Tag: recruitment

How to Use Email Marketing for Driver Recruitment

Posted on by Jake Peters

A truck driver’s email inbox is one of the best places to recruit drivers. However, email marketing is not a walk in the park. Here is how to use email marketing for driver recruitment.

  • Find an ESP That Best Fits Your Needs
  • Build a Strong Email List 
  • Segment the Drivers Accordingly 
  • Keep Emails Personal and Entertaining 
  • Create a Pipeline of Top Performing Drivers 
  • Semi-Frequent Job Alerts

Email Marketing Campaign concept. Digital Inbound advertising (useful newsletter, interesting promotional material) or Outbound (cold emails, spam) advertisement business strategy.

Find an ESP That Best Fits Your Needs

ESP stands for Email Service Provider. Email service providers allow companies to send email campaigns to a list of subscribers.

At the most basic level, ESPs do two things: store email addresses and send emails.

In addition to storing email addresses and sending emails, ESPs will help you build segments, create engaging email content, and report campaign performance.

Picking the best email service provider can be a difficult decision. To effectively make the decision you need to figure out what kind of features you are looking for before looking at different ESPs.

Ask yourself:

  • How much are we willing to pay?
  • How many people need to access the ESP?
  • Do we need extensive spam filters?
  • Do we need an ESP built specifically for trucking companies?
  • Or can we use any ESP?
  • How much design help do we need?

The answers to the above questions will help determine the best ESP for your company. It is good to ask these questions so you do not end up with an ESP that has too many features or not enough.

Build a Strong Email List

Your driver recruitment email campaign is only as strong as the list you are sending the emails to. If the drivers on your list are not interacting with the emails then the emails are being wasted.

One of the best strategies to get potential drivers engaging with your emails is to get them to sign up for your emails via different lead generation methods.

These lead generation methods can include:

  • Offer a joining incentive
  • Provide a free downloadable resource
  • Registration for a free webinar.

Another strategy you can use for building your email list is creating a Facebook group for drivers and asking for emails to join the group.

Drivers signing up for your emails are interested in hearing from you. A list of willing participants is more valuable than a list that you purchase from another company.

Segment Drivers Accordingly

Groups of wooden people. The concept of market segmentation. Marketing segmentation, target audience, customer care. Market group of buyers. Customer analysis and customer relationship management

Even though your email list will be composed entirely of truck drivers, that does not mean that they will all want the same content from you.

Your campaigns will see much more engagement if you send drivers relevant content based on their preferences.

For example, if there are drivers on your email list that you have hired recently, and you don’t segment the list, then they are going to become annoyed seeing emails about job openings from the company they work for.

Common segmentation criteria for driver recruiting email include:

  • Experience level
  • Certifications
  • Location
  • Employment status
  • Activity level

Segmenting lets you provide drivers with tailor-made content which reduces your unsubscribe rates and increases open rates.

Keep Emails Personal and Entertaining 

People do not want to read cookie-cutter emails containing boring content.

Personalized emails have a 29% higher unique open rate and 41% unique click rates than non-personalized emails.

Drivers want engaging content that feels like it was personally made for them. A quick and easy way to make emails feel personalized is to use automation to address readers by their first name.

In addition to using their name, you can send birthday emails, skill-building opportunities, and industry updates for drivers with the same qualifications as the reader.

Create a Pipeline of Top Performing Drivers

As you implement email marketing into your driver recruiting strategy, you are going to hire drivers from your email list.

You need to keep tabs on the drivers you hire and measure their performance. The drivers you hire and are top performers need to be added to a special segment.

Having a pipeline filled with top-performing drivers is a huge asset for your company. Once the pipeline is built out, you will have constant communication with people you know for certain fill your driver criteria.

Even after the drivers leave your company you get to keep recruiting them and hopefully rehire them in the future.

Semi-Frequent Job Alerts

We hiring now banner job offer vector background. Hiring promotion megaphone employee illustration

The purpose of the email marketing campaign is to keep drivers engaged with your company. It is not intended to bombard drivers with your open positions.

Your first goal needs to be engagement. Once that has been established you can start sprinkling in job alerts.

However,

Make sure that the alerts you are sending match the segments you send them to. If the position you are hiring for requires certain endorsements then only send that segments of drivers you know have the necessary endorsements.

Make sure you are only sending job alerts a couple of times a month. Do not overwhelm drivers on your email list. Doing so will result in drivers unsubscribing from your emails.

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective recruiting strategies. Once your company nails the process, you have a direct line of communication with truck drivers. Follow this guide and begin email marketing for driver recruitment.

