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4 Tips for Successful Communication with Drivers

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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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4 Ways Your Carrier Can Appeal to Female Truck Drivers

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female truck drivers

The trucking industry is changing, albeit slowly. While the percentage of female truck drivers is still a fraction of males, research shows that it’s rising steadily each year, with 7.8% of truck drivers being women in 2021.  

As more and more women enter the industry, carriers should be asking, “What are we doing to attract these drivers?” This is something that all carriers should be thinking about, but especially carriers that are finding it difficult to recruit and are dealing with poor retention. Here are 4 ways that your carrier can appeal to female truck drivers.  

1. Understand the Wants and Needs of Female Truck Drivers

millennial truck driver

So how can carriers appeal to female truck drivers? First, carriers need to recognize that women drivers will have different concerns than their male counterparts. Since trucking has been a male-dominated profession for so long, many of the policies, rules, and norms have developed accordingly. Making trucking a more appealing profession for women means questioning why things have always been a certain way and demonstrating a willingness to change them when needed.  

One of the biggest differences between male and female drivers is their reason for turnover. While men cite home time as the top reason, women cite a few others. Women were most concerned about the quality of equipment, the issue of safety, and poor relationships with coworkers. Let’s see how carriers can address these one at a time.

2. Equipment

The concern that female truck drivers have over equipment is two-fold. First, consider the ergonomics of a standard semi-truck cab. Generally, they’re built to fit the physical size of a larger man. It can be difficult for some women to reach the controls or get the seats adjusted into a comfortable position while keeping their feet on the pedals.  

How well the truck cab will fit an average female physique will impact whether women drivers will feel comfortable on the job. Luckily, there are manufacturers who make specialized seats for women truck drivers that fleets can invest in. 

Secondly, there’s the issue of truck maintenance. Women drivers want equipment that they can count on, so that they aren’t left on the side of the road by themselves waiting for maintenance. While no driver enjoys having that happen, it’s especially important for women drivers to avoid these situations. For them, it’s not only an inconvenience, but a dangerous situation to be in, especially at night. 

Apart from investing in newer and better equipment, carriers can also purchase fleet amenities, or make mechanical adjustments to the cabin to better accommodate female drivers. Carriers can also either provide simple mechanical training to female drivers or offer that company mechanics will always walk them through any troubleshooting in the form of real-time roadside assistance.

3. Safety

The issue of safety is one that female truck drivers of all ages and backgrounds are aware of. Safety from physical harm or the threat of sexual violence is important for all women but affects female truck drivers in unique ways.  

A truck driver’s lifestyle is in constant flux since they are always on the road. Female truck drivers may find themselves in unsafe or uncomfortable situations at truck stops, or shipper/receiver locations. Women in Trucking has been working with several truck stops to make them more friendly to women drivers. Carriers can also aid in this effort by pointing out which truck stops are safest, and which should be avoided.

4. Pro-Woman Culture

Women also tend to leave carriers for reasons related to poor company culture. For all drivers, relationships with dispatchers and management are very important, but this is especially true for female drivers. Women stay longer if they have a good relationship with their dispatcher but will leave quickly if that relationship becomes difficult or strained. Similar difficulties may arise with others such as shippers, receivers, fellow drivers, and even recruiters.  

The problem is that the culture of the workplace isn’t friendly to the wants and needs of female drivers. The good news is that carriers can lead the way in changing the culture, improving workplace relationships, and making women feel more accepted. 

But what does having a “pro-woman” culture mean? One example would be offering generous maternity leave. If the carrier you work for has historically only hired male drivers or older female drivers, maternity leave is something that you may not have thought about before. If your carrier is looking to attract younger female drivers, consider upping the amount of maternity leave your carrier offers and making that known in your job descriptions.  

Another example of creating a pro-woman culture would be pairing new female drivers with other women drivers during training. This creates a comfort level that is helpful to integrate them into the job. 

Similarly, carriers can create a social group for female drivers to share advice, feedback, and advocate for their concerns.

