If the ongoing  shortage of truck drivers  has made one thing clear, it’s that recruiting and retaining drivers is more important than ever. Hiring, training, and retaining dedicated drivers is crucial to finding success in today’s economy, and it all starts with the recruitment of the right candidates for the job.  

Struggling to attract talent or recruit them into your organization? Wondering how to meet the demands of the market and stay competitive in an ever-changing industry? These 4 tips are sure to help you set your organization up for success when recruiting truck drivers.  

  1. Make Your Marketing Driver-Centric

In today’s world, drivers look to the regular marketing channels to find information about prospective companies and fleets. This means that good recruitment strategies begin with strong marketing and carefully curated content.  

What kinds of content currently exist on the company website and social media pages? Information about how successful a company is won’t be of much interest to a potential employee. It’s important to highlight driver-centric content, or the kinds of benefits a driver can receive from your company.  

Ultimately, a driver wants to know that the company will treat their drivers with care and provide the benefits they are looking for.  

Highlight any wellness programs or culture initiatives that differentiate your company from the competition. Providing information on schedules, work-life balance, and fleet amenities can help drivers see how much you care. Including testimonials from current, satisfied employees builds trust and offers the real insight drivers are looking for.  

Remember, drivers are always wondering “what can they do for me?” Driver-centric marketing will leave no doubt in their mind that you’re the right company for them.  

  1. Target the Right Audience 

Before you start moving prospective drivers through the recruitment pipeline, you have to be sure you’re selecting from the best pool of candidates for the job.  

Many driving fleets have very specific needs and requirements that not all candidates are ideal for. Knowing how to target the right segment of candidates will make the process more efficient and effective.  

Databases allow you to select drivers based on driver type, years of experience, haul experience, geographical location, and other factors. Focusing on any of these segments early in the recruiting process can save you time and energy. It will also increase the overall effectiveness of the company. By not optimizing this stage of recruitment, you could potentially lose hours chasing leads which were never well suited for that particular fleet or job.  

If you don’t have an easy or effective way to browse data on prospective drivers, Drive My Way can help you target the specific segment of drivers needed for your particular situation.  

  1. Use the Latest Digital Recruiting Methods

Driver recruitment methods are constantly changing, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest and most effective strategies. Social media continues to evolve as a tool, and drivers use these platforms to research companies, read comments, and evaluate employers. Since drivers are often on the road, they’ll use their mobile devices to search for job leads.  

When viewers like, follow, share, or comment on your content, it can increase the audience exponentially. But advertising job postings on social media channels isn’t enough to attract the talent you’re looking for.  

Post engaging content on your platforms which drivers will want to view. In addition, search engine optimization of your content will ensure that your website is receiving as much traffic as possible. Use software like Google Analytics and Google Keyword Planner to optimize your post by including trending phrases and words.  

Applications should be short and mobile-friendly to avoid any bottlenecking in the recruiting process. Drivers often don’t have enough time to fill out a long application, so a shorter version with only basic information required is best initially, with the option to complete the remaining components later.  

It’s helpful to stay on top of the latest digital tools for recruiting and analyze which strategies could be useful for your company.   

  1. Re-engage Old Leads

In the trucking industry, the unusually high turnover rate of drivers poses a unique challenge for recruiters.  

One of the best ways a recruiter can continually bring people into the pipeline is by re-engaging old leads or cold leads.  

Many drivers who could be a perfect fit but were previously unavailable or chose to drive for a different fleet might be available and looking for opportunities again. Leads and prospects that have gone cold or did not convert into driver status should not be forgotten. Instead, keep them in mind for the future and maintain a connection.  

Drip marketing, engaging content on blogs, social media, and newsletters are all great strategies to stay connected to old leads and assure that your fleet remains fresh on their minds when they’re considering a new employer.  

 

 

While driver recruiting in the trucking industry can be daunting, many of the unique challenges you face can be combated by these solutions. Master these four tips to experience recruiting as it should be: easy, effective, and rewarding.  

truck driver application

Trucking recruiters are tasked with finding top candidates, matching them to the right jobs, and converting them into drivers for the fleet. That’s why it can become so frustrating when you notice that the number of drivers who apply for your jobs starts to drop. 

There could be many reasons why this is happening, but if you’ve got a solid reputation, great pay, and nice benefits and home time, the real reason could be right under your nose; application abandonment.  

Your carrier could have the best reputation, pay, benefits, and perks in the industry, but it amounts to little if you have an application process that is so frustrating for a driver to get through that they don’t even bother finishing it.  

