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Revving Up Your Hiring Process: 3 Expert Tips

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In the fiercely competitive world of trucking, it’s the drivers who hold all the cards. They have the luxury of choosing between various carriers, weighing up pay, benefits, and home time. And when it comes to getting that next paycheck, they want to be hired fast. The carrier that can convert prospects to drivers the quickest holds a distinct advantage. Enter lead velocity – the measure of how swiftly you can turn applicants into new drivers. With so many carriers vying over a limited pool of drivers, you don’t want to lose out to the competition simply because they moved faster than you. Here are three expert tips to help you turbocharge your hiring process.

Tip 1: Prioritize Your Efforts on the Cream of the Crop

As a trucking recruiter, you’re constantly inundated with prospects. However, only a small percentage of them will ultimately convert into drivers for your fleet. It’s crucial to focus your efforts on the cream of the crop and avoid wasting precious time on unqualified candidates. Don’t risk losing the best drivers to other carriers because you’re bogged down with unproductive work. Prioritize your limited time and energy on the top prospects by using automated methods like landing pages and ranking systems to help you identify the most promising candidates.

Maximize your lead-to-hire potential by utilizing landing pages and automated methods to screen top candidates efficiently. Lead ranking is a must-have tool to ensure that you focus on the cream of the crop and avoid losing top talent to competitors. Don’t waste precious time on unproductive leads that won’t convert to drivers – prioritize your energies on the most promising candidates.

Tip 2: Automate the Process

Streamline your hiring process by automating paperwork, including DOT applications, release forms, I-9, W2, and other new-hire forms. Instead of wasting hours filling out paperwork, drivers can complete them in just 20-30 minutes with electronic forms that are easily accessible on the go. Make sure to choose mobile-friendly forms to avoid losing potential hires due to technical difficulties. By automating the less glamorous parts of the hiring process, you can focus on building personal relationships with drivers during orientation. If you automate certain steps, it frees up that time to spend one-on-one with the drivers during orientation. Take advantage of the face-time with drivers to build relationships in-person, instead of asking them to complete forms that take an hour.

Tip 3: Lead Efficient Orientations

One of the reasons the lead to hire process may take too long for drivers is because of long or delayed orientations. Of course, it’s risky to just breeze through orientation. That time is crucial for onboarding as drivers need to be welcomed to the organization, learn about the culture, meet their dispatchers, and learn more about the company. One trick to getting around this is to offer more frequent orientations so that the soonest one beats out other carriers.

Make sure to offer orientation a few times a week to meet the schedule needs of your new hires

Offer flexibility with orientation schedules to accommodate the needs of your incoming drivers. To save time, consider moving some training items to an online learning system, allowing drivers to complete some learning materials from the comfort of their own homes. By automating these less exciting parts of orientations, you can maximize the value of in-person interactions and make the orientation process shorter. This approach ensures that drivers receive the necessary onboarding while minimizing the time they spend on paperwork.

 

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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5 Tips for Recruiting Team Drivers

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recruiting team driversOn average, team drivers are more experienced drivers and seasoned negotiators than most solo drivers, so recruiting them to your organization may take a bit more than what you’re used to as a recruiter. If you’re a recruiter who’s recently been tasked with hiring team drivers, here are 4 tips that can help you along the way.  

1. Up the Pay

Team drivers on average make more than their solo counterparts. If your carrier is serious about hiring qualified team drivers, you’ll most likely have to up their pay from what you’d give a solo driver. Do your research to see what other carriers in your area are offering team drivers in terms of compensation. That will give you a good gauge for what you should be offering. 

2. Offer a Pet/Rider Policy

Many established team drivers are couples. This makes sense, since if you had to choose to live in a confined space with anyone for days, maybe weeks at a time, it would probably be your significant other.  

Many couples who are interested in team driving hold off on doing so because they have a child or even a pet that they couldn’t leave alone for days at a time.  