 Small steps like these are not just a good marketing move for carriers, but also signal to the industry and other women that you’re serious about hiring more female truck drivers, changing the culture, and making women feel welcome in trucking. 

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 Things Wrong With Your Truck Driver Advertising (And How to Fix Them)

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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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3 Reasons Truck Drivers Leave CDL Trucking Jobs

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why truck drivers leave

Carriers across the country are dealing with high turnover for CDL drivers. While the problem isn’t as severe as some news outlets would have you believe, truck drivers are leaving jobs (or the industry altogether) at a higher-than-average rate.  

Carriers are spending effort, time, and money to attract drivers who may only stay with their carrier for a few months. For many of these carriers, the most frustrating part is not knowing why these drivers are leaving positions so quickly. Here are 3 of the biggest reasons that truck drivers are leaving CDL jobs.  

1. Pay and Benefits

It’s no surprise that pay and benefits are the biggest reason that truck drivers leave one position for another. Carriers are finding that they need to go above and beyond from a compensation and benefits perspective, as offering the industry average simply isn’t cutting it anymore. 

In addition to offering higher pay and better benefits, many carriers have also tried adding a large sign-on bonus to the offer to attract truck drivers. However, many of these carriers have found that offering a large sign-on bonus might attract truck drivers up front, but lead to low driver retention down the line. 

This is due to the mentality of some truckers staying long enough to collect the bonus, then transitioning to the next company offering the same large check. 

The best thing that carriers who are serious about driver retention can do is offer compensation above industry averages for their geographic area, and couple that with a generous benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and even life insurance. These long-term benefits are what make many drivers stay at a carrier for a long time.  

2. Empty Promises

Carriers who over-promise and under-deliver are finding that that model for attracting drivers is no longer solid. Truck drivers have more options than ever before when it comes to which carrier they can drive for, so being honest and transparent are the best things carriers can do during the interview and hiring process if they want to recruit top talent.  

Employers who are transparent in nature with pay, benefits, job role, home time, etc. often reap the benefits. They may see more sustainable driver retention than those who exaggerate in a job description to get drivers in the door.  

In addition, if the truck drivers trust the organization, they won’t be shy to share this approval with their network. This can lead to an increase in driver referrals and a positive company culture that drivers will flock to.

3. Bad Dispatchers

As the saying goes, employees don’t leave the company. Employees leave the people at the company. If a truck driver finds themselves working with a dispatcher they truly dislike, it won’t be long before they start looking for a different opportunity. 

Why do drivers care so much about their dispatchers? The dispatcher is the primary representative for the company, and sometimes, a trucker’s only contact. Companies that spend time carefully matching dispatchers and drivers may see increased driver retention. Instead of randomly assigning drivers to dispatchers, factor in personality types, leadership styles, etc., and you will oftentimes see better relationships form and higher driver retention rates as a result.  

Another tip is to not wait for issues to arise, but instead be proactive and squash them before they happen. Carriers can do this by regularly collecting feedback from drivers about their dispatchers. You may find that multiple drivers have the same complaint about a certain dispatcher, which can help you to address the issue before drivers start leaving. 

Overall, the key to avoiding drivers from leaving your carrier is to remember that this is a driver’s market.  Focus on putting truckers first and remain transparent with job requirements. Offer competitive pay and benefits to continuously stand out against the competition. 

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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10 Fleet Amenities to Help Attract Truck Drivers

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semi truck amenities

Over the past few years, working from home has become increasingly popular in many industries. Companies that used to have brick and mortar offices are finding it better for their finances and their employees’ happiness to switch to a work from home model. 

For obvious reasons, this isn’t a possibility in the trucking industry. But that doesn’t mean that drivers shouldn’t have the comfort and amenities they have at home while they’re on the road.  

Enter semi-truck amenities. As the labor market for qualified truck drivers doesn’t show any signs of loosening, carriers need to find every possible way to appeal to these drivers. One of these ways is to offer drivers more comfortable and high-tech truck amenities that give them a taste of home while on the road.  