A recent survey found that 92% of jobseekers who hit “apply”, never actually get through the entire job application. Just think about the great drivers your carrier could be missing out on because of a bad application process. Here are three things that could be causing truck driver application abandonment and what you can do to fix them.

1. Cut Down on the Length

If you’re dealing with high application abandonment, try putting yourself in a driver’s shoes. Most drivers don’t want to spend their limited free time filling out lengthy and complex applications. In fact, this is usually the top reason job seekers quit in the middle of applications. 

If your applications require drivers to answer multiple long form answers, input the same information multiple times, or they’re being asked tedious questions related to small details of the job, most will decide it’s not worth it and move on. Worst case, you may be losing these candidates to rival carriers who have optimized and shortened their applications. 

Ideally, your carrier’s application should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. Instead of requiring drivers to provide every bit of information up-front during the application, focus on the basics and stick to questions that require simple answers. You can ask more detailed questions later, during the follow-up or in-person phone call.

2. Make Applications Mobile-Friendly

Since drivers spend most of their time on the road, they mainly search for and apply to jobs using their smartphones. In this mobile-first world, recruiters and fleet managers need to make sure they’re able to communicate and interface with drivers this way. Otherwise, you risk a large number of drivers abandoning your application. 

Optimize your applications for a mobile-first experience by using mobile rendering, saved login information, and other useful features. A lot of web providers will give you the ability to look at what a page will look like on a mobile device before you publish, so you can see if there are any issues.  

3. Collect Feedback

driver recruiterWhile you, as a recruiter can create what you think is the most efficient, painless, and all-around great application experience, you won’t really know how it is until drivers start applying. Even when they do start, it can be hard to gauge what’s working and what’s not since gathering data around job application abandonment can prove to be difficult. 

The solution lies in collecting driver feedback. Reach out to drivers who have completed your application process and see how they felt about it. You could offer an incentive to do so or tack it on as the last question during your initial phone screens with drivers. 

This information is invaluable in helping you and your recruiting team understand what’s working and what’s not in relation to your application.  

truck driver job description template

FREE RESOURCE

Truck Driver Job Description Template

Your job description can either convert or lose applicants. Follow this template to make sure you’re on the right track.

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How to Become a Better Driver Recruiter

Being a recruiter in any industry is challenging, but recruiting in the trucking industry is an especially difficult task. The jobs that you’re filling are tough, drivers are scarce, and the old ways of recruiting don’t work like they used to. All of this can make being a driver recruiter seem like too big of an uphill challenge, but it’s very possible to find success in this position.  

If you’re a recruiter who’s overwhelmed, and looking for a new approach to driver recruiting, here are 3 tips to becoming a better driver recruiter. 

1. Know the Answers

When speaking with driver candidates, be sure you’re an expert on your company and the particulars of the job. Know what the day-to-day will look like and give honest answers. Don’t sugarcoat things if you know that your company might not have the world’s best benefits or if the pay might not be at the top of the scale.  

If a driver ends up asking you a technical question that you don’t know the answer to, never guess or say something you think might be right. Always tell them something along the lines of, “I’m not sure, but I can get back to you ASAP with an answer.” Drivers understand that not every recruiter will know all the details about a job as complicated as truck driving. especially if they relate to equipment or maintenance. Consulting your team then reaching back out to the driver with the answer that’s 100% correct is always the best policy. 

As the first one to communicate with a driver candidate, you’re in a position to be the best advocate for your carrier. Be knowledgeable, truthful, and you’ll find that drivers who choose your company will stay longer.

2. Have a Plan

This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many recruiting departments lack a cohesive plan for how to bring drivers into their organization. While each hiring plan will vary from carrier to carrier, all of them should have two things in common. They should be measurable and repeatable. 

If you’re just getting started, map out all the actionable steps in the hiring process from start to finish. This should include posting jobs, interviewing candidates, doing background checks and everything else associated with the hiring process.  

Next, decide on a timeframe for each of these steps. Should the interview process take at most two weeks, three weeks, or a month? Each carrier is different, so it’s up for you to decide.  

Throughout the process, you should be measuring key performance Indicators, or KPIs related to your hiring performance. A few common ones in HR and recruiting are Cost Per Hire and Time to Hire. Measuring these KPIs is the only way that you can track your performance as a recruiter and get better. 

3. Leverage Automation

driver recruiterIf one of your biggest issues as a recruiter is that drivers are slipping through the cracks, or you don’t have the time to reach out to all the qualified drivers you can, then automation is the answer.  

