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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.

Request a Demo

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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5 Ways to Increase Retention of New Truck Drivers

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truck driver retentionTruck driver retention is a well-documented problem in the trucking industry. Carriers are finding it harder and harder to retain qualified drivers after they’ve joined their fleet. The problem is even worse in the first few months, as that’s when drivers are the most likely to leave. Here are 5 ways that carriers can increase the retention of drivers during the first year.  

1. Perform Exit and Stay Interviews

stay interviewIf you’re experiencing a high turnover of new drivers, the most important thing to do is figure out why. And the best people to ask? The drivers who are leaving. 

If you’re not already, consider conducting exit interviews. An exit interview is a conversation with a driver who is planning on leaving your carrier. The exit interview is usually done on the driver’s last day or week but can also happen shortly after they leave the company.  

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

After you’ve conducted a few exit interviews, you can begin to look for patterns and then make an action plan for how to address the situation. But conducting exit interviews is not always possible. A driver may choose not to participate, or they may have ghosted your carrier altogether so you’re not able to arrange one.  

That’s why it’s important to conduct stay interviews as well. These are interviews you do with drivers who have been with your carrier for a long time, usually at least a year. These interviews are very similar to exit interviews, but instead of asking “Why are you leaving?”, you’ll be asking drivers what it is about your carrier that makes them want to stay. 

Exit and stay interviews are just two ways to collect driver feedback, which is arguably the most important thing that a carrier needs if it’s serious about increasing their truck driver retention.

2. Have a Rewards/Incentive Program

Everybody wants to feel appreciated at their job, and everybody likes to have tangible goals that they can work towards and achieve. This is the guiding principle behind having awards and incentive programs in the workplace.  

For new drivers, having a robust awards/incentive program can be a great way to make them feel like a welcomed and important player in your organization, and not just another number. 

There are a few different types of rewards and incentive programs that you can implement if you haven’t done so yet. Visit our blogs on the topic for more information.  

3 Truck Driver Incentive Program Ideas 

How to Have a Great Truck Driver Award Program

3. Improve Fleet Amenities

semi truck amenitiesUpgrading the amenities for your fleet of trucks can be a costly venture for organizations. However, carriers should consider that the increased truck driver retention that comes from offering amenities might be worth the initial investment, especially if you have a lot of OTR/Regional drivers.  

Fleet amenities are anything that makes your drivers’ lives easier and more comfortable on the road. This can include anything from better seating to premium radio subscriptions and appliances.  

If you already have amenities in your trucks, consider taking a poll of your current drivers to see what other amenities they’d most like to see next. In addition to giving them more comfort, you’ll be showing that your carrier is actively listening to their feedback.

4. Give Drivers the Whole Picture Before They Start

Turnover isn’t always a product of a driver simply getting a better pay package somewhere else. Sometimes, drivers leave because they feel they’ve been misled about what the position was before they came onboard.  

The vast majority of driver recruiters aren’t actively looking to mislead drivers. The problem comes when a driver recruiter is either misinformed themselves or doesn’t have the whole picture of the job they’re recruiting for.  

If you’re ever in doubt about a question a driver asks you, just tell them you can’t answer that right now and get back to them ASAP with the correct answer. That’s a much better alternative than having them come onboard and leave within the first three months because they feel they’ve been misled.  

5. Recruit the Right Drivers

Not every driver is a fit for every carrier, and that’s ok. Recruiting isn’t about finding any driver for the position. It’s about finding the right driver for the position.  

During the interview process, make sure you’re not just asking questions about qualifications and experience. Ask questions around what the driver is looking for in their next position and let them know what your carrier is looking for, so you can find out if the position is the right fit for both sides.  

If you’re interested in learning more about what kinds of questions you should be asking during interviews, you can view our blog on the topic.  