Benefits of Offering Semi-Truck Amenities

Upgrading the amenities for your fleet of trucks can be a costly venture for organizations. However, carriers should consider that the increased driver retention that comes from offering amenities might be worth the initial investment. 

People want to be comfortable where they work. Hence the shift of office jobs to work from home settings. Truck drivers have that same desire, but since that isn’t possible in the trucking industry, consider fleet amenities as the work from home equivalent. If your fleet is serious about attracting and retaining the best drivers, having these amenities may be the thing that sways them to your carrier as opposed to a competitor.  

But semi-truck amenities don’t just make drivers more comfortable. They can lead drivers to live a more healthy, stress-free lifestyle. Better seats can lead to less back problems. Larger refrigerators means that drivers can eat healthy pre-packed lunches from home instead of fast food or truck stop food. Soundproofing and insulation can lead to a better night’s sleep and less tired drivers on the road.  

10 of the Best Semi Truck Amenities

  • Comfortable seating 
  • Memory foam mattress 
  • LED lighting with dimmer switches 
  • Soundproofing and Insulation 
  • APU units 
  • Refrigerators 
  • Microwave 
  • Cabinets and/or built-in storage space 
  • Premium TV / Audio system 
  • Sirius XM Radio subscription 

Investing in all of these amenities would cost a lot. That’s why carriers should ask their drivers what matters most to them. Consider sending out a survey in your next company-wide email to gauge drivers’ interest in any of the above amenities. When sending out the survey, be sure to explain the reasoning behind these upgrades—to help drivers be more comfortable on the road and increase their job satisfaction. 

While adding fleet amenities are a great perk that will help you recruit and retain top driver talent, it’s still just a small part of the equation. Offering competitive pay and benefits, offering reasonable home time, and creating a driver-centric culture are still the biggest ways that your carrier can start bringing in the right drivers.  

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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5 Tips to Recruit Millennial Truck Drivers

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millennial truck driverCarriers that recruit millennial truck drivers not only bring talented and enthusiastic new people to the company, but potentially set up loyalty for years to come. But be careful—millennials value different things than the average truck driver. You won’t attract millennials to the industry by practicing business as usual, and you won’t retain them if they don’t feel valued. Here are 5 tips to recruit millennial truck drivers to your fleet.  

1. Advertise to Millennials on Social Media

You should be using social media to advertise to all drivers, but especially millennials. This younger generation is always connected on smartphones, and often look to social media for networking and job searching. 

There are a lot of different channels your carrier can use, but if you’re completely new to using social media, it’s best not to spread yourself too thin by trying to get on platforms that require a lot of difficult video content like Snapchat and TikTok. For reaching millennial drivers, Facebook and Instagram should be your bread and butter.  
As a recruiter, it’s your number one priority to bring in qualified drivers to your organization who are a good fit. That means that sharing your open job postings through social media is a great idea. But when recruiting millennial drivers, it may take more than that.  

These young drivers want to work somewhere they feel valued and that has a good company culture. Posting photos of company events, sharing driver testimonials, and posting memes are great ways to show your culture to prospective millennial drivers.

2. Streamline the Application Process

If your job application is tedious and difficult to work on a smartphone, you may lose quality candidates who don’t want to deal with the mess. This is why making your application process mobile-friendly is particularly useful for attracting millennial driver candidates who are used to efficient digital processes. 

If you’re not sure if your application process is mobile-friendly, do a quick test run through it yourself. Are you having trouble uploading a resume? Are you being asked to input the same information multiple times? Are the page load times too long? If you notice any of these problems, it might be worth it to set up a meeting with your tech or development team to talk through the issues.  

3. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Don’t assume that millennials are less likely to have an active family life and thus won’t mind being gone for 3-4 weeks at a time and working 60+ hour weeks. Making this mistake is a sure way to stop millennial drivers from being interested in your carrier when looking for a new job.  