Automation tools like applicant tracking systems will help you eliminate time-consuming manual processes like reaching out to a large number of drivers at once, collecting VOEs and performing background checks. This will free up time so you can do what you do best; make connections with driver candidates. Do some research on automation partners that fit your budget and who are devoted to making the life of a driver recruiter easier. 

Bonus Tip – Utilize a Recruiting Partner

Aside from finding a partner for automation, consider working with a company that can help you find the best matches for your open jobs. Drive My Way is a next generation recruiting marketplace that matches truck drivers with jobs based on their qualifications and personal preferences.  

We’re making truck driver recruiting personal again by creating meaningful connections for employers to turn into lasting relationships; just like we did with Argos USA. We’re ready to help you put together a plan that best fits your needs, and help you recruit drivers that are the best fit for your open positions.  

Comprehensive CDL Recruitment Solutions

Ready to start recruiting the right drivers? Our solutions experts are happy to answer any questions and show you how Drive My Way uniquely approaches CDL driver recruitment.

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Facebook recruitingAlmost every carrier has some sort of Facebook presence by now. Whether that Facebook presence is actively helping you reach drivers is the bigger question.  

With Facebook by far being the most popular social media site with truck drivers, carriers who are looking to recruit quality drivers shouldn’t be overlooking it. Aside from using it to connect with family and friends, truck drivers use Facebook as a tool to connect with other drivers, stay up to date on the industry, and learn about different carriers. Here are 4 ways that your carrier can get the most out of Facebook. 

1. Post Your Open Jobs

For carriers looking to reach more drivers and eventually recruit said drivers, posting their open positions is the obvious thing to do. You’ll want to let your network know when you have an open position on your fleet.  

When posting your open jobs, make sure to include the high-level things that will catch a driver’s attention, like route, pay range, and location. Then you can include a CTA that will direct them to your job posting for more information.  

Of course, if your Facebook audience is very small, you’re not going to reach a lot of drivers. If this is the case, you can read further down for some tips on how to build a Facebook audience. If you’re looking to recruit drivers now and can’t wait that long, consider aligning with a recruiting partner that can help your job ads reach a new audience. 

2. Utilize Facebook Groups

Aside from just posting to their individual Facebook feeds, trucks drivers will often join groups that are specific to truck drivers. In these groups, they share advice with other drivers, tell stories about their time on the road, and post leads about new jobs.  

As a carrier, you can do some digging to find active truck driver groups and post your jobs there. This will help you reach a new drivers without doing all the legwork of building an organic audience.  

Keep in mind that not all Facebook groups will let carriers post in them. Some have privacy settings that only allow active members to post in them. Also, before you post in these groups, make sure that you’re ready to answer any questions that drivers may have and ready to respond to any negative feedback.  

3. Create Fun Content

When it comes to creating a Facebook following, the number one, time-tested way is by creating content that people want to see.  

This doesn’t mean that you’ll have to pull out the video camera and create a daily vlog or do top 10 lists once a week. It just means that you’ll have to use your Facebook for more than just posting your open positions.  

So, what does count as “fun content”? Think about sharing posts about what’s happening at your carrier. Are you holding an event soon for drivers and their families? Snap a few photos and post them to your Facebook page.

Memes are also another great way to get drivers to engage with your carrier. Posting these relatable pictures or videos can show drivers that your carrier has some personality and will make them more likely to engage with your posts, and even consider your carrier the next time they’re on the job hunt. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Drive My Way (@drive_my_way)

You can do a quick Google search for trucking memes, or you can even try your hand at making your own if there’s someone in the office with some extra free time.  

4. Post Why Drivers Should Work for Your Carrier

No matter what a recruiter, HR employee, or other company representative tells a driver about a carrier, they’ll always take it with a grain of salt. This is especially true for drivers who have been around the industry for some time and have been let down by carriers in the past.  

This is where driver testimonials come in. A driver testimonial is a short video or quote from a driver where they talk about what they enjoy about working for your carrier.  

These testimonials could be as simple as gathering quotes from your current drivers about why they like working for your carrier, and creating a graphic around it, or it can be as ambitious as making a short video of your drivers speaking freely on what they enjoy about the job with your carrier.  

Once you’ve made your testimonial, share it on Facebook. This will help grow your audience and show drivers that your carrier can back up what they say.  

