When I walk around trucking trade shows, I pay attention to fleets that have driver recruitment booths. One recent show must have had 60 booths \u2013 with one trying to outdo the next one to \u201cattract\u201d drivers. I had to shake my head as I thought to myself, \u201cenough already with the games, spinning wheels, putt-putt golf contests and free hats! Get serious about driver recruiting!\u201d<\/p>\n
In our 11 years with the Best Fleets to Drive for Program<\/a>, we\u2019ve found gimmicks don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n When you treat recruiting like a carnival or circus, what kind of person does that attract? Serious professionals, or unserious amateurs?<\/p>\n The people who respond to \u201cbells and whistles\u201d are the same kind whose job search is limited to asking how much a fleet pays and about the sign-on bonus. The serious professionals, who are looking for a place where they can build a career, tend to walk past the circus shows and go to the quiet booths that provide real information about the company and job. In many cases, they\u2019ve already researched the companies before they get to the show.<\/p>\n In other words, the circus act attracts people who don\u2019t do research, don\u2019t have a clear sense of what kind of fleet is a good fit for them, and don\u2019t want to think too hard before making a decision. That\u2019s not a recipe for a successful career, so those applicants often don\u2019t work out. They end up leaving the company, the fleet\u2019s turnover numbers remain high, and management continues to struggle with a driver shortage. They get increasingly desperate, ramp up the circus tactics even more, and the process repeats itself.<\/p>\n The most successful fleets aren\u2019t playing these \u201cgames\u201d because they don\u2019t have to. They recruit with a purpose.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re adamant about being at a truck show, spend time evaluating the strongest and weakest performers in your fleet to develop a clear picture of the characteristics that lead to success. Then think about the values that your company wants to convey (stay away from clich\u00e9s like \u201cfamily,\u201d \u201copen door policy\u201d and \u201cname not a number\u201d). Put all of that together into a package that reflects your unique characteristics through booth branding, messaging, and staff presentation. It will definitely attract fewer people, but it will also attract people who are a better fit.<\/p>\n Stop relying on pay as the sole motivator for a driver to come work for you. Sure, it\u2019s important, but hiring drivers is like selling a product or service\u00a0\u2013\u00a0if you have to compete on price it\u2019s generally an admission that there\u2019s no differentiator. Some of the best recruiting ads and booths at trade shows never mention pay. Good examples are\u00a0Challenger Motor Freight<\/a> and Bison Transport<\/a>. Challenger has its \u201cfirst-class experience\u201d campaign, while Bison\u2019s campaign features its safety culture.<\/p>\n If your fleet has been recognized or has won awards, make it known! Drivers serious about building a career will want to work for a company that has a strong workplace environment, and one recognized in the industry.<\/p>\n Word of mouth is another great way to attract talented drivers. Are you confident that your workplace is top-of-the-line and that your drivers are happy? If so, encourage your drivers to jump on social media. The personal connection \u2013 and honest opinions from your driver\u00a0\u2013 is much more effective than a recruitment ad. Your drivers can ultimately be your best recruiters.<\/p>\n Truck stops are another great opportunity for your drivers to get the word out. Provide your drivers with company business cards along with a contact that can provide more information on your company.<\/p>\n Offering a well-structured referral bonus will get your drivers eager to post on social media or talk at truck stops. Structuring your program in a way that encourages the success of the new driver can be much more effective than a one-time lump sum referral. Some successful referral programs I\u2019ve seen are the ones that pay the referring driver for every mile the new driver runs in their first year.<\/p>\n This type of program helps ensure drivers are invested in helping the new driver become successful.<\/p>\n When a driver is serious about looking for a new carrier, they\u2019re going to do research.\u00a0 When they come across your company’s website, what are they going to find? Is your site current? Are you active on social media? Do you have good online reviews from customers or drivers?<\/p>\n If your website visually looks good and it provides quality information, that can make all of the difference for drivers.<\/p>\n Finding quality drivers isn\u2019t something that is going to happen overnight. You have to be patient. Move away from the notion that if you don\u2019t hire a driver the day after he or she calls in, then they\u2019ll be hired by your competition. Making quick hires may provide you with a lot of drivers, but not the best. The most successful fleets take the time to find a driver that is the right fit for the company.<\/p>\n Through technology, you can screen applicants and expedite the interview process so you can find drivers you believe would be a good fit.<\/p>\n It may feel overwhelming to move away from traditional recruiting practices like giving away free merchandise to attract top drivers, but it will be worth it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Mark Murrell is co-founder of CarriersEdge<\/a>, a leading provider of online driver training for the trucking industry, and co-creator of Best Fleets to Drive For, an annual evaluation of the best workplaces in the North American trucking industry produced in partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n By Mark Murrell<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Source: https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n The serious professionals, who are looking for a place to build a career, walk past the circus shows and look for companies with real information about the job and potential. When I walk around trucking trade shows, I pay attention to fleets that have driver recruitment booths. One recent show must have had 60 booths…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[133],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11006,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions\/11006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Www](\"https:\/\/base.imgix.net\/files\/base\/ebm\/fleetowner\/image\/2018\/03\/www_fleetowner_com_sites_fleetowner.com_files_032518_ONE20_MATS_2018_B_3.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1440\")
<\/span><\/p>\nA better roadmap<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Quid pro quo<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Are you a premier carrier online?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Final word<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"