Many millennials struggle to balance their careers, academics, and personal lives all at once. Being aware of these realities can help recruiters tailor the work schedule and type of run to the driver’s preferences. Making work-life balance a priority for your carrier and highlighting it in the minds of millennial driver candidates will help you stand out from the competition. 

4. Highlight Wellness Initiatives and Benefits

Of course, millennial drivers care about base compensation. It’s just that it’s not their only concern. More than just salary, millennials will be curious to hear about your benefits packages as well. 

Keep in mind that candidates who have just turned 26 may be getting on their own insurance plan for the first time. With the costs of health insurance rising year after year, younger drivers will want to save money on benefits, even though they’re more likely to be in good health. 

In addition to the basic benefits, recruiters should highlight a carrier’s wellness initiatives as well. Basically, you want to reverse the idea that truck driving is an unhealthy career that will lead to health problems and a sedentary lifestyle. 

5. Showcase Company Culture

tuition reimbursement

While it’s tricky to make generalizations about a group as large and diverse as millennials, some themes have emerged. The biggest being that millennials are driven in their career by passion more than by financial needs or obligations. They will stay at challenging jobs and career paths if they find it fulfilling or meaningful.  

Your company should already be engaging in initiatives that make work more meaningful for drivers, so highlight those to your millennial candidates. Initiatives like professional development opportunities, mentoring programs, and employee appreciation events will foster a sense of belonging. Encouraging travel, pets, or upgrading fleet amenities shows that your carrier cares about the employee’s individual needs and values. 

Hiring millennial truck drivers may seem daunting at first, but as long as you follow these tips, you’ll find a strong pool of qualified, millennial drivers in no time.  

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.

Get the Ebook

How the Semi Truck Shortage is Affecting Truck Driver Recruiting

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semi truck shortageIn the trucking industry, we hear a lot about a shortage of truck drivers and how that’s to blame for a lot of the logistics holdups our country is facing. While hiring and retaining truck drivers is definitely an issue that a lot of carriers are facing, there’s another that’s proving to be just as much of an obstacle; a shortage of semi-trucks.  

Why is There a Truck Shortage?

semi-truck shortageIf you’ve tried to buy a personal car, pick-up truck, or SUV in the past two years, you’re probably aware of the microchip shortage that the auto industry is facing. Unfortunately for fleet managers and would-be owner operators, this is an issue for the trucking industry as well.  

The problem is that there’s a shortage of the microchips that go into almost all consumer and commercial vehicles. These microchips are used to control important vehicle functions including everything from air conditioning to lane assist features.  

During the Covid-19 pandemic when lockdowns were initiated, people started driving less and staying in more, and using personal electronics like phones, tablets, and laptops. The factories that create these microchips started pumping out more and more of these personal electronic microchips while slashing the number of automotive microchips they made.  

Fast forward to today and the demand for new vehicles has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Lockdowns are over and the pandemic overall is pretty much in the rearview mirror in the United States.  

Unfortunately, these microchip factories haven’t caught back up with production of automotive microchips. Thanks to a huge number of factors including incentive to produce more profitable microchips for 5G smartphones, energy usage regulations, and strict ZERO Covid policies still being implemented in China, microchip production is still slowed.  

How is the Semi Truck Shortage Affecting the Trucking Industry?

The two main groups being affected by the semi-truck shortage are fleet managers and owner operators. Owner operators eager to either buy their first truck or upgrade to a new one are finding it hard to do so with limited inventory and skyrocketing prices for both new and used trucks. Many dealers across the U.S were sold out of semi-trucks by the end of January this year. 

Some fleet managers and recruiting teams are getting to the point where they can’t expand the way they’d like to because they’re not able to acquire the trucks they need.  

Jason Kent Crowell

Jason Crowell, Director of Recruiting, CCT

Jason Crowell, Director of Recruiting with Drive My Way client, Custom Commodities Transport is one such person affected by the trucking shortage.  

“We were getting very close to having to stop advertising our jobs because of the semi-truck shortage. Luckily, it didn’t come to that. It’s definitely a very interesting time for the salespeople, the operations people, and certainly for the recruiters.” 