Your carrier can solve this problem by offering a Rider/Pet program. This is a program carriers offer which allows drivers to bring along an extra rider (usually a child) or their pet with them in the cab.  

For a couple with ties at home to worry about, your carrier offering this type of program could be the thing that convinces them to sign with your carrier as opposed to another. 

3. Appeal to Existing Teams

While there are drivers out there who are “willing to team”, any seasoned recruiter will tell you that it’s much easier to try and recruit existing teams.  

The reason that it’s more difficult to hire drivers “willing to team” is simple. Many drivers say they’re willing to team, but when they actually think about the prospect of spending almost all of their time with someone who’s a complete stranger, they begin to bow out. This is a completely understandable attitude to have, which is why it’s much easier to hire existing teams, like a couple, siblings, or good friends, than it is to hire drivers who are “willing to team.”

4. Offer Fleet Amenities

semi truck amenitiesWe talked to CDL Driver, Angela who hauls with her husband Larry and she told us that the thing he likes the least about team driving is not being able to get a good night’s sleep while the truck is moving. This is a common complaint for a lot of team drivers. In fact, it’s not just issues sleeping, it’s an issue of comfort overall.  

While teams are usually couples, siblings, or friends who know each other well and are fine with spending a lot of time together, it can still become frustrating sharing such a small space with another person after a certain point.  

While you can’t completely eliminate this problem for team drivers, you can offer fleet amenities to make their lives on the road more comfortable. Soundproofing/Insultation, more comfortable seating, and a subscription to Spotify, Apple Music or Sirius XM can make a huge difference for team drivers who are considering which carrier to work for. Check out our blog on fleet amenities for a full list of what you can offer your drivers. 

5. Use Testimonials

We’ve talked before about the power of driver testimonials in the trucking industry. While they’re great for recruiting solo drivers, they’re even better for hiring team drivers.  

The only preface with this tip is that you need to have at least one team working for your carrier already. Once you do get that first team, wait a few months and then see if they’re interested in being featured in a testimonial. Odds are that if they’re happy in their position, they’ll say yes. 

This testimonial doesn’t have to be anything fancy or overly produced. You could do a quick 2-3 minute video where the drivers explain what they like about team driving for your carrier. If the drivers aren’t comfortable with being on camera, you could gather quotes from them via email or text and then use those on your website or recruiting materials.  

Overall, recruiting team drivers does present a bigger challenge than hiring solo drivers. There’s less of them, and they usually have more intensive requirements for the carriers they’ll work for. But, as long as you follow these tips, your carrier will start bringing on team drivers in no time.  

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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How to Become a Better Driver Recruiter

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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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The Pros and Cons of Attending a Truck Driver Job Fair or Hiring Event

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truck driver job fair

In today’s ultra-competitive market, carriers are always looking for new ways to get in front of driver candidates. One way that’s gaining popularity is participating in a truck driver job fair or hiring event. Here’s what carriers should know about these events, including the pros and cons of attending them.

Why do carriers participate in job fairs and hiring events?

Most companies who attend hiring events recognize that there is a war for finding the best talent. Gone are the days of “posting & praying”, assuming dozens of applicants will apply overnight. 

With such a competitive market to obtain the best talent, companies are just as responsible for pitching to someone why they should come work for them as a candidate is expected to pitch to a company why they should be hired. Attending job fairs or hiring events allows you to get in front of drivers face-to-face and is one way to help increase your odds of finding and obtaining the best talent.  

What does a typical truck driver job fair or hiring event look like?

While not every hiring event or job fair will be exactly the same, almost all will follow the same core structure. Candidates pre-register for the event, and then have a chance to learn ahead of time about each company that will be in attendance. They may receive a job description laying out the perks of each job they can interview for.  

Candidates at these events are sometimes vetted ahead of time to ensure that they only speak with companies with whom they meet their minimum qualifications. Following the day of interviews, companies will provide feedback and immediately follow-up with the applicants they wanted to hire or bring on site for next steps. In some cases, offers are given on the spot at the event.  