Also, consider partnering with a recruiting partner like Drive My Way. Instead of focusing on quantity and how many “leads” you’re getting, we put an emphasis on matching your carrier only with the drivers who have expressed interest in your position. This way, you’re not wasting your time sifting through hundreds of unqualified and disinterested driver candidates that will only add to your turnover numbers. 

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 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.

Request a Demo

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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5 Tips for Asking the Best Truck Driver Interview Questions

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truck driver interview questions

Good truck driver interview questions do two things. They help you find drivers who are going to be a good fit for your carrier while helping you build a relationship with them at the same time. The best recruiters use a conversational style to learn more about drivers’ experiences and skills as well as their goals for a new job. 

Informative and approachable truck driver interview questions are the foundation of a strong recruitment for retention strategy. Here are 5 tips to help you get to know the drivers you’re interviewing and find one who fits well with your fleet. 

1. Start With the Basics

Chelsee Patton and Truck

Chelsee Patton, Director of Recruiting at RTI

The purpose of an interview is to find a driver who has the skills and qualifications to do a specific job. Inevitably, it is crucial to have a clear picture of their experience, endorsements, and total compensation needs. The challenge is to get that information in an approachable way.  

Drivers should feel like the interview is building a relationship rather than simply an effort to fill another seat with an anonymous face. Strong interviewers learn about drivers’ skills and experience through conversation.  

We spoke with Chelsee Patton, Director of Recruiting at RTI and CDL holder, about effective interviewing as part of recruitment. She shared these thoughts,  

“For carriers trying to improve their interview process, I would tell them to take a look at how they’re talking to drivers at the beginning of the interview. Are you automatically jumping into, “How much experience do you have? How many tickets? How many accidents?” If so, I would recommend conversationally talking through all of that instead of reading questions one after the other off a sheet.”

As you build relationships with drivers, keep a detailed record of their professional profile. Clearly denote the driver’s experience and endorsements. This information helps automatically filter out unqualified applicants. Drivers’ requested total compensation should also be clearly noted. If they express specific demands around home time, base pay, or benefits, make sure to include that information.  

Similarly, if drivers respond negatively to the total compensation you are offering, note that as a possible red flag. Delving into basic information such as skills and endorsements is an opportunity to learn key information while setting a positive tone for future interactions. 

2. Find Out What Drivers Are Looking for

Not all drivers are a good fit for every job, and that’s ok. Time is a precious commodity in the recruiting world, so find out early what drivers are looking for. Some drivers may talk about career plans and advancement opportunities. Understanding each driver’s underlying motivation helps frame the conversation and contextualizes that driver’s priorities. Use that information to focus on the job aspects that are most important.  

In some cases, a driver’s goals may not be compatible with the available position. That’s also valuable knowledge. In these cases, learning that quickly can help you end the conversation and encourage the driver toward other positions to save time.  

If you still want to attract the driver, make sure to be as transparent as possible about the open job. Unfulfilled or misled expectations will only lead to high turnover and a bad company reputation. Instead, put your efforts toward quickly identifying drivers who are a good fit and may stay in the job for many years to come.  

3. Ask Role Specific Questions

ChelseeInPink

Chelsee takes the wheel

Once you have a baseline of information about the driver’s qualifications and future goals, hone in on the specific job. Discuss features of the job that are atypical or have raised concerns from drivers in the past.  

For example, if drivers need mechanical knowledge, ask “What experience do you have fixing mechanical problems with your truck?” Similarly, if the position includes slip seating, ask drivers about their preferences and habits when sharing a cab. All of these truck driver interview questions shift the focus to recruiting for retention.  

4. Use Behavioral Interviewing

If you have a strong driver candidate based on their qualifications, the next step is to use behavioral interviewing to assess their on-the-job competencies.  

These questions look at how a candidate has handled past situations in an attempt to predict how they’d behave in the future. Behavioral interviewing questions look at a candidate’s problem-solving, priority setting, and conflict management abilities. 

To ask effective behavioral interviewing questions, use the STAR technique. Situation, Task, Actions, and Result. To start, ask candidates to describe their past experiences. Then, listen closely and evaluate based on the Situation or Task they encountered, the Actions they took, and the Result of their actions.  