Comprehensive CDL Recruitment Solutions

Ready to start recruiting the right drivers? Our solutions experts are happy to answer any questions and show you how Drive My Way uniquely approaches CDL driver recruitment.

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communication with drivers

Whether you’re recruiting new drivers to your carrier or interacting with those who have been with you for years, communication is important. Successful communication with employees is crucial for any company’s success but comes with unique challenges for trucking carriers. 

The nature of the job is that drivers will be on the road most of the time and communication rarely takes place in-person. To complicate matters, there is often a difference in culture between managers and drivers. That’s not to say that good communication is impossible for carriers, just that it takes a little more work than it would for your average company. Keep these 4 tips in mind if you want your carrier to have strong communication with drivers.  

1. Be Curious and Understanding

The most important part of strong communication with drivers is good listening. This means you actually take time and effort to hear drivers’ concerns and then address them. Good listening isn’t just reactive. Don’t just wait for drivers to come to you with their concerns. Be curious enough to inquire about their needs and questions. 

If you’re recruiting a new driver, you know which factors they are likely considering, so address them proactively. Ask questions centered around their home time, benefits, and compensation needs. If you’re getting feedback from current drivers, be curious about their preferences about type of haul, type of run, work schedule etc.  

Good listening is only the first step. Once you’ve talked to different drivers to see if you can find any patterns in what they’re saying. Are we not keeping our promises around home time? Is there a certain dispatcher that multiple drivers are having an issue with? Once you’ve nailed down the issues, you can make an action plan for how to address them.  

2. Know When to Call or Video Conference…

semi truck amenitiesSometimes, the medium is the message. Choosing the proper communication method can make the difference between having successful conversations with drivers or leaving them frustrated. Some issues are too long or complicated to discuss over text or email. Calling drivers’ cell phones is the most popular way to communicate with drivers for a good reason. 

Most drivers will carry their phones with them 24-7, so if you need to deliver some quick but important and time-sensitive information, this is the way to go. 

You can be brief and to the point, while also delivering the personal touch. Same thing holds for job prospects you’re trying to recruit—you can quickly touch base about some details and leave a strong impression in their minds. 

Speaking of the personal touch, consider requesting video conferences for added face-time. It’s tough to get an in-person meeting with drivers or job candidates if they are on the road. Using videoconferencing is the next best thing. It will also preserve important non-verbal cues like eye contact and body language. Video interviews are also becoming a popular alternative to phone interviews. Save this for important and longer conversations that could use the added human touch of face-to-face interaction.

3. …And Know When to Text or Email Instead

Knowing is half the battle. Sometimes, text or email is a better platform for communication. You don’t want to send a lengthy message over text. It’s best for short and sweet messages which are time-sensitive. Messages over text won’t require much elaboration or the personal touch to smooth things over. 

It is usually best when it’s a follow up to an ongoing conversation rather than springing up something unexpected. Don’t text as the first method of contact to job candidates—it’s just too impersonal! Your job prospects will want to feel like you’re making the effort and that they are worth a phone call. On the other hand, you can text to set up a phone call or ask someone to call back to discuss further details. Texting also gets around network coverage issues or background noise, because the message will go through eventually. 

Reserve email for the most important and lengthy messages. Usually, email is best for sharing critical documents like job applications, contracts, insurance policies etc. Sometimes email can also be better than a phone call if you want to keep record of what was agreed upon. Human memory is fragile, and two people may remember different things from the same phone call. Having the written documentation available makes things less ambiguous.

4. Treat Drivers with Respect and Build Trust

This one cannot be overstated. None of your communication strategies and methods are going to work if drivers don’t feel that you’re treating them with respect. 

It sounds like a no-brainer, yet this is one of the biggest complaints that drivers have—management doesn’t treat them with respect. 

If you’re a recruiter making a first impression, this is even more important. Be careful not to speak too hurriedly, or as if you’ve been stressed or anxious just before the interaction. Friendly and respectful communication is more engaging and will make a better impression. 

Even if you’re interacting with drivers who have been with your fleet for years, you should always speak to them as if it’s that very first time. 

Strong communication with drivers takes time and consistency. A relationship with your drivers is just like a relationship with anyone else- you build more trust if you keep communicating honestly and clearly over a long period of time. Always being respectful, curious, and understanding in your communications with drivers will lead to a better working relationship, which in turn leads to better retention numbers, and an overall better image of your company in the industry. 

Treat drivers with respect, build trust over the years through good communication, and the payoffs for your carrier will be enormous. 

ultimate guide to retaining truck drivers

Ultimate Guide to Retaining Truck Drivers

You work so hard to recruit the best truck drivers for your fleet. The trick is retaining them. This guide is packed with tips for retaining your fleet.