Guide to Content Creation for Driver Recruitment

Posted on by admin

Content is king. It is how trucking companies educate and build relationships with potential drivers. Today, 85% of job searches begin at a search engine, drivers research companies before making a decision. The right content will guide a driver from awareness, to consideration, to application. Here is the guide to content creation for driver recruitment.

Content That Generates Awareness

Content that generates awareness for your company is crucial because it creates the first impression with drivers. 

“Two things remain irretrievable: time and a first impression.” – Cynthia Ozick

The content you create to generate awareness needs to focus more on painting your company in a positive light and less on the fine details of the position. Hook the drivers with engaging content. 

The three main areas you are going to want to focus on to generate awareness are social media, paid media, and company brand. 

Social Media 

Social media is the best place to show off your company. You control everything that is posted so you control how positive the company comes off as. 

On your company’s pages, post a lot of visual content. People do not want to read long paragraphs when they are scrolling through Facebook. 

Post photos of drivers happy to be on the job, digestible graphics that depict company growth, and short videos. The videos must have subtitles and cover things like driver testimonials, company wide celebrations, and what it is like to work for your company. 

Paid Media 

Paid media is a great way to generate awareness because you can pay to be in front of the eyes of your exact target demographic. 

However, drivers will know that what they are seeing is a paid advertisement and will move on from it quickly. 

Create eye catching images, and catchy slogans in big font for your paid media. Every millisecond you can get drivers to look at your advertisement is a win. 

Company Brand

Drivers often first hear of your company via word of mouth. Your company brand will dictate whether that word of mouth message is positive or negative. 

To build a strong brand image, create content that shows off all the positive things your company does. Show how you take care of drivers, interact in the community, and any other goodwill the company does. 

You will want to post this content on your website and social media. It is just as much for your current drivers as it is for prospective drivers. Current drivers that love the company they work for will tell their friends about your company.

Now the Driver is Hooked and in Consideration

After becoming aware of your company, if a driver likes your content they will then consider working for your company. 

In the consideration phase, drivers need more in depth information on the position and company. They are looking for things like employee-generated content, company mission, and company updates. 

Employee-Generated Content

First hand accounts from your drivers are authentic and resonate with candidates. 

Following a driver around with a camera to create a “day in the life of” video is an example of employee-generated content. 

Another example is interviewing your highest performing drivers and asking them what they enjoy about working for your company. 

The goal of employee-generated content is to create authentic material to sell candidates on your company. Potential drivers will get tired of hearing from the recruiter why the company is so great, but will enjoy hearing from another driver. 

Company Mission

If you want to see how powerful a company mission is, watch Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk “Start With Why”.

Drivers that have core values that align with your company’s will be far more likely to apply and then stay with you long term. 

People are not motivated to act by what you do but why you do it.

Company Updates

Drivers will look to receive company updates if they are interested in working for you. They will sign up for your weekly newsletter or frequently check your company’s blog. 

If you do not have some form of frequent company updates, it is time to start one. 

Quality drivers want to work for a quality company. Weekly updates will show interested drivers the awesome things you do each and every week. 

Colorful blocks spell out the word "content" with blurry blocks in background

Getting That Application

Once drivers begin making moves to submit an application, they need more technical content. At this point they have already decided that they want to be a part of your company and now they need to know how to apply.

Drivers will need in-depth job descriptions, personalized landing pages, and an easy to follow online application.

Job Descriptions

Drivers more than likely skimmed through the job description during the consideration phase. Now that they are ready to apply, they will give it a longer look over. 

For drivers, pay is one of the most important elements of a position. They also care about things like home time, and any other benefits. 

Describe all of these things clearly, and do not oversell the position. Be honest and sure you can deliver on all promises made in the description.

Personalized Landing Pages

You need to make a personalized landing page for drivers that are applying for your company. Think of this as a chance for you to roll out the virtual red carpet for new drivers. 

On the landing page add photos of employees welcoming the new applicant and a video of upper management saying they are thrilled the driver is applying. 

Also, include writing that highlights the next steps and a call to action. The call to action needs to call for the driver to officially submit the application.

Easy to Follow Application

The final moment. Your content successfully generated awareness, got the driver to consider working for you, and has welcomed the driver that clicked on the new applicant landing page. 

Do not lose them because your application is too confusing/time consuming. 

Write clear and concise instructions. Use tools that make uploading documents easier and require as little writing as possible. 

