Businesses in the transportation industry and those that operate fleet vehicles are struggling to find qualified drivers. Keeping the qualified drivers that you do employ can also be a challenge, but it's an important one to manage. Low driver turnover will lower your hiring and training costs which helps reduce your operating costs.
Even in the face of a labour shortage there are things you can do to hire more drivers and keep them, too. Here are our tips:
Offer Referral Bonuses
Your current drivers likely know other
drivers. Plus, the connection between them means they may both be more likely
to stay with the company. Motivate your employees to refer friends and family with
a bonus.
Post to Multiple Platforms
Most people find jobs online, but you can’t
be sure which platform your perfect driver is looking at. To increase your odds
of success post to all of the online job platforms that people use in your area
– LinkedIn and Indeed are good starts.
Offer Training Support
Sometimes your ideal truck driver isn’t a
driver yet. You may have much more success when bringing people into the job
and covering some or all of their costs for any government-mandated licensing
or training programs.
Of course, you should also be conducting
your own training for new drivers. Ensure this training is designed to create
bonds within the company, which will help your new truck drivers transition to
work more effectively.
On-Boarding Clarity
Different businesses have different
policies for compensation, scheduling, and routes, all things drivers care a
lot about. You can keep more drivers if they understand all of the relevant
details of their job up front and agree to them, rather than being surprised
and discouraged later on. Things you should be very clear about include:
- Routes, scheduling, and time at home
- Compensation including paid time off and benefits
- Specific relationship, as an employee not a contractor
- Specific vehicle or other equipment they will operate
· You may find a few people do not agree to the employment after a very frank conversation about the position, but these are people who would not have stayed with your company anyway. Now you avoid the cost of losing them and can pick another candidate.
Work Quality
A few different factors of a driver’s work
can encourage them to sign on with your company and to stay. Offering them more
guaranteed “at home” time is a great way to ensure they stay motivated when
they are driving. Ensuring that dispatchers cultivate a good relationship with
the drivers can also help them have a positive attitude about work.
Compensation
One of the best ways to attract better
drivers and keep them is simply to offer them more financial compensation. This
includes a larger hurly rate or salary, as well as other financial benefits
such as more paid vacation and sick time and better health benefits. You can
also motivate drivers with bonuses for safe driving or for bonuses for being
with the company for a certain period of time.
Payroll Tips
For transportation companies, cash flow can
be a problem and it can impact your ability to keep the best employees.
Inconsistent and poor pay will reduce your ability to hire and keep the best
drivers. You can use invoice factoring to get healthier cash flow and thereby provide
better compensation to your drivers. Reach out to the team at J D Factors today
to discuss how invoice factoring can improve your payroll and cashflow and
reduce employee turnover.
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