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truck driver advertising

Nine times out of ten, the recruitment process starts with advertising your jobs to truck driver candidates. With a tight labor market and high turnover across the trucking industry, carriers are starting to put an increased emphasis on this first part of the process. 

This issue is that many carriers either don’t advertise their jobs aside or have a dated advertisement process that isn’t bringing in the quality drivers they’d like. Here are 5 things wrong with your truck driver advertising and how to fix them.  

1. Not Including Driver Testimonials

You’ve boasted about your carrier’s benefits and perks on every possible advertising channel, but still aren’t getting many leads. Meanwhile, a competitor spends less on advertising but has stronger recruiting. What’s going on here? Most likely, they’re using driver testimonials are you’re not.  

A driver testimonial is a short video or quote from a driver where they talk about what they enjoy about working for your carrier. What makes these so important? Think about it from a driver’s perspective. Who are they more likely to believe: a fellow driver or a company? 

Peer recommendation is one of the strongest factors that can influence human behavior. That’s why your truck driver advertising should consistently include driver testimonials. These could be as simple as gathering quotes from your current drivers about why they like working for your carrier, or it can be as ambitious as compiling a short video of your drivers speaking freely on what they enjoy about the job.  

Here’s an example of a testimonial that shows some of the reviews that drivers left after using Drive My Way 

Aside from increasing the effectiveness of your job ads, driver testimonials can be used to build trust with drivers and leave you with a positive reputation

2. Using Only Print Media for Advertising

It’s not breaking news that print media is on the decline. While ads in newspapers and magazines may have been the primary advertising channel decades ago, readership has gone down significantly.  

While print media isn’t entirely dead, digital is definitely king now. If your carrier is still using print media as your main channel for job advertising, your first priority should be adjusting your advertising budget and resources accordingly.

3. Heavy Information Dumping

You’ve seen these ads everywhere: Ones with 20-30 bullets listing out every facet and minute detail of a job. But the more information available for prospective hires, the better, right? Think again. In that very early stage of the job search, driver candidates are usually just looking for a few pieces of key information so they can decide if they want to learn more about the position.  

While it’s important to make sure you’re including the most important information in your advertising, don’t make the mistake of clogging the ad with everything you can think of. Keep the most important information like CDL / endorsement requirements, pay, and route at the top of the ad and include details on benefits and equipment below.  

Take a look at our Truck Driver Job Description Template for more details on how to optimize the copy of your job ads.  

4. Not Utilizing Social Media

To simply call social media popular anymore is a gross understatement. It’s become so entwined with people’s lives that we almost can’t imagine life without it. This is why it’s important for carriers who are looking to reach more drivers through their job ads to build up a presence on these social media sites.  

But what does posting memes and pictures of your company events have to do with reaching more driver candidates? Think of it this way. A carrier that has built up a following of 3,000 drivers through their social channels can post a job ad and have it reach 3,000 drivers without spending a dime. For a carrier with no social media presence to get that kind of reach would cost serious money.   

For more information on how to build up your carrier’s social media presence, you can visit our blog on the subject.  

5. Not Partnering with a Job Distributor

Where the ad is placed is just as important as how it’s written. With hundreds of job boards and social media channels out there, it can be a pain to know where your time and resources are best spent to reach the drivers you’re looking for.  

Partnering with a recruiting platform like Drive My Way is the perfect way to get your jobs in front of qualified driver candidates.  We create customized advertising campaigns that reach drivers in the right place and the right time. Just like we did with Button Transportation, a family-owned and operated trucking company in California, that hired 10 new drivers within the span of just two months.   

Comprehensive CDL Recruitment Solutions

Ready to start recruiting the right drivers? Our solutions experts are happy to answer any questions and show you how Drive My Way uniquely approaches CDL driver recruitment.

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social mediaLike most everyone, truck drivers are all over social media. It’s where they connect with other drivers, share tips for being on the road, and discuss current happenings. It’s also where they look for jobs and research carriers.  

As a recruiting team, how can you use that to your advantage? You want to make sure that drivers looking at your company come away with a positive impression, but that’s easier said than done. Here are 3 ways to strengthen your trucking company’s social media presence.  

Be on the Right Channels  

The first step is to make sure you’re in the right places to find drivers. While there isn’t much new data on what social media platforms truckers are on the most, you can find a lot of drivers using Instagram, Facebook, and now TikTok. 