Content is king when it comes to digital driver recruitment. The proper content will generate awareness, consideration, and applications. Each step requires different kinds of content. Follow this guide to make the right kind of content and generate more applications.

Top Tools For Digital Driver Recruitment

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Digital driver recruitment campaigns have four main disciplines that need to be satisfied in order to have positive results. There is data analytics, paid media, interaction with drivers, and content creation. Here is a list of tools to help you in each category.

Data Analytics to Provide Key Insights

Capturing data and using a platform to visualize the data will help keep the campaign efficient. These tools will enable you to make the smartest decisions.

Google Analytics

Adding Google Analytics’ tracking code to your site will provide endless insites. You can see things like how people arrived at your site, what demographic visits your site the most, what people do once they get to your site, and much more. 

All of this data will show you what type of content you need to be producing, where you need to publish it, and what areas you need to ignore. For example, if Analytics shows that LinkedIn ads are driving little site traffic then it would be wise to stop paying for the ads. 

If you have never used Google Analytics before, read this article from Hubspot. 

MOZ 

Search engine optimization is one of the least understood forms of marketing. MOZ’ goal is to simplify SEO through their software, education, and community.

Without MOZ, or any tool like it, SEO would be nearly impossible. MOZ’ tools will provide data on how many times a keyphrase is looked up, who links back to you, and your competition’s SEO statistics.

Using MOZ will allow you to rank for highly searched keywords and develop organic traffic to your site. 

Paid Media For High Exposure 

Digital campaigns are not free. You are going to need to pay to get your advertisement in front of the eyes of potential drivers. Here are the best platforms to do so.                                                                                                       

Google Ads

Google Ads will place your site at the top of the page when people search specific phrases. You pay based on how many people click on the ad. 

Another great thing with Google Ads is that you can set a budget. Once the total cost nears the budget limit you set, Google will take down your ad to avoid over charging you.

Through Google Ads you will also be able to set up display remarketing campaigns. Any driver who visits your site will automatically see your display ads on other sites. 

Facebook Ads

Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform amongst drivers. You can reach the drivers by interacting in groups, but Facebook Ads exposes your company even more.

Paying for Facebook Ads will display your job advertisement on the driver’s screen when there is no other competition. 

Also, through Facebook Ads you can advertise on Instagram (a Facebook owned company). 

Job Store

Managing postings and job board purchases across multiple sites is a difficult task. That is where Job Store from Tenstreet comes into play. 

The Tenstreet Job Store aggregates all of their job board partners into one place for easy access. This makes it much easier to keep track of all your job board purchases and find which boards are the most effective. 

Using the Job Store is free!

Interact With Drivers and Sell Them on Your Company

Interacting with drivers online is a great way to share your company’s voice with potential hires. Show your personality through social media and direct messaging.

Job Board Scrubber

Tenstreet provides a virtual recruiter that nurtures every application when they are hot. Right after a driver submits an application they receive a personalized email.

After the driver receives the initial email, they will receive a series of timed messages over the next few days. The best part is that the messages are sent automatically. 

Drip Marketing

Drip Marketing is a great tool for email campaigns. You get to design your emails with your branding. 

This tool is different from the Job Board Scrubber because it sends emails to a list that you built, not just drivers who recently applied. With this tool you can stay in touch with drivers that showed interest a while ago, former drivers, and anyone else who gave their email. 

Hootsuite

Without a tool like Hootsuite, regularly posting on social media is challenging. Hootsuite allows you to plan posts out in advance, and then the app automatically posts for you. 

Take two hours of your day and you can have social media posts lined up for an entire campaign.

Drivers will look over your social media accounts when they consider working for you. It is important to post regularly to show off how great the company is. 

Professional Content Makes a Lasting Impression 

Canva

Creating content is time consuming and a challenge, especially if you are not a trained designer. Luckily, there is Canva.

Canva comes with thousands of templates to choose from. You can make anything from flyers, to business cards, to social media posts, etc. in minutes. They all look professional too!

In addition to making design easy, the site provides an abundance of learning resources. Use the site to take your design skills to the next level. 

Data analytics, paid media, driver interaction, and content creation are all necessary for a successful recruitment campaign. Without the right tools it is much harder to thrive in each of those areas. Use the tools above to succeed at digital driver recruitment.

Essential Elements of a Digital Driver Recruitment Campaign

Posted on by admin

Word visual of all elements involved with digital recruitment. Words are sprawled out over work desk.Thanks to COVID-19 a large portion of the globe is working from home. Traditional driver recruitment methods, like job fairs, have been cancelled. However, the need for quality drivers has never been higher. Digital driver recruitment is your best option. Here are the essential elements of a digital driver recruitment campaign. Implement these into your digital campaigns for maximum results.