Think about situations that current drivers for your carrier deal with and ask candidates how they would react if faced with them. This will give you a good indication of if they’ll be a good fit for your carrier. 

5. Share the Mic

Truck drivers want to know that their carrier will respect and value their contributions. One way to demonstrate your commitment to drivers from the start is by sharing the mic.  

Allow time for drivers to ask questions during the interview or at the end. Doing so signals to drivers that you care about their input and whether the job is a good fit for them. It’s also another valuable opportunity to understand what they prioritize. If they’re a strong candidate but undecided about the position, that insight may help you win the driver to your team.  

As a recruiter, it’s hard to predict exactly what drivers may ask, but prepare answers for common questions. This will likely include questions about home time, pay, benefits, and equipment among other things. Before you end the conversation, make sure the driver is clear about the job offer. Transparency upfront supports long-term retention.  

Good truck driver interview questions give you the opportunity to get to know potential drivers so you can focus on boosting retention. When drivers and carriers connect transparently over a job that is a mutually good fit, the interview time is well worth the investment. 

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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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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What Rising Fuel Prices Mean for Truck Driver Recruiting

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rising fuel pricesAll across the country, skyrocketing fuel prices are taking their toll on everyone. Offices are extending work from home policies to save employees money, families are postponing summer road trips, and people are staying home whenever possible.  

While the price hikes for consumer fuel are bad, it’s got nothing on the increase in diesel fuel over the past few months. In January 2022, the average price of a gallon of diesel fuel was $3.72. Fast forward a few months and that same gallon costs $5.57, with it going for over $6 a gallon in some places.  

rising fuel prices

Data courtesy of the U.S EIA

This issue is affecting the entire trucking industry, but the biggest group of people hit by this? Owner operators and small trucking companies.  

What’s Causing the Increased Prices of Diesel?

The global economy is massive and complex. There are hundreds of things at play at any given time that affect the price of everything from diesel fuel to toilet paper. That being said, most economists point to two specific things impacting the price of diesel fuel. 

The bounce back of the economy after covid is the first. Supply simply couldn’t keep up with the sudden demand for fuel. Things started to even out in early 2022, but then Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, which is the second factor. The ongoing crisis caused leaders in the US and Europe to ban the import of Russian oil, which caused further turmoil in the market. 

Comedown from Covid

It wasn’t long ago that owner operators were in the driver’s seat of the trucking world. After Covid, the US saw a huge demand for products from consumers ready to return to normal. Retailers weren’t able to keep up with the demands and there weren’t enough drivers to transport what they had.  

This brought a huge number of small-time trucking companies and owner operators into the market, ready to capitalize on the demand for their services. Times were good for a while, but with diesel rising to never-before-seen prices and supply chain issues still prevalent, these small operations are finding that the market they came for isn’t the one we have now.  

Larger carriers are able to weather storms like these thanks to their size, but these new entrants are having a very hard time staying afloat. 

How are Small Companies and Owner Operators Responding?

For many, the increased price of diesel (along with the increased price of everything else) is just too much to bear. It’s leading them to either exit the industry altogether or find other alternatives to keep driving. Small companies and owner operators are either downsizing or leasing on with larger carriers to get by. 

What Does this Mean for Recruiting?

While nothing’s certain (especially in transportation), it’s looking as though the pendulum is swinging the other way again. Hiring numbers in the trucking industry have grown steadily over the past few months with less and less carriers having issues finding drivers.  

As these owner operators and small trucking companies close up shop, expect a number of them to come back to being company drivers for the stability and reduced costs. Some may want to keep their rigs and lease on to a company as owner operators.  

Recruiting Owner Operators

If you haven’t already, now is a great time to think about bringing owner operators into your fleet. But, unlike company drivers, recruiting owner operators can be a bit more difficult.  