You may have the opportunity to attend a job fair that allows for a more relaxed and open-door policy, where anyone whose interested can freely walk up to the table of a company in attendance to learn more information. While this style of hiring event doesn’t narrow down applicants to those who are the best fit for your openings, it does open the window for conversations that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. Use this opportunity to build rapport with drivers and foster relationships so you always have a pipeline of up-and-coming drivers.

3 Pros of Participating in a Job Fair or Hiring Event

truck driver job fairs1. Hiring Drivers

After all, this is the whole point of attending one of these events! You’ll get to meet drivers face to face, and you know you are talking to drivers who are genuinely interested because they made the decision to attend the event and talk to your carrier. You can pitch to the driver why they should come drive for your company and right out of the gate, you are building a personal relationship with these drivers thanks to meeting them in-person.  

2. Exposure

Another added benefit to attending these events is the exposure your carrier will get in the industry. You might not be the right fit for everyone but maybe a driver in attendance knows a friend who they’ll send your way.

Often, drivers might need that extra 6 months of experience before they can be hired on and now you can stay in contact with them over that period so that when the time comes, you can start the hiring process. The amount of exposure you get at these events cannot be understated. If a driver doesn’t know who your company is, this is your time to impress them.

3. Feedback

While your attendance may not always result in any hires, it’s possible you received valuable insight from the very people you were hoping to hire as to why they weren’t interested. This is information you can take back to your team then identify ways you can better advertise or promote your offerings to ensure you are best meeting drivers’ wants and needs.  

3 Cons of Participating in a Job Fair or Hiring Event

1. Time

Carriers will often note they don’t have the time to send their employees off to a hiring event all day long. While this is a valid concern, there are ways around this. Try having a few employees split up the hiring event schedule so one person doesn’t fall a day behind on their workload at the office and instead each person is only missing a few hours. You may also ask if you can attend an event for limited hours as opposed to the whole day.  

2. Attendance

While job fairs and hiring events can be a great way to meet new drivers, there’s always the possibility that there may be a lack of drivers who attend. This is why it is important to thoroughly vet the hiring events & job fairs you may plan on attending.  

Remember, it’s not always “What other carriers are attending?”, but instead “What is the expected turnout of job seekers?” Just note, a small turnout of job seekers shouldn’t be a deal breaker alone, as the one hire you may obtain at that event could turn into someone celebrating their 25-year anniversary with you down the road.

3. Competition

Since drivers have multiple carriers they can speak with, hiring events and job fairs are competitive in nature. Often, job seekers may continue to pursue a few carriers at the same time to weigh out all offers until they make a final decision.  

This is why time is of the essence and transparency is key. Don’t push someone to accept an offer prematurely and then count it as a win. It’s very possible that they’ll still be pursuing another carrier and then rescind their offer with you a week later. Instead, ask them what you can do to get them to stop all other interviews and see if you can better meet their needs with the initial offer you give them. 

The Bottom Line

Just as you are sacrificing time to attend these events, so are drivers. It’s fair to say, most drivers have reduced availability to attend events like these, as they are often on the road with limited hours. 

Be mindful to all who took time out of their lives to meet you. Even if it’s not the best fit for your organization, giving them advice on how to obtain qualifications to work for you one day will go a long way in that drivers’ eyes. It may even be the difference of them sending positive recommendations off to their fellow drivers to go check you out.  

It’s equally important to note, given a driver’s schedule and limited availability, you should be open to advertising your direct recruiting line for open phone interviews as well as offering zoom interviews for those who couldn’t make it but still want that face-to-face experience. 

The last piece of advice is not to wait for the next truck driver job fair or hiring event to come to you. Especially for mid-large size carriers, consider hosting an exclusive hiring event just for your company. Host it onsite so drivers can see the terminal or meet them at a neutral location like a coffee shop off the highway for pop-in interviews and buy the drivers a warm cup of joe to thank them for their time. Get creative and be sure you follow up with all drivers promptly after meeting them. 

