Driver Turnover High: How to Recruit and Retain Drivers

If you’re in the business of recruiting truck drivers, you’ll want to check this out…

According to data from American Trucking Associations, the turnover at large truckload fleets fell one percentage point to an annualized rate of 96% in the fourth quarter of 2014. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello says, “Driver turnover, which is a good barometer of the driver market, remains high.”

Not to stress you out, but because the driver market remains tight, the pressure is on to recruit drivers! Drivers are keen to move about as new jobs and companies make better offers, and this high turnover rate for truckload carriers means finding more effective ways to recruit and retain drivers.

In fact, the U.S. government estimates that the trucking industry will need to add 330,000 new drivers to its fleets by the time 2020 rolls around. With turnover rates near 100%, that means companies will have to nearly replace all of their drivers within the year just to steadily fill trucks. Combined with the need to hire new drivers to keep up with demand, this means your trucking company must stay in high gear.

So what can you do to recruit AND retain truck drivers?

Recruit

Well, the first thing a driver recruitment strategy requires is a powerful campaign, particularly on the digital side. With the Internet and mobile devices are our fingertips, job seekers and employers can easily meet and stay connected in the online world. Your time and efforts can result in a message that can literally reach thousands in no time!

In general, you should incorporate direct response advertising into a pool of online platforms. Your landing pages, job board postings, email campaigns, videos, blogs, social media networks, retargeting campaigns, search engine marketing techniques, and lead generation efforts ALL should be optimized for 2015 driver prospects.

Of course, there’s much more we could go into driver recruitment advertising, but let’s switch gears to retention. After all, using the latest and greatest advertising techniques to hire new truck drivers is all for nothing if they leave your company shortly after!

Retain

Beyond the obvious factors that influence driver turnover like schedules, home time and pay, drivers can be kept around by the simple things. Our biggest suggestion: treat your drivers right. With so many carriers competing for a limited pool of skilled drivers, you can set yourself apart from the pack by excelling in employee satisfaction.

We like these 3 tips for retaining truck drivers:

Respect them.
Communicate with them.
Show your appreciation.

Take a look HERE.

As Mr. Perry Olson put it a while back: “The driver shortage is not going away anytime soon. If you appreciate what you have, you will be rewarded with drivers who want to work for your company. Drivers who want to be there provide the best service to you and your customers. No driving job is necessarily better or worse than another, but how you treat people and are treated in return can make all the difference.”

If you combine effective recruitment advertising with top-notch driver satisfaction, you’ve put together a perfect recipe to recruit truck drivers and retain them!

Ready to master your truck driver recruitment? Contact the Hightower Agency here to ask about our services.