Interacting and Building a Presence on Social Media

Truckers are very active on all social media platforms, especially Facebook. Facebook’s group features enable drivers from across the country to connect with each other. Groups also enable recruiters to connect with drivers. Meet customers (in this case potential drivers) where they are. Be active in these groups and sell potential drivers on working for your company.

Social media is used by drivers to research potential employers. Drivers will look up your company on all social media platforms if they are considering working with you. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase how great your company is. Post photos of your company picnic, positive driver testimonials, and content from regular day-to-day interactions. These posts will make potential drivers want to work for you.

Make Your Content Driver Friendly With Mobile First Design

Every piece of content released by your company must be easily accessed on a mobile device. Drivers are not in front of a computer often. They do their web surfing from their smartphones or tablets.

Content that must be designed for mobile devices include: company website, landing pages, any ads your company runs, and all emails sent to drivers.

Pay-Per-Click Advertisements to Generate Awareness

For a fee, platforms like Google, Facebook, and Indeed will place your job advertisements right in front of the people you want to see them. Your company is only charged the fee every time a driver clicks on your ad.

Paid search ads have a click through rate of roughly 3.75% and display ads are around 0.77%. PPC advertising will not generate huge numbers of applicants. But, it is an excellent tool for generating awareness for your company.

Search Engine Optimization Generates Applicants

PPC advertising may have a low click through rate, Search engine optimization is the opposite. Ranking number one for a Google search result has an average click through rate of 31.7%. If your company ranks high for common trucker searches then you will generate a large number of site visits. Site visits turn into applicants.

Focus on the SEO Three and you will increase your ranking over time. The SEO Three consists of: content, technical, and links. Your company needs to create engaging content, have a technically sound site, and find ways to get other sites to link back to your site.

Website Design is Your Company’s First Impression

Drivers are going to research your company if they are considering applying for one of your available positions. They will visit your site. A poor quality site will give the first impression that your company is not professional. Professional quality sites will create a first impression that sells drivers on working for your company.

Landing pages are a critical part of your website. The page that drivers land on when they click on one of your ads or emails is the landing page. A well designed landing page will excite the driver and have a strong call to action. A call to action is going to be what gets drivers to apply.

Technical Strategies Provide Key Insights and Hyper-Focus

Digital driver recruitment campaigns need a technical strategy. Tools like Google Analytics will show you where your site traffic is coming from. Use this data to gain key insights that guide your digital recruitment strategy.

In addition to providing data driven insights, there are technical marketing strategies you need to be using. These strategies enable your campaigns to hyper focus on your desired niche market. Geofencing, for example, will allow you to only show your job advertisements to drivers in a specific area. Retargeting is another technical strategy that will show your ads to anyone who has visited your website.

Email Lists Connect Your Company to Interested Drivers

Starting building an email list of every driver that is ever shown any interest in your job postings. Include former drivers that you would like to rejoin your company. Platforms like MailChimp will help you organize your email list, design emails, and send them out to everyone.

Emails need to be eye catching and informative. Do not overwhelm the reader with too much text. Some great things to include in an email campaign are: pictures of happy employees, testimonials, company achievements, profiles on high performing drivers, and messages from upper management.

For the near future, in-person driver recruitment is not possible. However, drivers are in higher demand because of the pandemic. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to begin digital driver recruitment, and make sure to use the essential elements.

6 Tips For a Successful Digital Driver Recruitment Campaign

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Digital recruitment campaign graphic

57% of the world’s population are active internet users. The internet has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Because of this, it makes sense that recruitment campaigns are becoming more web based. Companies are shifting from print media and career fairs to digital driver recruitment campaigns. Digital driver recruitment campaigns are more efficient than the old methods and they provide a higher ROI. Here are 6 tips for a successful digital driver recruitment campaign.

1) Create Relevant and Engaging Content

Prior to publishing any recruitment content you need to decide who your ideal candidates are. Are you hiring for diversity? Are you in need of a driver with specific endorsements? Do you want to hire team drivers? Use these answers to guide what type of content you create. For example, if you are wanting to hire team drivers you must use images of team drivers in your ads.

2) Be Active in Trucking Social Media Groups

Facebook and Linkedin have hundreds of groups dedicated to connecting drivers with recruiters. Being active and establishing a presence within these groups is an excellent way to find new drivers. However, it is important to note that there is a lot of competition in these groups. Drivers are bombarded with job opportunities from recruiters. Standing out from all the other job postings in these groups can be a challenge. It is important to be active in these groups but do not put all of your eggs in this basket.

