However large or small a trucking employer may be, they may have experienced some level of difficulty attracting truck drivers or retaining current employees. Unfortunately, improving truck driver retention levels is an area where many trucking companies struggle. This may be due to a wide variety of factors, ranging from inadequate publicity for the field at large to a lack of in-house training and advancement opportunities to a dearth of qualified, commercially licensed drivers and more. Even if you’re equipped with the best Truck insurance, you may still be searching for recruitment and retention tips and tricks. If that’s the case, here are a few moves you could start making right away to attract qualified drivers and hold on to them for the long term.
Institute Early-Career Training In-House for New Truckers
For some trucking companies, a common problem is not being able to sign qualified, mid-career drivers to the company. If your company has run into this problem in the past, you may want to suggest a change in approach. Trucking businesses that hire new, relatively inexperienced truckers and provide in-house training may find that the move pays off over time. You may choose to provide:
- In-house trucking school to teach the basics of operating a truck and related machinery
- Regular over-the-road training and in-person tests
- Continued education courses for company truckers to sharpen their abilities throughout their tenure at the business
- Mentorship and trainee programs in-house to encourage older employees to foster younger employees’ skill sets
Offer Additional Career Paths and Advancement Opportunities for More Senior Truckers
For more senior truckers at the company, a path forward in terms of career advancement or other opportunities can be the golden ticket to retention. If you aren’t doing enough for senior employees, it may have a hard time retaining licensed drivers. You could consider offering loyal, experienced workers:
- Managerial opportunities
- More flexible hours and weekly driving schedules
- Accumulated leave time and days off
- Advancement opportunities in administrative parts of the company
- Additional choices between different driving destinations
Set High Standards for Hiring Truckers and Incorporate Competitive Practices
Setting exceptional standards during the hiring process is one way you can vet drivers and ensure only the best are brought on board. Your company should search for qualifications such as:
- Formal courses in trucking or education in the transportation field
- Several months’ or years’ experience working as a truck driver
- A current commercial driver’s license of the class type required for the open position
- A willingness and ability to pursue, secure, and maintain a commercial driver’s license
- A clean driving record, with no accidents or arrests
Additionally, it’s important for the company to put some time into competition research and ensure that their hiring practices are adequately competitive. For instance, you may want or need to offer:
- Large hiring bonuses
- A supportive work environment and well-reputed company culture
- Access to high-end industry technology
Ensure the Company Complies With All Legal Requirements for a Safe Workspace
Experienced and talented truck drivers are often attracted to companies with strong reputations for offering reliably safe and supportive work environments. At a fundamental level, it’s crucial that you comply with all legal safety requirements and offer:
- Sturdy, functioning company vehicles
- Clean facilities
- Well-lit company offices, warehouses, and other facilities
- Mandated rest time and bathroom breaks
- Adequate heating and cooling systems
- Adequate safety equipment inside each company truck
- Necessary employee insurance coverage, from health insurance to auto insurance and more, as applicable
Offer All Trucking Employees Seniority Perks and Key Employment Benefits
Besides a strong starting salary, other employment benefits and perks can help keep truckers at a given trucking company for a longer period of time. If you regularly hires talented truckers but then loses them to other companies, this may be one area ripe for revision. You might highlight company benefits such as:
- Secure, long-term employment
- Paid sick leave or vacation days that grow year by year
- Company pensions or partly sponsored retirement plans
- Vision insurance and other types of health coverage, such as dental insurance
- Regular yearly raises
- End-of-year merit bonuses and/or productivity bonuses
Ramp Up Recruitment Efforts by Publicizing the Field and Revamping Marketing Approaches
Finally, your recruitment approach and marketing efforts could be making all the difference. To publicize both the trucking industry and any open jobs, your higher-ups may want to:
- Post company flyers in highly trafficked areas
- Advertise starting rates and other benefits in local television ads or on highway billboards
- Hand out informational pamphlets on street corners and in pedestrian locations
- Create a detailed company website and post notices that the company is looking to hire qualified, commercially licensed truck drivers
- Use search engine optimization tricks and other digital marketing methods to help spread the word online about the company and the trucking industry in general
- Start social media channels focused on trucking and post information blurbs, interviews with experienced truckers, video clips of road trips, and occasional company job advertisements
For both small trucking businesses and large transportation corporations, recruiting well-qualified drivers and retaining talented staff can prove to be a significant challenge. Offering in-house training and advancement opportunities, setting high hiring standards, complying with legal safety requirements, offering employment benefits and seniority perks, and publicizing the trucking industry as well as open job positions could all prove helpful to your business.
About Western Truck Insurance Services
Western Truck Insurance Services is a commercial truck insurance agency with roots dating back to 1954. We have evolved into a highly respected, professionally managed, truck and transportation insurance brokerage. The hallmark of our organization is our desire to provide unparalleled service. We go way beyond what you expect to receive from an insurance brokerage. Equipped with state of the art automation, Western Truck Insurance can provide you with lightning fast truck insurance quotes, customer service, Insurance certificates, and coverage changes. Contact us today at (800) 937-8785 to learn more!