The newest social platform, TikTok can be difficult for carriers to get on, as the majority of content is user-generated videos, and creating that on a regular basis takes a lot of resources. Facebook and Instagram on the other hand are easier social channels to manage and post on. You probably already have a Facebook, and maybe an Instagram account, but whether you’re leveraging them for their recruiting value is a different question.  

We were able to talk with April Smith, Driver Recruiter with Drive My Way client, Lansing Building Products. April told us about what Lansing posts on their social channels and how that helps attract drivers. 

April Smith,
Driver Recruiter,
Lansing Building Products

What kind of content does your company post on social media?

“We post company news and events, job postings, associate highlights and achievements, product, and customer accomplishments.”

What social media platforms is your company present on?

“We’re currently active on Indeed, LinkedIn, and Twitter.”

How does the content you post support your company’s recruiting efforts?

“Our social media presence promotes our company culture, engages job seekers, and helps attract top talent.”

Lansing BP’s recent Instagram post, celebrating Mother’s Day

Is there a certain kind of content that does particularly well?

“Photos and videos of our people do very well. A great example of this was our recent Mother’s Day post that shared pics of Lansing Mom’s and their kids.”  

What is the overall goal for your company’s social media presence?

“We want to build brand awareness and boost brand engagement through social media. We want people to have a genuine feel for our people, our culture and what makes Lansing Building Products a great place to work.”

3 Ways to Engage with Truck Drivers Using Social Media 

Driver Testimonials

Maybe the most powerful tool when it comes to social media recruiting, driver testimonials are great at showing potential candidates why your company is a great place to work. What makes this content so powerful is that it comes from a source that drivers trust.  

Many drivers have been misled in the past by recruiters. So, when a recruiter tells them all the great things about driving for a company, there’s a good (and reasonable) chance that they’ll be skeptical. They’ll be more receptive of that same message if it comes from a fellow driver. 

There’s a few different ways to driver testimonials. The most common is to ask drivers to send in a short video about why they enjoy working for your carrier. The other is to film drivers on site. Both are great, but asking drivers to send in a short video is usually more cost-effective, as you won’t have to pay for or rent video equipment. These videos also have an amateur feel that comes across as more authentic.

Mission Statement Video

One minute to show what your company is, what they do, and why they do it. That’s what a mission statement video is. These videos are used to give visitors to your social media pages (including prospective driver candidates) a bird’s eye view of your company. 

Mission statement videos should be short and to the point. B-roll footage of company trucks, drivers, and your building over a narration of your mission statement is a great way to go. If you’re unable to do video, you can do the same thing with still images. 

Consider pinning this video to the top of your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn page. Many visitors to your page may want to get a quick overview of your business, and this is a great way to do it. 

Company Culture Posts

It’s always better to show than it is to tell. Sure, you can tell a driver that your carrier has a great company culture, but that probably won’t stick in their head. Using social media to show your company culture is a great way to send a message that will resonate with them throughout the recruiting process. 

Do you have any after work events? Parties during workdays? Do you celebrate work anniversaries for drivers? Documenting these events on social media is a great way to get engagement and showcase to drivers what it’s like to work for your company.  

The best thing about social media is that there’s very little (if any) cost to it. You can experiment with different post types to see what gets the best engagement with drivers and go from there.

ultimate guide to truck driver recruiting

Ultimate Guide to Truck Driver Recruiting

Current ways of recruiting truck drivers just don’t work anymore. That’s because recruiting isn’t a transaction. This ultimate guide helps carriers recruit for retention.
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exit interviewAt this point, the trucking shortage has become the normal state of things. It’s widely understood that the demand for truck drivers is much higher than the supply of drivers looking for jobs. Because of this, trucking companies are doing whatever they can to keep current drivers happy and bring new ones onboard. This includes pay increases, newer trucks and equipment, increased home time, and more. 

As great as these advances have been, drivers are still leaving jobs at a high rate. This can be frustrating for carriers, especially when they don’t know why drivers are leaving their company. It’s also why exit interviews can be a very useful tool when recruiting and retaining drivers.  

What is an Exit Interview?

An exit interview is an interview with an employee who is planning on leaving your company. The exit interview is usually done on the employee’s last day or last week but can also happen shortly after the driver leaves the company. 

Why Exit Interviews are Important

Exit interviews are used to understand the reasons that drivers are leaving your company. These reasons may be related to compensation, benefits, home time, schedule, equipment, route, type of haul, company culture, or leadership.  