3) Build Your Reputation as a Company That Prioritizes Drivers

Drivers talk with each other constantly about the companies they work for. Your company will be discussed online between drivers. If your company prioritizes its drivers, word will spread. On the flip side, drivers will know if your company does not prioritize its drivers. By building a reputation as a company that prioritizes drivers, applicants will keep an eye out for your job postings. Build a reputation as a company that prioritizes its drivers by incorporating trust into the hiring process and using effective retention strategies.

4) Use Tools That Screen Out Unqualified Applicants

Implementing a digital recruitment campaign allows you to use digital tools that streamline the process. Programs like Zapier or ZipRecruiter filters make it so that you never have to see any applicants that do not meet your requirements. Recruiters do not need to waste their time with unqualified driver applicants when digital recruitment campaigns are used.

5) Geo-Target Drivers in Your Hiring Region

Geo-targeting  enables you to send ads to drivers in specific regions. Do not waste your time sorting through applicants from outside your hiring region. Digital recruitment campaigns will only be seen by potential drivers within your hiring region. Another advantage to geo-targeting is that you can send ads to areas that you know drivers will be. You can target truck stops, driver conventions, CDL schools, etc.

6) Design a Landing Page That Encourages Drivers to Apply

A well designed landing page is essential for any digital recruitment campaign. Even well crafted and placed ads will not generate applicants if the ad is not linked to a landing page. Drivers do not want to click on an ad that takes them to the homepage of your company’s website. An ad should link to a landing page that sells the driver on working for your company and allows the driver to apply on the page. According to Kelly Anderson, shortening the recruiting cycle will lead to more quality drivers applying for your positions.

Digital driver recruitment campaigns can be a daunting task. If you do not know what you are doing then you will see poor results and feel as if you wasted time and money. However, follow these tips to start seeing positive results. Digital driver recruitment campaigns will become your go to recruitment strategy.

How to Set Up Your Company for Recruitment Success

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Today, drivers are more accessible than ever. You can reach drivers 24/7 because of the internet. So why is it that companies across the nation are struggling to recruit talent? The problem may be that companies are not setting up their recruitment team for success. In order to effectively find qualified drivers online your company needs to utilize digital marketing specialists. Either hire specialists in-house or work with an agency. Recruiters have enough to worry about, don’t put too much on their plate by expecting them to also become digital marketers. The more time recruiters spend online trying to implement digital marketing strategies, the less time they can spend recruiting. Here is how to set up your company for recruitment success.

Recruiters Need to Recruit!

Recruiters are intended to contact quality drivers, get them through orientation, and keep them in the company. Digital marketing should not be one of their responsibilities. Recruiter efficiency will be maximized in a system where they are provided a pool of warm leads. Then the recruiters can focus on phoning.

Kelly Anderson talks about distracted recruiters in his webinar, Latest Techniques for Finding & Recruiting Truck Drivers. Here he mentions that recruiters get distracted with finding drivers online and forget to call them. This leads to poor results.

If a recruiter is not on the phone trying to bring drivers into the door then they need to be focused on orientation, building trust with drivers, and retention. Articles by CDL Training Spot, and Tenstreet discuss what it takes to be a successful driver recruiter. Neither article mentions anything about learning digital marketing strategies that find qualified drivers online.

Every work related task that the recruiter does needs to be directly related to speaking with potential drivers, getting drivers through orientation, and retaining top talent. Anything else the recruiter does is not optimizing their time.

Team of digital marketers

Recruiters are NOT Digital Marketers

Recruiters should not have anything to do with implementing a driver focused digital marketing strategy. Digital marketing and driver recruiting are two fields that require an immense amount of time and attention to detail.

An effective digital campaign will involve technical strategies such as social media interaction, geofencing, mobile-first design, and building a recruitment landing page. Randall Reilly wrote an article on the Top Four Digital Trends for Recruiting Truck Drivers. According to the article the top trends are: mobile, social, video, and hot topics. Do you want your recruiters spending their days making videos and writing blog posts or contacting potential drivers?

Trying to recruit and market will lead to recruiters not doing either one particularly well. You do not want your recruiters to be a ‘Jack of All Trades, Master of None’. Set up an environment where recruiters can be master recruiters and another team can be master digital marketers.