What Can Recruiters Do?

The best thing recruiters can do is nurture the relationships they’ve built with driver candidates even if they don’t have the trucks to put them in right now.  

“What we’re having to do is nurture some of those relationships that our recruiters are making a bit longer, because we may not have the truck capacity at the moment to hire them even if they’re a good fit for us.” – Jason Crowell, Director of Recruiting, Custom Commodities Transport

While it’s not the ideal situation, continuing to check in with quality driver candidates by maintaining regular touchpoints will give recruiters a better chance of landing them once their fleet has the capacity to bring them on.  

Will the Truck Shortage End Soon?

Some reports say that microchip production is ramping back up, but not to the levels we saw pre-pandemic. 

There’s some speculation that even when the supply chain for microchips returns to normal, we still won’t be seeing full lots of semis like we did in years past. Why?  

Through this ordeal, auto manufacturers have learned It’s more profitable and efficient to build only what’s needed instead of having huge numbers of trucks shipped out that may sit on the lot for months. 

The best thing for fleet managers and owner operators to do is to assume this is the new normal for the time being and adjust their plans to purchase new semi-trucks accordingly.

There may be a time when microchip production increases and we have a surplus of semi-trucks readily available for purchase, but that unfortunately doesn’t look like any time soon.

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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5 Skills to Master as a Trucking Recruiter

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Trucking recruiter Skills to master

As a trucking recruiter, you’re all too familiar with the challenges of hiring owner operators and company drivers: ghosting, high turnover rates, and an ever-changing recruitment landscape are just some of your daily obstacles.  

Since you are the first face of your company to interact with drivers, it’s critical to be prepared with the skills that will turn your list of driver candidates into hires. Here are the top 5 skills that every trucking recruiter should master. 

1. Be Strategically Proactive

It’s a driver’s market. If you want to be a trucking recruiter who successfully reaches quality drivers, it’s on you to be proactive. That said, being proactive should be a strategic plan and not just aggressive outreach.  

Consider the times and channels that are most likely to be productive for the drivers you seek. Recruiting for local or regional routes? Try calling in the evening to avoid busy loading and unloading schedules.  

Seeking OTR drivers? Make sure there’s a mobile-friendly website for drivers who are looking for jobs while on a driving break. Once you’ve optimized your strategy, continually reach out through multiple channels to engage new leads and reconnect with old leads.

2. Know Your Audience

This might seem obvious, especially to an experienced truck driver recruiter, but it couldn’t be more important. The Commercial Carrier Journal found that the overwhelming majority of surveyed drivers cited inadequate pay as a reason fleets are struggling to find drivers. That’s likely not a surprise. Perhaps more striking is that lack of respect and lack of home time are responses two and three for the same question. 

If you want to increase the number of quality drivers you hire, you need to know their priorities and address their concerns. 

Identify the benefits that are most important to your candidates, and offer those perks whenever possible. Be straightforward about what drivers can expect on the job. Many will find your honesty refreshing and a compelling reason to join your company.

3. Take Advantage of Technology

Gone are the days where a clean, mobile-friendly user interface was a nice, extra touch used by only the most tech-savvy trucking recruiters. According to the 2019 Overdrive Connectivity Report produced by Randall-Reilly, 74% of owner operators use a smartphone to access the internet. Over half of those same drivers use a phone more than any other device to access the internet. 

As for company drivers, 77% use smartphones to access the internet. 65% of company drivers use their smartphones to access the internet more than any other device. With this in mind, don’t just make your recruiting mobile-friendly. Optimize your process with the assumption that most drivers will be recruited first, and possibly exclusively, on a smartphone.

4. Prioritize Your Workload

Coming into a new year or quarter, it is tempting to take on a heavy load, but don’t get caught in the frenzy. Your hours are limited. Take the time to prioritize your leads based on urgency and fit early on to increase your overall productivity. 

