Recruiting Good Truck Drivers Who Will Stay

At a 2012 conference organised by the Truckload Carriers Association and ACS Advertising, truck owners identified key ways to maintain a high fleet standard and good relationships with their drivers. The conference covered how to manage and run a fleet in the digital era, as well as tips on hiring truck drivers and operating strategies. Let’s look at the key points for growing sustainably in the logistics and transport industry.

1. Drivers are people, not just steering-wheel holders
Throughout many of the sessions, there was a message of “drivers are people, too.”

Compensation is one of the first things people ask about when looking for a job. Mark Murrell is president of CarriersEdge, which runs the Best Fleets to Drive For program for the TCA. He reported that company drivers working for carriers in the Best Fleets program averaged $53,673 annually, on an average of 111,851 miles, while owner-operators averaged revenue of $162,985 a year on 116,021 miles.

According to him, there is a strong belief that a supportive company will make people stay, even if their salary is average and does not increase much over the years.

2. Communication for sustainable relationships
The rise of social media and smart devices encourages conversation between people, and the same applies to the relationship between owners and their employees. To retain good drivers and make them feel at home, a seamless connection between the operator and their drivers should be maintained. “Retention starts with the very first call the recruiter gets from a driver,” Chappell – safety and recruiting coordinator for Fikes Truck Line – said, “but it’s everybody’s responsibility, right down to the operator who answers the telephone. Every conversation can make a difference.”

Drivers can call to talk about problems at work, and the first 3 months are the perfect time to build a healthy, long-term working relationship. Operators need to take these matters seriously and make the right decisions to improve the work experience.

3. How to achieve good driver retention
So you know the importance of prompt communication. It is also worth knowing that a smart operating strategy can save a company thousands of dollars in recruiting new people and keeping them.

The issue resolution process is important, said Rim Yurkis, president and CEO for employment consulting firm Strategic Programs Inc. Some companies have even created buddy programmes that give new drivers safe, informative support, with time for questions and trial runs when they start. In the long term, this creates a sense of belonging as employees commit their time to the company, gaining valuable experience and close-knit relationships with their colleagues.

It’s important for driver managers, dispatchers, whatever the fleet calls them, to have a one-on-one relationship with their drivers. Understanding the different backgrounds, skills, experience and motivations of drivers helps the company build a healthy model to support working conditions. From there, the company can maintain its service standards and earn more profit from a professional and productive fleet.

Written by Hugo Phillipps