Trucking companies need to setup an ecosystem where either an agency or an in-house team focus solely on digital marketing strategies that find qualified drivers. Then recruiters start smiling and dialing their way through that pool of drivers. Finally, the recruiters need to devote some time to orientation and retention. This system is how you set up your company for recruitment success.

You Need a Well Designed Recruitment Landing Page

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One of the key messages that Driveteks conveys is the importance of your company’s web presence. Last week I watched Latest Techniques for Finding & Recruiting Truck Drivers,a webinar by Kelly Anderson and Matt Lee, and in it they discussed how important it is to have a well designed recruitment landing page. Boost your recruitment efforts with a well designed landing page. A landing page is the section of a website accessed by clicking a link on another web page. During your recruitment campaigns, the link you provide on your job posts will take applicants to your recruitment landing page. Implementing a well designed landing page will create a great first impression with applicants, provide the necessary information, and increase the number of applicants.

Team building a well designed landing page together

Nail Your First Impressions

The first thing drivers will do if interested in your job posting is click on the link to your website. That recruitment landing page is the first interaction your company has with potential drivers. Studies show that your landing page has 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression.

Driver applicants are going to click on your link, visit your landing page, and before reading a single word, make a judgement about your company based on the design of the page.

A well designed landing page will look good on a computer screen and a mobile device. If applicants are having a poor experience on your landing page then your recruiters are fighting an uphill battle.

Drivers that are impressed by your landing page will become excited about the possibility of working for your company. They will be happy to work with your recruiters. In some cases, a powerful landing page can inspire driver applicants to contact you about open positions!

The best way to ensure your company has a well designed landing page is by working with a design agency (preferably one that specializes in design for truck driver recruiting).

Provide Applicants With Information That Sells The Company

Few things are more annoying to a potential applicant than when they look for information beyond the job posting and they are unable to find any. The recruitment landing page is the ideal place to provide all of the position specific information an applicant may need.

Provide details such as pay, benefits, routes, etc., but also include information that will sell the applicant on the position. Include photos that show off where the driver will be based out of, the truck they may be driving, and employees that are happy to be at work.

Positive testimonials from current/former employees are another great source of information that will sell applicants on working for your company.

Place yourself in the drivers shoes, would you rather apply for a company that a) has a malfunctioning website b) shares basic facts about the position c) shares the basics along with high quality photos, a video, and strong testimonials?

Recruit like a marketer and implement a landing page that shares exciting information with driver applicants.

Watch as the Number of Applicants Climb

Drivers will research a company and position before they apply. If drivers have a strong first impression consuming information that sells the company then they are more likely to apply. The recruitment landing page will get the driver excited about the company. Then a carefully placed ‘call to action’ will encourage them to apply. Driveteks built a new website, including a recruitment landing page, for Nagle Trucks and this is what they had to say,

“Using Driveteks changed the way we utilize our website as a business and recruitment tool. Our website went from a site to store information to a tool for our business development and recruitment process. We went from having 1-3 candidates a week to 25-30 candidates a week.”

A well designed website and recruitment landing page drastically increased the number of applicants Nagle was receiving.

In today’s recruiting landscape, digital strategies are becoming more and more important. The recruitment landing page is one of the most critical elements to any recruiting campaign. A well designed recruitment landing page will create positive first impressions, share information that sells the position/company, and increases the number of applicants your job postings receive.

Building Trust Into the Truck Driver Recruitment Process

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It is no secret that there is a growing disconnect between drivers and recruiters. The feeling that recruiters will say anything to get drivers into seats is growing amidst drivers. You need to work on building trust into the truck driver recruitment process. When asked about their skepticism of recruiters a driver said,

“Because recruiters are in sales… they’re selling their employer’s driving positions to you…”

So the question stands, how do recruiters establish trust with applicants?

 

Self Reflect, Where is the Miscommunication Coming From?

Cartoon between cat and dog depicts business miscommunication

Recruiters that we have spoken to about mistrust claim that they do not intentionally lie to drivers. They say that miscommunications occur when the carriers pass information intended for the applicants through the recruiters. Similar to the game telephone.

A recruiter I spoke with on the topic said,

“Most of the ‘lying’ is actually miscommunication. Trucking has a lot of moving parts in real time and things change constantly and instantly.”

In order to buck this trend you must analyze your current flow of information and identify points where miscommunication can occur. Identifying these points will enable you to attack them head on.

Deploy Radical Transparency Through the Entire Recruitment Process

Ray Dalio popularized the term ‘radical transparency’ in his book Principles. In layman’s terms, ‘radical transparency’ is being transparent in every step of the process. This will improve overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Throughout the recruitment process, you need to be radically transparent at each step. Inform the applicant about the possible areas of miscommunication. This may seem counterproductive; however, doing so will lay the foundation for trust that a mutually beneficial relationship can be built on.