Exit interviews are also one of the best ways to uncover problems that are going unnoticed in your company. While many times, a driver is simply leaving for better pay, it could be for reasons related to how your company runs or even a problem with a specific co-worker.  

For instance, your drivers could be having issues with a certain dispatcher or supervisor that management or HR isn’t aware of. It’s possible for things to get so bad that drivers start looking for other opportunities because of it. For a company that conducts exit interviews, this problem could be solved after an exit interview with the first driver who left. For a company who doesn’t, they may lose 4 or 5 drivers before they get wind of the real reason they’re leaving.  

How to Conduct an Exit Interview

There are a few different ways companies can conduct exit interviews, some do it on site while the driver is still with their company. Others can be done at a public place shortly after they’ve left, but this is less common.  

As for who should conduct an exit interview, it’s a good idea for it to be someone in HR or another neutral party. Drivers may be more honest with them as opposed to interviewing with someone they directly reported to or higher management. 

Be sure to affirm with the driver that anything they say will remain anonymous. While some drivers may not care whether it is or not, some might, so it’s a good practice to let them know that before the interview starts.  

Also, make sure to keep track of what drivers say in exit interviews. This way, you can start to look for trends across departments and your company as a whole.  

It’s also possible for a driver to say no to doing an exit interview in the first place. But, unless they’re leaving on very bad terms, most times they’ll agree.  

What Next?

After the exit interview is arguably the most important part of the process. Now, you must act on what you’ve learned. Look through your findings to pin down possible trends in why drivers are leaving, especially if you’ve recently had a mass exodus. 

While it’s not always possible to immediately fix every issue mentioned in these interviews, it’s important to do what you can quickly to avoid losing any other drivers. Plan to meet with key decision makers in your company to present what you’ve learned and plan from there. 

While it’s never good news to hear that you’ve has lost a driver, conducting exit interviews is a vital part of the process. It gives your company the valuable information you need so that you won’t have to do as many in the future.  

10 Questions to Ask Drivers During an Exit Interview

Exit interviews can be a very useful tool when recruiting and retaining drivers. Download this free template to learn what questions you should be asking during your next one.

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CDL Training
Paid CDL training is a program offered by carriers where they pay for a driver’s CDL training in exchange for the driver working for the carrier for a designated amount of time after they finish the program. This can be anywhere from a few months to a few years. These programs are very popular with carriers who need a large workforce of drivers. 

What Do Trucking Companies Include in CDL Training?

A traditional training will usually be anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. It offers students behind the wheel experience along with classroom instruction as well. Some companies also offer payment to students while they’re enrolled in the program.  

While very large carriers may be able to hire a training department and fund a CDL training program themselves onsite, this may not be a reality for every carrier. That’s why some carriers choose to partner with already-established public trucking schools. The carrier will pay the driver’s way through the offsite CDL school and then work for the carrier after they’re finished. 

We spoke with the Recruiting Team for Drive My Way client, Sysco Asian Foods. They told us about the paid CDL training program they have in place and how it has positively impacted their recruiting efforts. 

“We started offering paid CDL training to create a career path for employees to become long-term CDL A delivery drives with us. New hires will work with us for 30-60 days to learn the unloading/delivery skills, the products, equipment, etc. If they prove to be successful, we will send them to school to get their CDL. There is a 1-year commitment on their end after completing the program. We feel that offering this type of program for our employees gives our benefits package a competitive edge compared to other carriers,” shared Sysco’s Recruiting Team.

What Drivers Does Paid CDL Training Attract?

In general, it will attract newcomers to the trucking industry, and specifically your company. While they don’t have experience, these drivers are eager to start their career in trucking. Private trucking schools can be expensive, so having the option of getting their CDL for free is a great investment that many new drivers won’t be able to pass up.  

Aside from new drivers, it can also attract former drivers who have been away from the industry for a while. These drivers will need to get their CDL again, and many will find it advantageous to attend another training before they take the test. Instead of paying a private institute like they might have done the first time; they may want to go to companies proving CDL training. 

What are the Benefits to Offering Paid CDL Training?

Drivers in seats is the biggest benefit to offering paid CDL training. If you’re a driver recruiter working with a large carrier, you understand the effects of high turnover and how important it is to have trucks filled at all times. Offering to jumpstart someone’s career with next to no financial putdown is a great tradeoff for new drivers, especially when you consider the high price of public trucking schools.  