Megan Andrews is a Customer Success Manager at Drive My Way. She worked for a National Recruiting Agency prior to joining the Drive My Way Team in early 2021. During her time with her previous employer, she worked with small mom and pop companies up to Fortune 500 companies to find the best talent across all industries.  

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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Why Utilizing Facebook is Important for Trucking Carriers

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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. 

 

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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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Work Life Balance: The Key to Truck Driver Recruiting

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work life balanceFor the vast majority of the American workforce, their workday is fixed. Once their shift is over, they’re able to go home and spend their free time with their family and friends and sleep in their own bed.  

For truck drivers, specifically OTR and regional drivers, this isn’t a reality. These drivers are out for days, sometimes weeks at a time, living on the road and dealing with everything that comes with it.  

In the past, truck drivers have dealt with having little home time as frustrating but permanent part of the job. But, in light of many factors, especially the Covid-19 pandemic, truck drivers have begun to value having a work life balance and expect generous home time policies from the carriers they work for.  

Make Home Time a Priority

For any carrier that is serious about not only recruiting, but retaining top talent, making a concerted effort to offer their drivers a quality work life balance is a must. This means not only offering a blanket home time policy but being flexible with the individual needs of your drivers.   

We were able to speak with two Drive My Way clients about how they structure their home time policies and why it’s important from a recruiting and retention aspect for drivers to have generous home time. 

How does your carrier make an effort to increase the home time of your drivers?

Tim Waite and Karen Murphy, JRayl,

“We pride ourselves on planning to have our regional drivers home every weekend, as is promised during the recruitment process. As a company, this is very important to us because our owner was a driver himself and understands how vital home time is for our drivers. Additionally, we do our absolute best to tailor home time to the needs of each specific driver, whether it be more/less home time, or being home on certain days of the week.” 

Susie Kosmicki, ARD Trucking,

“Our driver managers are trained to understand the importance of work and home life balance. We have programs in place to assure that our drivers get the home time they need. Driver satisfaction has always been important at ARD Trucking since the very beginning. We make home time one of our top priorities.”

Make on the Road Feel Like Home

No matter how good of a home time policy you have, OTR and Regional drivers still spend a lot of time away from home. A good way to make drivers feel more comfortable on the road is to let them bring a little piece of home with them, whether that’s by offering a Rider/Pet policy, or upgrading your fleet’s amenities.

Aside from home time, what does your carrier do to make drivers feel more at home while on the road?

Tim Waite and Karen Murphy, JRayl,

“We have a rider policy that allows a friend, significant other, or child to ride along with them. Additionally, we continue to update our fleet with new trucks to ensure our drivers have the latest safety technology and the most comfortable truck possible. For example, all our new trucks come with a built-in refrigerator to assist with healthy eating on the road. 

We assign mentors as needed so our drivers can communicate amongst themselves, as well as a check-in program with our Driver Experience Team to make sure new family members are feeling at home while on the road and appreciated. We have also updated our Akron terminal, where a lot of drivers stop at various times of the day. The updates include a new and improved Driver Lounge with recliners, TVs, washer/dryer, relaxation rooms to rest, and Men’s/Women’s locker rooms.” 

Susie Kosmicki, ARD Trucking,

“We offer a rider policy at ARD Trucking. Having a family member ride along not only provides company, but it also allows the other person to see and understand what it is a professional truck driver goes through day to day.  Also, our 24/7 driver support goes a long way. Our drivers are always able to get in touch with someone when needed.”

Home Time Matters a lot, but it isn’t Everything

Giving drivers a quality work life balance is extremely important, but it’s only one piece of the driver retention puzzle. This is why carriers should work towards making their drivers feel like they have a second home while they’re on the road through driver appreciation efforts and a strong company culture.  

Tim and Karen finished with these thoughts, 

“We do our best to make a connection in the early stages with our drivers to establish that they should always feel welcome and comfortable coming to us for any reason whatsoever. We strongly feel our drivers are part of a family, and never to be treated like a number.