By laying this foundation of trust, we can then begin to build the type of relationship that will make the driver want to stay with the company. While reflecting on all the times they had been recruited a driver said,

“The only recruiter that was truthful with me was the one for the company I’m with now.”

In the case of this driver, all it took for the recruiter to earn the driver’s loyalty was for the recruiter to deploy radical transparency.

Go out of Your way to Initiate Communication

As the recruiter, it is up to you to communicate with the applicant where you are at each step of the hiring process. Never assume that the applicant has no questions or concerns simply because they have not directly asked you. By repeatedly reaching out to the applicant and providing them with updates and asking if they have any questions you are establishing yourself (and vicariously your company) as a trustworthy source. Frequently initiating communication with the applicant will build a stronger relationship and ensure that all parties are on the same page.

Make the Every Element of the Process Personalized for the Driver

Even in an industry where turnover rate hovers around 100%, switching employers is a big decision for drivers. In the initial interview with the driver, it is up to the recruiter to find out what is motivating them to switch carriers. Is it money? Is it home time? Does the driver’s current company not value its drivers?

By figuring out the driving force behind the driver’s desire to switch companies you are able to accurately assess if the position you are filling is a good fit for the driver. If the position is a good fit then you are able to solve the applicant’s biggest employment pains by hiring them.

Use this to your advantage. Inform the applicant that your position will alleviate the problems they are experiencing. Solving the driver’s biggest employment pains will earn their trust for as long as you were honest with them throughout the recruitment process.

Trust is an essential element to truck driver recruiting. Unfortunately the level of trust drivers have in recruiters is deteriorating, so you must actively work to earn that trust. Building trust into the truck driver recruitment process will help you earn the loyalty of drivers hired. Analyze your hiring process to minimize miscommunications, deploy radical transparency, initiate communication, and personalize the process in order to build trust into the truck driver recruitment process.

How to Strategize for Successful Driver Recruitment

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Prior to launching a new campaign do you layout the terms of success? Or do you gauge success solely on number of drivers hired? If it is the latter then you may want to change your strategy. In order to improve the overall recruiting efforts of your company, it is crucial that each recruitment campaign has its own terms of success. Here is a guide to help you strategize for successful driver recruitment.

Your Company’s Values are the Base of all Decisions

Before you do anything, you need to know what your company’s values are. Does your company pride itself on hiring the best talent and a high retention rate? If so your recruitment efforts should prioritize quality over quantity. Or maybe your company is determined to be the most tech-savvy trucking company.

In this scenario your campaigns should revolve around utilizing new tech, such as geofencing, to hire drivers. Every company has its own unique set of values. It is up to the recruiter to use these values to guide each strategic decision they make.

Set Recruiting Goals That Align With Company Values

Once you have defined your values, you need to use them to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based) goals for your campaign. Vague goals such as “hire as many drivers as possible” or “increase the number of hires found on Facebook” are not effective.

If you are working for a company that values family than an example of a SMART goal for your campaign may be, “Hire five married team drivers from employee referrals by the end of the month”. Combining your company’s values with the SMART technique you are able to write goals that motivates your staff and gives your efforts a stronger sense of purpose.

Also, by using clearly defined goals it is much easier to tell if you achieved your goal or not. “Hire as many drivers as possible” is an impossible target to hit; however, “hire five married team drivers from employee referrals by the end of the month” gives you a number to hit, using a certain technique, within a time frame.

SMART goals graphic

Analyze Data Directly Related to Your Recruitment Efforts

As a general rule of thumb the more data you can collect the better. However, if you are focusing on the wrong numbers then your insights will be mislead.

Uncle Ben’s advice from Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility,” holds true with data. With great amount of data, comes a greater emphasis to focus on the right data.

For example, a company that sets out to hire more female drivers from Facebook will be mislead if they looked at the data on total number of driver applicants from Facebook. The company may falsely claim their campaign was a success because the total number of Facebook applicants went up but female applicants did not increase.

DiscoverORG did a study in 2015 and found that the average marketing/sales department lost 550 hours and $32,000 per sales rep from using bad data. When question the data set you are looking at it is helpful to ask yourself, “Does this data directly relate to the company values?” and, “Does this data directly show I am short or exceeding my goal?”

If the answer to either of those questions is “no” or you are unsure, it is best to not use the data and focus on the data you can confidently answer “yes” to both of the questions.