Retention is another obvious benefit when considering paid CDL training. Aside from the driver staying with your carrier for the agreed upon time after training, studies show that employees in all industries tend to stay at companies where training and education are priorities. A LinkedIn study found that 94% of employees said they would stay at a company that invested in their career development. 

While every recruiter loves experienced drivers, they can sometimes come with bad habits from previous carriers. In most circumstances, this won’t matter much, but if it’s a bad habit related to safety and compliance, it could end up costing your carrier big down the road. With paid CDL training, you’re not only training new drivers on the basics to get their CDL, but on your carrier’s specific rules and guidelines as well.  

Offering paid CDL training is a win for both the carrier and the driver. They’re getting a jumpstart on their career without student loans hanging over their heads while the carrier is getting a reliable driver to join their ranks. 

ultimate guide to retaining truck drivers

Ultimate Guide to Retaining Truck Drivers

You work so hard to recruit the best truck drivers for your fleet. The trick is retaining them. This guide is packed with tips for retaining your fleet.

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Whether you believe in the “driver shortage” or not, one thing is certain. Drivers have more leverage than ever before when it comes to job searching. As a recruiter, this can put you in the difficult situation of trying not to lose quality candidates. This can be especially hard if your organization’s hiring process takes a bit longer than others. Luckily, as a driver recruiter, there are things you can do to keep drivers engaged throughout the hiring process. 

Follow-Up Quickly

This has been stressed many times before, but the impact responding quickly has on recruiting can’t be overstated. Besides saving your company time and money, following up quickly with quality drivers is the first and most important way to keep drivers engaged throughout the hiring process. For a candidate who’s talking with multiple recruiters and trying to narrow down who they want to drive for, taking hours or days to respond will put your company at the bottom of that list.  

Also, make sure you’re using multiple channels when communicating with drivers. You never know which could be best for them, whether that’s via phone call, text, or email, so it’s recommended you try each. When you do connect with the driver, ask him or her which channel works best for them!  

Responding quickly is important even when a candidate isn’t what you’re looking for. Besides being unprofessional, not responding could spur them towards letting others know about their experience, which could snowball into an overall poor reputation for your company. 

Be in Constant Communication

If you’re talking to a qualified driver, chances are you’re not the only recruiter doing so. Instead of calling once or sending one text, then giving up if you don’t get a response, set a reminder to contact the driver multiple times. It’s possible that they just lost you in the shuffle with the other recruiters they’re talking to. Remember, you have nothing to lose by reaching out one more time. Worst case scenario, the driver doesn’t respond. Best case scenario, you now have a strong candidate for an open position. 

Schedule Next Steps Quickly

Instead of going back and forth with a candidate to figure out a time, check your calendar first. Then give the driver a list of two or three dates and times for the interview. Or you can use a calendar app to allow the driver to quickly schedule a time that’s best for them. Note: be prepared for a call or interview outside of standard business hours, as that may be the best time for drivers!  

The key here is to do what you can to make it easier for the driver. It may seem like a small change, but for a candidate who’s interviewing with multiple companies, it can be the difference between being ghosted and setting up an interview with a quality driver. 

Give a Realistic Job Preview

Once a driver is firmly along in the interview process, it’s a great time to share with them a realistic preview of what driving for your company looks like. We spoke to Jason Crowell, Director of Recruiting for Drive My Way’s client, Custom Commodities Transport about this realistic job preview.

“We never want a Recruiter to oversell the job to bring a Driver in under false pretenses. As a matter of fact, we share our “realistic job preview” to tell Driver candidates about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the job. “

Every candidate can’t fit into our jobs, and it’s the Recruiters’ job to help with that all-important selection. The Recruiter should really be listening to what the Driver wants and needs to identify if there is a mutual fit,” shared Jason.

This job preview could testimonials from current drivers or an article or video that showcases your company culture. The important thing here is to do what you can to make sure the driver knows what they’re walking into on day one. 

Eliminate Interview Disorganization

Have you ever done multiple rounds of interviews with a company and been asked the same thing by three different people? This probably didn’t give you a great impression of the company you were interviewing with. The same goes for drivers interviewing with your company. Make sure that all team members taking part in the interview process are on the same page about what questions have been asked or should be asked. This shows that your carrier is organized and has a cohesive hiring process. 

While keeping driver candidates engaged can be a difficult task, it’s not a complex one. Being prompt, professional and using common sense where needed will greatly increase your chances of bringing quality drivers into your fleet. 

The Quick Guide to Employee Value Proposition

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Employee Value Proposition

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