5 Key Performance Indicators Driver Recruiters Must Know

Recruiting truck drivers without data is like Dave Roberts setting the Dodgers’ batting line up without looking at the players’ batting averages. But what data is the most important to measure? Here are the 5 key performance indicators driver recruiters must know:

  1. Time Taken to Contact Applicants
  2. Average Time to Hire
  3. Average Cost per Hire
  4. Percentage of Offers Accepted
  5. Quality of Applications Being Received by Sources

Time Taken to Contact Applicants

The speed at which it takes you to contact a driver applicant is of the utmost importance.

One study conducted by Dr. James Oldroyd found some eye-opening results:

  • The odds of contacting a lead are 100 times higher if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes.
  • The odds of qualifying a lead are 21 times higher if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes.

Simply put, the faster you contact drivers after they apply, the more truck drivers you will hire.

Measuring the average time it takes for you to contact driver applications will tell you a lot about why or why not you are having success.

The goal should be for you to get your average time to contact 5 minutes or below.

If you are above 5 minutes to contact an application then there is room for improvement.

One of the easiest ways to boost your contact time is by working with a recruiting agency that sends the applications directly into your ATS. Do not let an agency convince you that sending leads once a day, once a week, etc. is okay.

You need the applications delivered to you in real-time so you can beat out other driver recruiters at contacting that truck driver.

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Average Time to Hire

The sooner you can get a truck driver from applicant, to interview, through orientation, and out on the road, the sooner they can start earning money.

Also, keep in mind that while you are trying to officially hire a driver, they are receiving offers from other companies. If your time to hire takes long then the driver has more time to accept someone else’s offer.

On average, trucking companies take 20-24 days to hire a driver. If you are above the industry average then your competition is beating you. Every day your truck sits idle costs your company thousands of dollars.

It is important to keep track of the entire time from application to hire. However, it is just as important to keep track of the time in between each step of the process.

Knowing the time it takes in between each step will tell you where to focus your efforts. The longest step in the process is the first step you should begin speeding up.

Keep track of your time to hire so you can implement strategies that try to speed up your process. A faster process will make your company more money.

Average Cost Per Hire

Figuring out your average cost per hire is not a complicated process. Simply calculate the sum of money spent on recruiting efforts and divide that number by the sum of drivers hired.

The industry average cost to hire a truck driver is $8,234. Calculating your average cost and comparing it to the industry average is a good measuring stick for your company. Obviously, you should try to have a cost per hire lower than the industry average.

Once you know your average cost per hire you can begin working to lower that number. Implement different recruiting strategies, try different lead sources, etc. and measure which process changes save your company money.

New technologies constantly provide opportunities for your company to optimize hiring processes. Improvements can always be made.

Percentage of Offers Accepted

Convincing truck drivers to apply for your company and convincing them to accept an offer are two different things.

There are agencies you can hire that specialize in getting truck drivers to apply to work for your company. However, you still need to convert those applications into hires.

If a low number of your offers are being accepted by drivers, that is troublesome. It could mean that your offer is not strong enough, the drivers do not like your company culture, your recruiters are underperforming, and many other things.

Losing drivers that you offer the position hurts your company. You are losing out on a driver that you identified as qualified and a good company fit. Those types of drivers are not easy to come by.

Working to increase the percentage of offers accepted is crucial.

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Quality of Applications Being Received by Sources

Unless your company only hires 1-2 drivers a month you are more than likely receiving applications from different sources.

It is up to the driver recruiting department to monitor the quality of truck driver applications they receive from different sources. Using an applicant tracking system can help you sort the sources of applications.

If it is clear that one source is sending you poor quality leads stop spending money on that source.

On the other hand, if you notice one source is sending you high-quality applications then you should increase the spending.

There is some variance in the performance of each source. Some months you will see a specific job board send a bunch of quality applications, and the next month you get zero from the board. Measuring the sources over an extended period is necessary to notice trends.