Focus on Achieving Your Recruitment Goals

The goal you defined prior to launching your campaign should be your only barometer for success. It is easy to focus too much on following the “process” to achieve our goals. In Jeff Bezo’s 2016 Letter to Shareholders he said,

“The process becomes the proxy for the result you want. You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you’re doing the process right. Gulp.”

You may have a goal of hiring 10 drivers via referral for the month. If you come up short, instead of claiming you had a good process and will do better next month, take the opportunity to assess your process and find areas to improve.

Learn From Mistakes and Apply That to Future Recruiting

Every recruitment campaign you launch is a learning opportunity. As the recruiter it is up to you to document the entire process and learn lessons based on what happens. You must use the lessons you learned from previous campaigns to avoid repeating mistakes and improve overall effectiveness of future campaigns.

Having a plan for achieving success is equally as important as having an effective recruitment plan. Defining you values, setting clear goals, avoiding bad data, focusing on outcomes, and learning from previous campaigns are all steps for achieving success. Even the most well thought out recruitment campaigns need  to strategize for successful driver recruitment.

The Importance of Mobile-First Recruitment

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Truck driver recruitment is changing before our very eyes. In today’s trucking world drivers are checking job opportunities 24/7. Smartphone technology is the driving force behind this shift in trucking recruitment. This shift is causing recruiters to focus on the importance of mobile-first recruitment.

Mobile-first recruitment is the practice of combining mobile advertising and optimizing your website for mobile performance.

Mobile Devices are Taking Over Trucking

As a whole, the trucking industry is rapidly becoming more reliant on mobile devices. Both truckers and carriers believe mobile devices are a necessity in the industry.

In 2017, half of all drivers utilized their mobile device to communicate with dispatch. Gfk Public Communications conducted a study that found 61% of drivers would choose to own a smartphone if they were forced to pick between their phone and their computer. 92% of recruiters believe that a seamless mobile application process is mandatory.

It is evident that every aspect of the industry is shifting towards being reliant on mobile devices, but the question is why?

Carriers are deploying mobile devices in their trucks and having drivers download certain apps because of the real-time data they receive from these devices. In addition to drivers being easier to contact, the companies can track the drivers and measure their efficiency.

Also, training drivers to use mobile devices can save the company money. Mobile devices help drivers avoid driving through storms, traffic jams, etc.

Truck driver finds a new job on their mobile device

Mobile Devices Increase Efficiency for Carriers

Truckers are able to use mobile devices to help them professionally and personally.

OTR drivers are on the road, away from loved ones, for weeks at a time. Mobile devices make it possible for drivers to stay in touch with their friends and family when they are on the road.

In addition to being connected with the people they care about, truckers can download apps that help them with trip planning, finding truck stops, logbook functions, and much more.

Mobile devices keep truckers connected and make their jobs less stressful.

Recruiters rely on mobile devices because drivers are heavily using their mobile devices. Certain technologies (geofencing, social media, etc.) enable the recruiter to send recruitment ads to the mobile devices of specific demographics. Utilizing mobile first strategy allows recruiters to recruit the exact kind of driver they are looking for at a cost effective price.

Mobile First Strategies Improve Business

FleetOwner wrote a story on how U.S. Express improved its business simply by increasing the performance of their mobile site. Using Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), U.S. Express optimized its recruitment site’s mobile performance.

AMP increased the load speed for U.S. Express’ site by five times and increased job applications by 62%.

By increasing their mobile site’s performance, U.S. Express expects to save $1 million annually. They can use that to improve other aspects of their business.

U.S. Express simply improved their site’s mobile performance, had they paired that with a mobile based campaign they would have seen even greater results.

In 2019, 67% of drivers used their smartphones to look for new employment opportunities. By combining a mobile campaign with a site optimized for mobile performance, your company will place itself in front of drivers seeking a new position. Then enable them to seamlessly apply for your position.

As time goes on each aspect of trucking becomes more reliant on mobile technology. Carriers becoming more reliant on mobile technology will force their drivers to use their mobile devices more frequently. Drivers being on their mobile devices more frequently will cause them to look for better employment opportunities more often. It is a positive feedback loop.

Now, recruiters must capitalize on this trend by running recruitment campaigns built for mobile devices and have recruitment sites that are optimized to be used by a mobile device. Using a mobile-first recruitment strategy will increase the amount of applicants your company receives and improve your business.

Want help executing a mobile focused recruitment strategy? Call Drive Trucking today at (801) 204-5499!