Evaluate which candidates are most likely to fit your positions. Are they qualified? Which drivers are really a good match for you? Is your company really a good match for them? Speak with each driver and understand their priorities. Then, be candid if they’re not a good fit.  

Remember, hiring a bad match increases turnover and leaves a bad impression on drivers. Since time is critical, engage your strongest leads first. You’ll be glad you took time to slow down at the beginning so that you can efficiently recruit the drivers best suited for your fleet.

5. Build Relationships, not Just a Sales Funnel

As a trucking recruiter, you may feel like building relationships isn’t the best use of your time, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even when time is of the essence, you can’t afford not to get to know your potential drivers. 

Taking the time to build relationships and treat drivers like people, not leads, might reveal key information that will improve positional fit. Unsurprisingly, finding a better fit ultimately leads to improved driver retention.  

Most recruiters know that drivers need to have the baseline qualifications for particular jobs, but it goes beyond just having the right certifications and x years of experience. As we know, experienced drivers have the opportunity to choose jobs that meet their lifestyle and goals. Identify what those are and find ways to meet them.  

Drivers who are satisfied with their time at home, model of truck, and who feel they can meet their goals with your company will perform better and stay longer. If you want to increase your carrier’s retention rates, taking the time to build relationships with potential drivers is time you can’t afford not to spend.

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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3 Tips for Hiring Local Truck Drivers

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3 Tips for Hiring a Local Truck Driver

As a truck driver recruiter, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that all driver candidates have the same needs and wants. But, just like candidates in any industry, truck drivers are individually unique in what they want out of a job, what motivates them, and how they like to be communicated with.  

While it’s impossible to have a truly unique approach for every driver candidate you’ll encounter, you should be tailoring your recruitment experience based on whether the driver is looking for local work or OTR/Regional work.  

If you’re hiring for local positions, here are three tips to help you fill your fleet with quality drivers.

1. Talk About What Local Drivers Care About

local truck driver

Home Time

While many OTR drivers are drawn to the call of the open road, local truck drivers highly value home time. In fact, it’s one of, if not the biggest reason these drivers prefer to drive local.  

When hiring local drivers, clearly state up front and early in the job description the amount of home time that this position will afford. If you don’t, you run the risk of losing quality drivers, just because it wasn’t obvious enough that your job is for local drivers.  

Pay

Every driver wants to know about pay, local truck drivers included. As a baseline, your carrier should be offering compensation near or above the average for your area. If you’re not sure what that average is, look at some of your competitor’s job postings and go from there.  

Just like home time, share pay information clearly in your job description and in early conversations with prospective drivers. If your company pays hourly, include the average hours that drivers typically work weekly. If they receive overtime pay after 40 hours, share the rate.  

Similarly, if your company pays CPM, share the average miles drivers work per week. Then, drivers can decide whether the job is a good mutual fit before either side invests any more time.

CDL drivers are aware that driving local routes generally means less pay than driving OTR, but they still want to know what they can expect.  

2. Don’t Leave Out the Details

Schedule

Local truck drivers expect to be home every day. That’s the bare minimum. But it’s a good idea to include additional information about their schedule in the job description as well. 

Will they have weekends off? What time does the shift start? How long is the typical workday? Will the days off be consecutive? All these questions should be answered by your job description or during the first point of contact with the driver.  

Route

There can be a lot of variation in job type and responsibilities for a local truck driver. As a result, including more specific information can be a helpful recruiting tool. Will drivers be primarily on highways or surface roads? Will there be frequent stops on a typical route? Is there one dedicated customer or is it always changing? 

Customer Service

Another important thing to discuss with local drivers is the level of customer service. If there is a customer service component to the job, don’t just assume that the driver will be ok with that. While a lot of drivers may be, some chose this profession to avoid customer service, so it could be a deal breaker. 

Have a conversation about it early on in the recruitment process and consider offering specific customer service training to your drivers if you feel it’s necessary.  

Level of Touch

Regardless of the level of touch required for your local truck driver position, include details about it in your job description. Loading and unloading isn’t usually a dealbreaker for local drivers, but be upfront about it just in case it is.

