What Do Truck Drivers Want From Their Employers

I am sure you have asked yourself “what do truck drivers want?” while trying to recruit drivers. Truck drivers want pay that respects their time and energy, time at home with their families, to be safe, and be a part of a family. It boils down to truckers want what we all want.

Sticky note of recruiter asking what do truck drivers want.

Pay That Shows Respect

The median pay of truck drivers is $45,260. If you ask drivers they will tell you that their pay is far too low for the work they do, and they have a legitimate case. Look at how CDL drivers across the country stepped up when we needed them most at the start of the pandemic.

Truck drivers, like most people, view their pay as a sign of how much their employer values them. Start paying your drivers more to show them that you recognize how critical they are to your company’s success.

In addition to low wages, most drivers are not fans of the CPM payment structure. So much of the trucker’s job involves labor that does not include driving on the road. Drivers should be paid for this labor.

Switching your payment structure from CPM to either hourly wage or salary is exactly the type of thing that truck drivers want from their employers.

Home Time to See Loved Ones

Truck drivers often start their careers as young people with little responsibility. This leads to them accepting positions that have them on the road for long periods of time. They accept these positions because they want to travel the country and earn more money.

However, as drivers age they begin to prioritize settling down. This means that they are looking for positions that provide them more home time.

As the truck driver recruiter, it is up to you to constantly gauge your drivers and see where they stand. You need to find the truck drivers looking to settle down and offer them positions that offer them more home time.

Ray Haight discusses the importance of home time in his retention series Ray Knows Best.

Happy couple enjoying their home time together

Safety Comes First

Safety is one of the most important things for CDL drivers. No one wants to work for a company that places them in situations that compromise their safety.

Unfortunately, many truck drivers feel as if their employers value profits over the safety of the truck drivers. They will share horror stories of dispatchers forcing the driver to drive through the night, despite a lack of sleep, to make sure the shipment arrives on time.

Quality truck drivers want to make it home to their family/loved ones safely. Quality truck drivers want to work for a company that prioritizes their safety and well being.

Family Atmosphere 

Above all else, truckers want to work for a company that makes them feel like they are a part of a family. Drivers are looking for companies where upper management knows the names of their drivers.

“Employees who feel valued are more likely to be engaged in their work and feel satisfied and motivated.” – Christy Matta, M.A

Imagine your child (substitute any family member if you do not have kids) works as a driver, how would you want them to be treated? The answer to that question is how you need to treat your drivers.

The best way to promote your company’s family atmosphere is through a comprehensive social media campaign.

Employees that work for a family atmosphere

Knowing what truck drivers want from their employers can help you recruit more effectively and retain better. Do not over complicate the process. CDL drivers are people too, they want what we all want.

How to Stay Productive Recruiting From Home

The Coronavirus is forcing millions of people to work from home who previously had never done so. This sudden transition has caught many people off guard. If you have not adapted to recruiting from home, then you are missing out on hiring the drivers that are in need of work. Here is how to stay productive when recruiting from home.

Designate Certain Times of The Day For Certain Tasks

As a recruiter you have so many different responsibilities that it can be difficult to choose where to start. The beginning of each day can be overwhelming when you look at all the outreach, orientation tasks, and retention efforts that need to be done.

Recruiters need to be focused on one of the three areas mentioned above. Before you start each day allocate specific times to focus on one area at a time.

For example, your daily schedule could look like this:

  • 9:00am – 11:00am focus on retaining drivers
  • 11:00am – Noon social media outreach
  • Noon – 1:00pm lunch
  • 1:00pm – 3:00pm focus on orientation
  • 3:00pm – 4:30pm calling/reaching out to potential hires
  • 4:30pm – 5:00pm answering emails and wrapping the day up

Each day will be different as your top priority will change. Make sure to be building your schedule so that you are allocating the most time to your most important projects.

Take Advantage of Technology 

Now is the time to experiment with new technology in your recruiting process. There will not be any in-person-job-fairs or hiring events happening any time soon.

It is up to you to get creative with the tools you have.

Maybe instead of calling all of your potential drivers, you ask them if they want to do a Zoom meeting.

Universities around the country are offering online courses for free. Try taking a digital marketing course and using those strategies.

Technology will enable you to reach drivers and build relationships as effectively as in person recruiting before the pandemic. Recruiters that do not take advantage of technology will struggle.