We have different awards to further show appreciation for our drivers, including Drivers of the Month and Year, as well as the Million-Mile Club. We give out apparel and gift bags during orientation and during Driver Appreciation Week every year. We acknowledge anniversaries and birthdays and try to form relationships with their family members when we host special events like cookouts, bowling, dinners, etc.” 

Susie finished with these thoughts, 

“I think home time is more important now because of the deficit of drivers these days. Finding anyone to carry a CDL Class A driver’s license is difficult because of the over the road lifestyle. Lack of home time is one of the biggest reasons drivers leave companies so carriers that can offer quality good home time are giving drivers a great incentive to come aboard.”

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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Dealing with the Holiday Trucking Crunch

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holiday trucking

For many trucking carriers, the last few months of the year are by far the busiest. The holiday season brings a huge increase in volume, and when you couple that with a competitive market for truck drivers, it’s easy to see why many carriers have a hard time staying up to speed during the holidays. 

We were able to talk with Jason Wisla, Vice President with Drive My Way client, Assist Logistics Group. Jason talked to us about how Assist prepares for the holidays, how they recruit drivers for this busy season, and why the holidays are the most important time of the year.   

How does the holiday season affect Assist’s business?

“The holiday season, also known as peak season, is typically our busiest time of year. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s, our dedicated lanes usually double or triple in volume and frequency. We find ourselves doing multiple runs to the same locations per day to keep up with the extra freight that is being shipped. We also take on some new pickups/lanes that are seasonal only.”

What does Assist do to prepare for the holiday busy season?

“First and foremost, we make sure that all our vehicles are running properly and that any maintenance that needs to be done has been completed prior to the start of peak season. We also try to notify all drivers of extended holiday hours approximately 1 month before the start of peak and organize a schedule that utilizes everyone’s driving hours in the most efficient way possible.  

We also try to sign up anywhere from 5-10 extra owner operators in the event we have an employee driver call out, or if any other extra work comes across so that we don’t have to be in the position of turning any work down.”

Do you find that you’re hiring more drivers while preparing for your busy season?

“While we don’t always have the best luck with it, yes, we definitely make a push to hire as many new drivers as we can prior to the start of peak season. With all the extra volume and runs we do, the opportunity for overtime is the greatest during the holiday season, so we try to use this as a selling point for potential new hires.”

Is there a certain service that you see customers taking more advantage of during the holiday season?

“We see a large increase in the amount of drop & hook loads we do during peak season. This enables clients to load a trailer as they get their excess cargo ready, and to make space on the dock for the next truckload.  

Then once the trailer is fully loaded, we can just grab it, drop another empty trailer, and keep the process moving as quickly/smoothly as possible. This also cuts down on our clients’ staff hours since they aren’t waiting around for a truck to show up multiple times a day. “

Jason finished with these thoughts

“While it can be incredibly stressful, this time of year really provides our clients, and us, with an opportunity to make a strong end-of-year push. With the extra revenue we see during peak season, we are able to afford to give our drivers a nice holiday bonus at the end of the year that makes all the extra hours and effort beneficial for everyone.”

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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Is the Truck Driver Shortage Real?

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For the better part of ten years, the trucking industry has been faced with what’s commonly been called a “truck driver shortage”. The thought is that there’s simply not enough drivers to fill the open positions that trucking companies have.  

Only recently have people started to challenge that narrative and ask themselves, “Is the issue a true shortage of truck drivers, or is it an issue of retaining truck drivers?” 

How did the “truck driver shortage” start?

There are differing accounts of when this issue started, but most agree that the deregulation of the trucking industry in the 1980’s kickstarted what we know as the “truck driver shortage”. Among many other things, less government involvement in the industry meant that carriers could pay drivers less and afford them less benefits.  

This helped to create the conditions that the industry finds itself in today. Fast forward to today, and due to a variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a huge demand for moving freight and subsequently a huge demand for truck drivers.  