If your company is not keeping track of any key performance indicators then you are below average. These are the 5 key performance indicators driver recruiters must know to optimize their performance.

What other KPIs does your team measure? Comment below!

7 Questions Trucking Companies Must Ask About an Applicant Tracking System

Small carriers may be able to operate and recruit truck drivers without an ATS. However, as companies grow to be mid-sized and beyond they need to purchase an ATS to manage their driver applications. Here are the 7 questions trucking companies must ask about an applicant tracking system.

7 questions to ask:

  1. What is the Price of This System?
  2. Can You Use it to Contact Potential Truck Drivers?
  3. Will you be Able to Speed up Your Process? 
  4. How Easy is it to Use?
  5. Does the ATS Provide any other Tools?
  6. Can You Easily Visualize Past Data?
  7. Can Your Driver Recruiting Agency Send Leads to the ATS?

What is the Price of This System?

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This question may be the most obvious of all seven questions. Of course, you are going to try and figure out the price of any new system you need to purchase.

However,

There are many different pricing models used by companies. Pricing models include:

  • Cost per user
  • Cost per number of employees
  • Cost per hire
  • Cost per feature
  • A flat fee charged either monthly, quarterly, or yearly

Before you sign any contract, make sure to read the fine print. Some companies are going to try and charge you for things like support and employee training.

Can You Use it to Contact Potential Truck Drivers?

If the answer to this question is “no”, then you need to find another ATS.

Being able to communicate with truck driver applicants via the ATS makes the process significantly easier. Things like unread emails and missed phone calls will be reduced significantly if you can communicate through your ATS

Also, being able to contact drivers through the ATS is going to allow you to reduce the time from application to first contact. The moment the application hits your ATS you will be able to call the truck driver.

The faster you can call driver applicants, the higher your conversion rate will be.

Will you be Able to Speed up Your Process?

In addition to speeding up your time to contact new applicants, your ATS needs to speed up the other steps of your process.

The ATS needs to allow you to collect and file paperwork, collaborate with fellow recruiters, keep the driver informed, and facilitate background checks.

How Easy is it to Use?

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An applicant tracking system is not good if none of the employees in the company know how to use it.

Also, keep in mind that some companies may charge you for company training sessions. So if you purchase an ATS that is too complicated and you need multiple training sessions, it can become quite expensive.

On the flip side of that, an ATS that is too simple may not provide all of the features you need. Think of yourself as Goldilocks looking for the “just right” amount of complexity.

Does the ATS Provide any Other Tools? 

Many applicant tracking systems are great at helping you keep track of new applicants and getting people hired. However, some ATSs offer features that go above and beyond.

If you have a large budget and can afford these extra features, they can come in handy.

Tenstreet, for example, offers applications that allow carriers to market to drivers, track their applications, hire them, and make sure the driver is following safety guidelines.

Can you Easily Visualize Past Data?

Looking back at past data is essential to any effective recruitment campaign. Your ATS should enable you to look at past results and see what works.

The truck driver recruiting strategy your company uses needs to be constantly evolving. Strategy evolves by analyzing the data of past campaigns and responding to the market.

If your ATS does not allow you to easily create visuals that depict past campaigns it may be tough to figure out what is working and what is not.

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Can Your Driver Recruiting Agency Send Leads to the ATS?

What good is your applicant tracking system if your driver recruiting agency can not submit applicants to it? If you have to submit the applications by hand after they are sent to you by the agency, you are losing valuable time.

Having a truck driver recruiting agency run your digital advertising and sending the leads they generate to your ATS is the most efficient way to get applicants.

A process where your digital driver recruiting agency feeds leads into your ATS for your recruiters to contact is best. This allows recruiters to focus on recruiting and not worry about anything else.

If you are a small carrier looking to expand into a mid-sized carrier, you will undoubtedly need an ATS. Use the 7 questions trucking companies must ask about an applicant tracking system to ensure you get the right ATS for your growth.