|
By Dean Croke, DAT Solutions
At the end of July I drove up from Boston to the annual Gear Jammer magazine truck show in Winchester, N.H. Everyone's eyes were on the polished-up rigs but the main topic of conversation centered around drivers.
The sentiment shared by truck owners was, "We can't even find bad drivers, let alone good ones."
The Gear Jammer show draws some of the coolest trucks in New England and upstate New York. In normal times, local and regional fleets like the ones at the show have little trouble finding people to drive great-looking vehicles and be home every night.
Not anymore.
Shortage of jobs worth having
Recruiting drivers used to be mostly a long-haul truckload carrier problem. It's not easy to attract people to a segment of the industry where the workforce is older, they're often away from home, the job is a lifestyle, they're not paid for everything they do and their activities are regulated and tightly monitored.
You can argue that there's not a shortage of long-haul drivers but a lack of long-haul driving jobs worth having. It's not unusual for long-haul drivers to shift to other truckload carriers for better pay, or to hire on with regional or local carriers that get them home more often. Turnover rates at large for-hire truckload carriers (at least $30 million in annual revenue) are in the 85 to 90% range, according to the American Trucking Associations, while the rate for small truckload carriers is around 70%.
Focus on retention
Today, every segment of the industry is struggling to find applicants while keeping the drivers they have.
For many years, there wasn't a need to focus on retaining drivers since there was a constant supply of new ones entering the industry. But now that new drivers are harder to find, and the workforce continues to age into retirement, there is a renewed focus on retaining existing drivers and finding creative ways to keep them engaged.
"As soon as you see fleets shift focus from recruitment to retention, it means it's getting harder to find drivers," says Ray Haight, TPP Retention Coach at the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA).
Tips for hiring new drivers
Haight is a strong advocate of hiring transparency that sets realistic job expectations for new drivers.
"Talking to a new driver up-front about the family cash-flow plan ensures the truck driving job delivers on the family's expectations," says Haight. "If your drivers can't cover basic human needs of food, safety and shelter, you'll end up with high driver turnover."
On a recent TCA webinar, Haight shared top tips for creating and maintaining a driver-centric culture within a company:
|
"Truck driver recruiting and retention practices are really an exercise in adjusting company culture," Haight says. "In order to create a culture of commitment at a company, fleet owners and managers need to be leaders, rather than bosses. And as leaders, they must teach their drivers how to trust their instincts, encourage them to offer insights and offer them what they need to succeed."
Haight's driver retention philosophy is based on his extensive experience managing truckload fleets and Maslow's hierarchy of human needs. Needs must be satisfied in successive order:
1. Physiological needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.)
2. Safety needs (job security)
3. Social needs
4. Esteem needs
5. Self-actualization needs
In the trucking world, this translates to competitive pay, safety culture, communication and support, recognition and self-actualization.
Everyone plays a role
Every member of the supply chain plays a role in whether drivers stick with a carrier—and, in today's climate, whether that carrier sticks with a customer.
If you're a broker, shipper or receiver, this starts with setting realistic expectations and schedules, extending basic courtesies and treating drivers with respect.
Appointment times and delivery windows can help make a shipper more attractive to carriers and their drivers. The condition of facilities—signage, pavement striping and lighting—can make a big impression without a lot of capital investment.
When drivers are delayed while loading or unloading, they'll appreciate access to a bathroom, a vending machine, break area and wifi network. At the very least, they want a safe place to park and frequent updates about how long the wait will be.
"The secret to driver retention is to build value, and that will drive a positive sense of community, but you need to get the money and safety right," says Haight. "Those things are huge for recruiting. But if you don't have the other three factors, then you're going to have high turnover, and it's going to be hard to get over that."
Dean Croke is the principal industry analyst at DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates the industry's largest load board for spot truckload freight, and a data analytics service based on $110 billion in annual spot and contract freight transactions. For information, visit dat.com.
|