Couple that with fewer drivers on the road due to tight insurance requirements and suspensions from the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, and the drivers who are left have the upper hand in which company they’ll drive for. Many carriers have already found out that truck drivers aren’t in a position where they have to accept poor working conditions, low pay, and subpar benefits anymore.  

This tight labor market isn’t just an issue known by people in the transportation industry anymore. It’s been making headlines for the better part of two years. Time Magazine, CBS News, the NY Times and more have covered the issue. Late night host, John Oliver even did a 24-minute segment on the “truck driver shortage” in early 2022.


Do truck drivers not want to work anymore?

A common misconception is that truck drivers, like a lot of other workers in our country, don’t want to work anymore and are exiting the industry. The fact is that there are many drivers who do want to work. They just have more options for where they can work and won’t hesitate to make a move if they find a carrier that’s offering better pay, a better work environment, and better home time

This leads to the metric we hear about all the time; driver turnover. Many people talk about it, but there’s a common misconception as to what it actually measures. The American Trucking Association, (ATA) who calculates the metric, clarified the issue in a recent blog post. 

“Turnover is not an indicator of people exiting the industry (we know, because ATA created and tabulated the metric). Rather, it more accurately measures drivers moving between carriers. It captures churn within the industry—not attrition from the industry. While retirements and exits account for a small percentage of turnover, by-in-large that is not what this figure is counting.”

In the trucking industry, turnover (as calculated by the ATA) measures drivers leaving one carrier for another, not drivers leaving the industry all together. 

This means that while there are drivers exiting the industry, it’s not happening at the rate that we’re led to believe. Instead, drivers are switching from one carrier to another for better pay, benefits, and routes. It’s not that there’s a shortage of truck drivers, it’s that drivers are in control of where they can sell their labor to.  

How will the “truck driver shortage” be resolved?

Since the problem isn’t a shortage of drivers, but a problem of retaining drivers, the solution is simple; make working conditions better for truck drivers. If you look at any data around truck driver happiness, you’ll see that there’s a laundry list of issues that frustrate drivers.  

Long wait times at shippers/receivers, lack of parking, little home time, and no input on company/driver policies are just a few of the issues that are causing drivers to look elsewhere for employment opportunities. 

It’s not surprising that the carriers that have an answer to these problems are also the ones with the highest driver retention rates.  

What can recruiters do?

Recruiters should focus on what they can control. This includes knowing your positions inside and out, making sure the driver’s first impression of your carrier is a positive one, and being communicative with candidates from start to finish. 

Another great practice for recruiters and HR professionals is to conduct exit or stay interviews with your drivers. This will give you extremely useful information as to why drivers are leaving your carrier, or why they’re choosing to stay.

While recruiters and HR professionals aren’t usually the ultimate decision-makers for things like pay, benefits, and work perks, that doesn’t mean they can’t influence those decision-makers.  

Do some research on what competitors in the area offer drivers in terms of pay, benefits, and home time. If your carrier doesn’t match up to them, make it a point to try and talk to management about making some changes.

The Bottom Line

Referring to the problem that the trucking industry is facing as a shortage of truck drivers shifts the blame off of carriers and onto truck drivers. Instead of focusing on improving the conditions that drivers are faced with, (low pay, sparse home time, demanding deadlines) calling it a shortage simply writes off the issue as “truck drivers are too picky and don’t want to work.” 

As more and more carriers begin to see that investing in their drivers’ happiness is the way to increase retention, the industry should begin to see those turnover numbers drop.  

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Truck Driver Recruiting: 5 Ways to Recruit Drivers

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truck driver recruiting

Success as a truck driver recruiter is based on two things. Finding the best candidates for the job and doing it quickly. Recruiters have a limited budget and time with which to acquire top talent for their carriers. As a result, efficiency is essential in truck driver recruiting. The good news is that in this data-driven age, measuring recruiting efficiency is easier than ever. 