Owner operators are more independent and entrepreneurial-minded than your average company driver. They’re also more experienced and will usually have a better safety record.  

When it comes to recruiting them, the process can take a bit longer since it’s a business transaction between partners rather than a standard hiring process. Instead of being hired, the driver is “leasing on” with the carrier for a set amount of time.  

Owner operators also cost more to hire than company drivers with the average yearly salary at about $140,000. This number is of course offset by the fact that the carrier won’t be paying truck maintenance costs, insurance costs, or benefits to the owner operator. 

The best advice for hiring owner operators is to use the right channels to find them, be patient during the recruitment process, and be honest in all your communication. You can read more about how to best recruit owner operators to your business here.  

Increased diesel prices are affecting all aspects of trucking and logistics. While owner operators and small trucking companies are having a hard time staying in business, they can be helped by larger carriers leasing them on for the time being.  

If you’re planning on bringing owner operators into your business, consider partnering with Drive My Way. Our patented software matches drivers with jobs based on their professional qualifications and personal lifestyle preferences. 

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3 Tips for Recruiting Owner Operators

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recruiting owner operators

Recruiting owner operators to your carrier is a much different experience than recruiting company drivers. Owner operators have different values and personality traits than set them apart from most company drivers. They’re more independent, entrepreneurial-minded, and adventurous. Therefore, recruiting owner operators to your company is a whole different ball game from recruiting company drivers.

So, why do carriers hire owner operators? the benefits include not having the responsibility of purchasing and maintaining the trucks. With the average price of semi trucks still very high, this benefit can’t be overlooked. Owner operators are also often more experienced drivers with better safety records.

The one big drawback of recruiting owner operators is that they’re much more expensive to hire, with the average salary around $140,000 per year. That being said, hiring owner operators is still the best option for some carriers, depending on their situation. Here are three tips for recruiting owner operators to your fleet.

1. Reach Them Where They Are

To recruit the best drivers, you have to reach them where they are. This applies when recruiting owner operators as well. Just because you’ve been finding success reaching company drivers through certain mediums, doesn’t mean that will translate when hiring owner operators.

According to the Overdrive 2020 Connectivity Study, owner operators lean more towards consuming printed magazines while company drivers prefer email newsletters. Shifting your advertising towards printed media outlets will likely help you reach more owner operators.

There are of course other ways to reach owner operators as well. Truck drivers by large are all over social media. That same study showed that owner operators use Facebook just as much as company drivers do. Complement print ads with a mix of social media ads and platforms such as job boards, e-newsletters, and online forums, including trucking groups on Facebook.

Aside from ads, having a strong referral program is another great way to bring in owner operators. It’s no secret that drivers are more likely to trust what they hear about a company if it comes from other truck drivers as opposed to recruiters and human resources people. This is true as well for owner operators, which is why having a referral program in place can help spread the word about your company to owner operators looking for a new company to sign on with.

2. Be Patient and Ready to Negotiate

Once you’ve found them, the recruitment process for owner operators will be slightly trickier than it is for company drivers. Don’t be surprised if it takes a bit longer as well.

For owner operators, the recruitment process isn’t a job offer between employer and employee. It’s a business transaction between partners. 

While it is usually good to recruit sooner rather than later, you’ll want to take your time a bit more with owner operators. Get to know what job factors will be important to them. If there’s a certain sticking point, like home time, pay, or discounts, let them know that you can work on it and get back to them. There may be more negotiation and compromise required on the company’s part when working with owner operators.

If it doesn’t work out, make sure you part on good terms with the driver so that it doesn’t affect company reputation adversely. Plus, it’s always good to build relationships with drivers even when it’s not a great fit at the time. This way, you still have the option to connect later down the road.

3. Be Honest, Consistent and Predictable

Being honest and straightforward during the recruitment process is important for all candidates, but especially for owner operators. These entrepreneurs are making a big decision to work with your company and need to be confident about that choice.