Find a Specific Work Area, and Close it Off 

Working from home comes with a set of challenges and distractions that are not issues in the office. Kids, pets, chores, etc. all weigh on you while working from home.

Man working at home, quarantined from the corona virus

The best way to escape those distractions is to find a specific work area and close it off from the rest of your home.

If you have a home office keep the door closed during work hours. Having the door open invites distractions into your office and invites you to get up and leave the office.

Don’t have a home office? Set up a makeshift office in a room that does not get used often. The guest bedroom is a great option.

Noise cancelling headphones are the best option if you cannot physically close yourself off from distractions.

Shut Off The Computer at The End of The Day

Teleworking from home makes it easier to convince yourself to work late. Your computer is right next to you all the time and it is tempting to work extra hours.

Now that we do not have to physically leave the office, work and home lives blend easier.

Working too much will end up being counterproductive. Long work hours lead to poor sleep and eventually burnout.

Dress For The Door

One of the biggest perks of working from home is that there is no dress code! You get to dress however you please.

Online you will see a lot of people recommending that you still get up and get ready for the day as normal. However, if you are used to dressing in business attire everyday then that advice probably makes you cringe.

It is great advice to stick to your morning routine. That will get your mind ready for the day. Instead of dressing professionally, dress in a way that you would feel comfortable answering the door for a stranger. Comfortable, yet not too unprofessional.

For the next few months, working from home is our reality. Each of us is impacted in our own way by the pandemic. Following the steps above will help you overcome these new challenges to stay productive while recruiting from home.

How to Keep Drivers From Backing Out

Hiring qualified truck drivers is hard! That is no secret. Writing enticing job posts, getting drivers to apply, going through the interview process, offering the position, and putting the driver through orientation is a long and expensive process.

The average cost to hire a new driver is $8,612. As a recruiter, nothing is more deflating than going through 95% of the process only to have the driver bail. Unfortunately, this occurs far too often.  A survey conducted by Robert Half staffing agency shows that 28% of people admit to backing out of a job offer after accepting it. Here is how to keep drivers from backing out before orientation.

Offer Competitive Benefits, and Shout Them From the Rooftops

Many truckers feel that they are underpaid, overworked, and treated with little respect. This feeling is one of the driving forces behind the high turnover rate. If your company is offering benefits that are on the low side then drivers are likely to back out.

The Robert Half survey mentioned earlier found that of all the employees who backed out of an offered position, 44% of them did so because they received a better offer from another employer. Offering competitive benefits is only part of the equation.

As the recruiter it is up to you to make the benefits of the position abundantly clear. Handing the applicant paperwork that lays out the benefits is not enough. Repeatedly through the hiring process you need to highlight the benefits offered.

Get the applicant excited about the opportunity. If you do not ingrain the company’s benefits into the applicant’s mind you are leaving the door cracked for another company to use their benefits to lure the applicant away.

Slow Onboarding Speeds Increase Frustration 

A slow onboarding process can be frustrating for new hires. Being hired by a company  is an exciting moment for drivers. Either this is the driver’s first driving job, it is a second chance, or they are being hired for a position that better aligns with their personal needs.

However, a painstaking onboarding process can kill that excitement the driver felt when initially hired. Difficult paperwork, manually submitting documents, figuring out how to get to orientation, delayed drug tests, etc. are all headache inducing actions.

In addition to increasing the levels of frustration, a prolonged onboarding process increases the amount of time other companies have to lure your hire away from you. High levels of frustration combined with an extended amount of time for competition to poach your applicants is a recipe for disaster.

Tenstreet has some excellent tools for increasing the speed of your onboarding process.

frustrated driver on the verge of backing out of their new job

Personally Call Your Applicants at Each Step

In the past, we have written about the importance of calling leads immediately after they apply. Phoning does not lose its importance as the hiring process goes on. In fact, phoning becomes more important. You must be calling your applicants as much as you can.

By calling the driver you will establish a personal relationship with them. Drivers are less likely to back out on a job offer, even if presented with a better option, if they have a relationship with the recruiter. Applicants will feel loyal to you if you take the time and effort to build a relationship with them.

As a truck driver recruiter dealing with applicants backing out of a position is part of the job. That does not make it any less frustrating. By taking a few extra steps, you can keep drivers from backing out before orientation. Make sure the driver knows the company benefits, speed up your onboarding process, and build a personal relationship by calling the driver frequently.