There are a number of different metrics that can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your recruiting process. Doing this will not only help you hire the best candidates, but also tell you where to best allocate your time and money. Here are five ways to measure success in truck driver recruiting.

1. Time to Hire

The number one reason that truck drivers end up declining a job is because they’ve already accepted a different offer that reached them first. This is why quickly moving your candidates through the recruiting pipeline is so important. 

Simply put, time to hire is how long it takes a company to hire a candidate, from their first contact with them all the way to the candidate accepting the offer of employment. 

Among other things, this metric is indicative of both the efficiency of your recruiting team and the candidate’s experience. That’s why HR and recruiting professionals put such an emphasis on it.   

Having a structured and organized hiring process is the best way to improve your time to hire. For more information on speeding up your time to hire, you can read our blog on the subject. 

2. Cost Per Hire

Time isn’t the only way to measure efficiency in recruiting. Cost per hire or CPH is an essential metric that measures how economically efficient your recruitment process is.  

Cost per hire adds up all the expenses that go towards hiring new employees and divides that over the total number of hires for a given period of time. The great thing about this metric is that you can slice it up a number of different ways so that you can see how much it costs to hire based on haul type, region, hiring terminal, and more. 

Understanding this metric will open the door for your recruiting team to try different ways to hire drivers for less money. Maybe you’re finding that you don’t need to spend as much to hire in your Jacksonville terminal as you do in your Montgomery terminal. Or, since your cost to hire local drivers is so low, you can move some of that money towards filling harder hauls, like flatbed or tanker jobs. Try changing your process and seeing where your CPH ends up. Eventually you’ll find what works for your carrier.  

3. Channel Effectiveness

Gone are the days of putting up some flyers and placing your job ad in the newspaper. Digital is king now, with most interested drivers coming from Google searches, Facebook postings, and online job boards. With all of these channels available, identifying where applicants are coming in from can be incredibly helpful. 

Understanding channel effectiveness can be done by measuring the number of successful conversions by channel. You can also break down channels by job type or geographical region. Don’t assume that the same channels or sources are equally effective across jobs or locations. Maybe your OTR job leads come in mostly through referrals, while company drivers come in through Facebook. 

You can calculate the cost efficiency of your sourcing channels fairly easily. First, find the amount of money spent on advertisements on each channel. Then, divide that by the number of visitors who successfully applied for the job to find the sourcing channel cost per hire. Once you’ve found that, you can start to see which channels are working for your carrier and allocate your recruiting budget accordingly.  

4. First Year Performance

The above metrics take into account truck driver recruiting efforts before the job starts. But those aren’t the only ones you should be looking at. Connecting recruiting efforts with the quality of your hires and their first-year job performance can help you see if your recruiting team is going after the right candidates.  

Speaking to the hiring manager or supervisor will start to paint a picture of the performance of your hires. This can take into account everything from productivity, safety concerns, and cultural fit with the carrier. 

Once you’ve gathered information from supervisors and HR, see if you can find any patterns with recent hires. Are new hires less productive than other drivers? Are they involved in accidents at a higher rate than other drivers? If you don’t see any red flags, consider it a success. If you do, it may be time to re-evaluate your criteria for hiring.  

5. Job Satisfaction

Measuring driver satisfaction is one of the secrets to measuring recruiting success and maximizing driver retention. Drivers and fleets are both looking for a strong match. If drivers aren’t happy with their carrier, it’s only a matter of time before they start looking elsewhere. Given the current state of the trucking industry, your fleet can’t afford to lose a driver after already spending resources on hiring and onboarding.  

Do whatever it takes to keep drivers longer, and that starts with measuring their job satisfaction. You can do this a few different ways. Consider an anonymous survey, suggestion box, or even conducting stay interviews with current drivers. This type of open-ended driver feedback is best so that you learn about drivers’ likes, dislikes, wishes, and frustrations in more detail. 

After drivers have given feedback, it’s the carrier’s responsibility to address their concerns, or risk losing them to rival carriers. 

