e-news for trucking recruitment, retention, and human resource professionals
Jan 2010
 Quote of the Day “As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.”
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By Marvin Shefsky  It’s a new year, a perfect time for resolutions. Many of those resolutions include losing weight, and for good reason. As a group, over-the-road professionals are not in the best shape, and many of them are beginning to understand their excess weight and smoking are the primary cause of their general poor health. The average American lifespan is 76 years, yet the average driver will never see his (or her) first social security check because the average life span for America’s OTR drivers is about 60.Drivers have spent many years developing unhealthy lifestyles, and for the most part they do not have any idea how they can turn their life and lifestyles around toward better health and wellness. The cost to employers in claims and lost productivity is immeasurable. When it comes to their health, drivers need help in the worst way, and as employers you can turn this into a tremendous recruiting and retention advantage through coaching, mentoring and guidance. For years I have heard carriers say, “drivers are our most important assets.” Drivers have heard this too, but they work in an environment of “people inside the walls and people outside the walls” – and they are on the outside. With relatively little effort you can bring down those walls while simultaneously reducing costs through lower claims and increased productivity. All you need is a plan. Drivers know what they need to do, but they don’t know how to do it or where to start. You need to give them that starting point. Once you do that, the “walls” will start tumbling down. Your drivers will soon realize you are a “company that cares.” The minute drivers see themselves losing weight they will know they are “winning,” and they will gain emotional loyalty to you rather than simply economic loyalty. At this stage of the plan, you will begin to reap the rewards in terms of improved retention. When drivers realize they are winning with your help, the last thing they will do is leave for so-called “greener pastures.” Given that the average age of current drivers is approximately 48 years and the average age of them at death is about 60, the industry is losing more than 100,000 of our most valuable assets to premature death. If we could raise the average lifespan and working life by just four years, there would be no driver shortage. Good health is good business! I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year! -- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
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