000

For small fleets, one of the biggest differences may be that the size of the operation does not determine what benefits drivers can access.

“Driver Perks works for a fleet of any size,” Johan Land, Chief Product Officer at Samsara, told Business Fleet. “Samsara sources and hosts everything, so a fleet with five drivers gets the same offerings as one with five thousand. It provides organizations of any size a way to give drivers something special.”

That can remove one of the challenges facing smaller businesses that want to offer additional employee benefits but do not have a dedicated HR team or the resources to negotiate and administer a formal rewards program.

“It can take a lot of time and effort to build and manage programs on your own, so this is an easy one smaller fleets can offer without the overhead,” Land said.

Participating brands include 24 Hour Fitness, Audible, BetterHelp, BetterSleep, Crunch Fitness, Dickies, Vans, Liquid I.V., OLIPOP, Truck Parking Club, Farmers Insurance, A-Premium Auto Parts, and others.

Driver Input Shaped the Perks

Samsara co-developed the program with members of its Driver Council, using driver feedback to help determine the types of offers included.

“We listened closely to what drivers told us they value,” Land told Business Fleet. “Their days look different, and so do their needs, and what we heard spanned a real range, fitness, wellness, learning, travel, and more, and the broad partner lineup reflects that.”

Land said that driver involvement is an important part of what separates the program from simply providing another list of discounts.

“What I'd want an owner to recognize is that this is a program shaped by and co-built with drivers,” he said. “It supports a range of lifestyles on and off the road, at no cost to their business.”

Eligible drivers can access Driver Perks through the Samsara Driver App, through a direct web link, or by using a QR code shared by their organization. Participating brands establish the terms of their individual offers, and drivers redeem discounts directly with the brand.

Samsara said additional brands and offers will be added over time. Driver Perks launched during Samsara’s inaugural global Driver Appreciation Month, which the company established to recognize professional drivers and their role in businesses and communities.