A low job satisfaction rating by the driver indicates one of two things. Either, the driver was a poor fit for the position, or job expectations were not clearly communicated. Either way, this provides more information to truck driver recruiters, who can then use this information to improve the quality of hires and improve recruitment practices. 

Finding the perfect fit is the most important thing when it comes to truck driver recruiting. That’s why fleet managers and driver recruiters all across the country are choosing to partner with Drive My Way.

Our patented and proprietary technology matches more than 10,000 CDL drivers a month with the perfect carrier based on their professional qualifications and personal lifestyle preferences. 

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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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How Stay Interviews Can Help Recruit Truck Drivers

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stay interviewWhile the trucking industry has been dealing with retention issues for years, the greater workforce is now feeling the sting of it as well. In what’s been dubbed the “Great Resignation”, employees in a number of industries are leaving their jobs in record numbers for greener pastures.

One way that companies in these industries are combating this wave of resignations is by conducting “Stay Interviews” with their current employees. Luckily for the transportation industry, these stay interviews aren’t only useful for accounting firms and software companies. They can be used by trucking carriers as well. Here’s everything to know about them.

What is a Stay Interview?

A stay interview is an interview or conversation with a driver who’s been with your carrier for a while and is happy in their current role. Think of it as the opposite of an exit interview. The conversation will center around the driver’s thoughts on their current role and the carrier as a whole.

In exit interviews, you’ll be getting mostly critical feedback, since the driver is on their way out. In a stay interview, you’ll likely get more positive feedback since the driver is content with their current situation.

These interviews can help you learn what specific programs and perks drivers are enjoying and which ones they could do with it. This kind of feedback can help your carrier develop the most driver-centric package possible so that you can attract and retain more drivers.

What Questions Should be Asked in a Stay Interview?

While the questions you ask should pertain to your unique challenges as a carrier, here are a few common questions that are asked in most stay interviews.

  • What do you enjoy about working here?
  • What are some perks of the job that you enjoy the most?
  • If you ran the company for a day, what’s the first thing you would do?
  • You’ve been with us a long time, what has made you stay so long?
  • How do you feel about management?
  • What are your biggest frustrations when you’re out on the road?
  • Have you recommended our carrier to other drivers?

Keep in mind that a stay interview is meant to be an informal conversation. While it’s good to have some talking points prepared, don’t feel the need to run through a list of questions one by one. This comes across as overly formal and may spook the driver off from giving honest feedback.

The best thing to do is have a few topics you want to hit on and let the conversation flow from there.

What are Some Tips for Conducting Stay Interviews?

1. Stay interviews are a relatively new phenomenon, so make a point of explaining to the driver the reason for the interview and what it’s going to be. Don’t just call or email a driver about scheduling a “Meeting with HR” with no other explanation. That’s a surefire way to put a driver (or anyone really) on edge.

2. Just because a driver is staying with your carrier, doesn’t mean they have don’t have any critiques. It’s important to ask questions around how your carrier could improve so you’re getting all the feedback you can, good and bad.

3. Take notes during the interview. This way you won’t forget anything that was discussed and can go over them later.

What’s Next?

After you’ve conducted a stay interview with a driver, start looking at the notes you’ve taken. If you’ve done multiple interviews, you can begin to look for patterns. Was there something that all the drivers enjoyed about working with your carrier? Maybe it was your detention pay, 401K plan, or flexible home time options. If you can find something like that, there’s a good chance you can use it to attract other drivers to your carrier if you aren’t already.

If you received any negative feedback, the process is just like it would be for an exit interview. Meet with key decision makers in your company to present what you’ve learned and plan from there.

Truck drivers are the backbone of any carrier, which is why listening to them is so important. Conducting stay interviews improves your carrier’s reputation and offerings so that you can recruit and retain top drivers.

Custom Commodities Transport Partners with Drive My Way for Success

Custom Commodities Transport is the nation’s largest transporter of Activated Carbon. See how they worked with Drive My Way to meet their driver needs.

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