There are few things that will irk owner operators more than a recruiter changing their messaging during the process. There shouldn’t be one message from the company during the initial advertising, something different during a recruitment call, and something else entirely during the meeting. If they sense they’re not getting all the facts or missing something, they’ll quickly move on to the next opportunity.

In addition to building distrust with the owner operator, it can also create a negative reputation which will find its way to other drivers as well.

While it’s acceptable to improve or negotiate the terms during the recruitment process, it shouldn’t be acceptable for recruiters to go back on something that was previously promised.

Once drivers are onboarded, predictability will also be valued on the job. Owner operators are more independent minded than the average company driver and will be less adaptable to changing work conditions from the company. They want to have the freedom of working when they want and being able to choose the loads they prefer, which is why they became owner operators in the first place.

Owner operators can be an attractive option for trucking companies to pursue. When it comes to recruiting them for your company, knowing what they have in common and where they differ from company drivers is the best way to bring them on board. Keep in mind these three tips and you’ll be bringing owner operators into your company in no time.

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Home Time vs. Pay: What’s More Important to Truck Drivers?

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home time

Home time vs. pay. For the vast majority of truck drivers, these are the two biggest factors they look at when choosing what carrier to work for. The question is, what do drivers care about more? As you could guess, the answer depends on the individual driver candidate. That being said, there are ways to make your jobs more appealing to drivers, no matter what they find more important. Here’s what to know about home time and pay.  

Pay

home time

 

Before all else, comes pay. A carrier can have the best home time and benefits, but they won’t be attracting many drivers if their pay is far below industry averages. And that average isn’t what it used to be.  

Due to Covid, stretched supply chains and other factors, many carriers have been steadily raising their driver pay over the past two years. Wal-Mart even announced recently that they would be raising driver pay across the board to between $95,000 and $110,000 annually.  

Paying that amount of money may be unrealistic for some carriers, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to hire quality drivers anymore. Offering overtime and detention pay are two smaller ways that carriers can show they’re committed to offering fair compensation without stretching the payroll budget. Referral, safe driving, and delayed sign-on bonuses are other ways to do this as well.  

Home Time

 

While money means a lot, it’s not always everything to drivers. It’s of course important to offer competitive pay, but recently truck drivers have been citing home time as a bigger priority for them. The Covid pandemic led many people, truck drivers included, to start valuing their home time and free time more and more.

For carriers who only hire local drivers, this isn’t an issue since drivers are home every night. For carriers looking to fill regional and OTR jobs, this new emphasis on increased home time may seem difficult to navigate.

As a carrier, it’s important to make an effort to understand each driver’s home time needs and make efforts to work with them. Instead of enforcing rigid schedules that can’t be adjusted, be flexible in what you offer drivers. Some drivers may prefer to be home 3 days every week, while others may want to be on the road for a full week, then home for a full week.  

You may not be able to accommodate every home time request, but listening to your drivers and being open to what they want will take you a long way in recruiting and retaining top talent.   

What Can Recruiters Do?

 

Know your driver candidate. In your first call, have a discussion about what their priorities are for their next position. Some family-oriented drivers may be willing to sacrifice a difference in pay if they’re able to be home an extra night every week. A young single driver may just care about getting the biggest pay package possible. As a recruiter, it’s your job to be aware of these priorities so you can see if they’re a fit for what your company can offer. 

Another tip is to never give an answer to a driver when you don’t know the answer yourself. If a driver asks if there’s any wiggle room on the home only two nights a week part of the job, don’t just say “yes” without knowing if that’s true. Inaccurate information from recruiters can lead to frustrated drivers, increased driver turnover, and possibly a poor company reputation.  

For the first time in a long time, truck drivers have real control and a lot of choice for who they drive for. For carriers, this means that offering competitive pay packages and flexible home time options is now a necessity if you’re planning on bringing drivers to your organization. But, home time and pay aren’t the only things drivers are worried about. Building a driver-centric company culture where drivers are valued is another great way for your carrier to attract drivers. 

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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