3. Articulate Your Value

Employee Value Proposition

Your value proposition is what sets you apart from other similar companies. In short, why should drivers choose to work for your company over competitors? It is critical that you are able to identify and stick to this value.  

It’s what will help you attract new drivers and prevent losing current ones to competitors. Your value proposition can be anything from an above average pay rate, to weekends off, or a great company culture. It’s whatever makes your carrier different from carrier B, C and D.  

Health Benefits

Many local drivers are very family-oriented, so offering immediate medical insurance might be particularly valuable. Having a full benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and prescription is a huge incentive in getting these drivers to come onboard.  

Company Culture

Since local truck drivers see their supervisors and colleagues more regularly, a good work environment and company culture can be particularly strong assets. 

Comprehensive CDL Recruitment Solutions

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

4 Ways to Use Marketing While Hiring Truck Drivers

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Hiring truck drivers is a competitive business. Driver recruiters are always trying to find new ways to get a leg up on the competition and bring in the best drivers to their fleets.  

But, as any recruiter knows, if you want to hire the best drivers, you first need to attract the best drivers. With many top carriers offering similar benefits and perks, that isn’t always enough to stand out to driver candidates.  

This is where strong marketing can be your best ally. With this on your side, you’ll be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and attract drivers to your fleet. Here are 4 ways you can use marketing to stand out while hiring truck drivers. 

1. Driver Testimonials

People are more likely to trust people who are like them over people who aren’t. This is why using testimonials from your current drivers in your marketing is a great way to help you stand out from the competition.  

Any carrier can speak about its own perks, benefits, and company culture. The real test is whether that company’s drivers will say the same thing. If your drivers will echo your own messaging publicly, it will have a much greater impact on truck driver candidates. 

Visit our blog on the subject for more information and examples on how to record and share driver testimonial videos.  

2. Experiment with New Channels

Though trucking remains an industry dominated by older males, there has been a major uptick in both women truck drivers and young truck drivers in recent years. Recruiters should be aware of this when advertising their jobs or just raising brand awareness, and not limit themselves to the same old channels. 

Experiment with channels geared towards different audiences, like Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube. While focusing on the core demographic of truck drivers is important, it doesn’t mean recruiters should limit themselves to just those. Today’s peripheral audiences can become tomorrow’s loyal truck drivers.

3. Use Technology to Your Advantage

hiring truck driversMany carriers still use recruiting processes which are outdated and cumbersome. You can stand out to truck driver candidates by adopting technology to make recruiting more efficient.  

Mobile friendly platforms and similar features will make applying quicker and easier for candidates. At the same time, recruiters can use programs like applicant tracking software to make the recruiting process easier and more efficient for themselves as well. 

Remember, technology won’t be able to solve all your problems. Recruitment still needs the human touch. Use it for what it can help with best, simplifying and speeding up the process, and focus your human efforts on other areas.  

4. Content Marketing

First impressions are extremely important in the recruiting process. When a driver candidate visits your company website or social media page for the first time, would you rather them be greeted by nothing but one company update from five years ago, or a number of blog posts, company photos, and videos sharing your company values and culture?  

Our guess is the latter, and that’s why content marketing can play such a big role when trying to stand out to truck drivers. 

Here are a few different examples of marketing content you can use to reach drivers: 

  • Blogs about industry topics 
  • Memes on social media 
  • Sharing pictures on social media that show your company culture 
  • Polls and open-ended questions on social media (What do you think? Let us know in the comments!) 
  • Day in the life profiles of one of your drivers 
  • Driver testimonials 

Pro Tip: Make sure you’re getting the most out of your content. Share it on all your social media channels so you can reach drivers before they are ever candidates. Once they’re ready to apply for a job, your carrier will be top of mind! 

If you’re looking for other ways to get in front of driver candidates, consider partnering with Drive My Way. Our patented and proprietary technology matches drivers with jobs based on their professional qualifications and personal lifestyle preferences.

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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