Identify underperforming drivers
Spot drivers who may need support in Upper. Read on-time rate, stops completed, and service time on the Dashboard, then rule out route difficulty before you act.
The Upper Dashboard surfaces the patterns that suggest a driver may need support — a low on-time rate, more skipped or failed stops, or longer service times than the rest of the team. The data is the starting point, not the conclusion. Route difficulty, vehicle settings, and external factors all shape the numbers, so investigate before you act.
Acting on a single bad day creates more friction than it solves. A driver running the hardest route in the fleet will look worse on paper than someone with an easy zone. Comparing the same panels across drivers over a meaningful period, then checking the context behind the numbers, is what turns Dashboard data into fair performance management.
Upper uses driver and delivery labels by default, but your workspace can be set to show Technician and Service instead. If your account uses those terms, the Dashboard section reads "Technician Performance" and the on-time figure reads "On-Time Service Rate." The data is the same.
Before you start
- Where it lives — The Dashboard is the home view in the left sidebar.
- Plan requirement — Driver performance data is available on Professional, Optimize, and Enterprise.
- Permissions — Admin or Dispatch Manager access to the Dashboard.
- A meaningful time window — Aim for at least one to two weeks of completed routes so one-off bad days don't skew the picture.
Warning signs to watch for
| Indicator | What it can point to |
|---|---|
| Low on-time rate | Starting late, long service times, or not following the optimized sequence |
| More skipped or failed stops than the team | Address problems, customers unavailable, or access issues |
| High average service time per stop | Spending too long at stops — or simply handling more parcels per stop |
| Stops completed out of sequence | Driver not following the optimized order |
Read these as questions to investigate, not verdicts. The next steps help you separate a driver problem from a route problem.
Investigate a driver
Open the Dashboard
In the left sidebar, open the Dashboard and set the date range picker (top right) to a period with enough completed routes to be meaningful.
Compare the driver against the team
Scroll to the Driver Performance section. Read the same panel down the list of drivers — On-time Rate by Driver, Total Stops Completed by Driver (Completed / Skipped / Failed), and Average Service time per stop — so each metric sits on a level footing for the whole team.
Watch a live route
Open Live Tracking while the driver is on an active route to see real-time behavior — stops done versus total, ETA, average speed, and percent complete. Use Show Actual Path to see the route the driver actually drove against the optimized sequence.
Review completed-route detail
Open Tasks → Completed for the driver's routes to check proof of delivery, timestamps, and notes on individual stops. Look for repeating patterns — the same problem stops, the same time of day, or the same neighborhood.
The actual path tells you more than the on-time rate alone. If Show Actual Path matches the optimized sequence but the route still ran long, the route or traffic is more likely the cause than the driver.
Before you take action
Rule out the common non-driver explanations first:
- Route difficulty — Are this driver's routes harder than the team average? More stops, tighter time windows, or harder-to-reach areas all push the numbers down.
- Profile settings — Check the driver's vehicle profile, speed limit, shift schedule, and service area on the Edit User panel. Wrong settings can make a fine driver look slow.
- External factors — Weather, road closures, and construction affect timing in ways the Dashboard can't see. Upper's ETAs use historical traffic data, not live conditions.
- Talk to the driver — There may be operational reasons behind the numbers. Ask before drawing conclusions.
A driver who consistently covers the hardest territory will show the worst metrics even when they're performing well. Always weigh route difficulty and workload before treating the numbers as a performance problem.
Common scenarios
Related
- Compare performance across drivers — side-by-side analysis
- View driver performance metrics — on-time rate, completion rate, service time
- Driver performance metrics tracked — what Upper measures
- Monitor driver location in real-time — Live Tracking on the dashboard
- View driver performance reports — accessing performance data
Hide the end location from drivers
Control whether drivers see their route's end location in the Upper mobile app using Driver App Config, while keeping the end address in route optimization.
Information required when adding a driver
See which fields are required when adding a driver in Upper — role, name, email, addresses, shift, speed limit — plus the optional vehicle and routing settings.