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“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, nor a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

-Vince Lombardi

My Point: Time to become a carrier that cares

By Marvin Shefsky

The world is changing, and that's especially true about the trucking industry. The economy has thrown us all for a loop the last few years. Driver turnover, while still bubbling away just below the surface, is not the 120-percent-plus annual monster it was in 2006. Rather than simply churning through the industry, changing jobs on a whim, tens of thousands of drivers have simply given up and vanished, unlikely to return.

According to some reports, 40,000 owner-operators have left the industry since the downturn began. Company drivers have left in even higher numbers as opportunities dried up. Spurred on by game-changing initiatives such as CSA2010, the widespread desire for safer and healthier drivers and the vast number of veteran drivers approaching retirement, the pool of qualified drivers is shrinking just as the recession appears to be running its course.

In terms of driver recruitment and retention, the same ol' same ol' approach just doesn't work in today's changing environment. The old flash-and-cash, cookie-cutter approach to advertising, for example, is running head on into a legion of more loyal drivers interested in working with a company that places a premium on safety, health and lifestyle. To attract today's drivers, companies have to change their approach, yet they keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. As the saying goes, that's the definition of insanity.

Carriers should take the time to survey drivers and find out what's important to them and what they're looking for in a company. They may be surprised to discover that drivers are interested in carriers that can help them lead a better, healthier life, as well as help them make a good living.

To connect with today's drivers, companies need to rebrand themselves as a “carrier that cares.” You do that by adjusting your company's culture to emphasize the importance of health and wellness. Then you modify your company's driver recruitment advertising to reflect those priorities on health, wellness and lifestyle, and you advertise in a driver recruitment magazine such as Driver HEALTH, the only recruitment magazine dedicated to a “healthy” driver lifestyle. We've teamed up with the Healthy Trucking Association of America to further the “healthy” agenda, which the rest of the trucking industry is just now realizing is where this business is heading. We've been doing our part to promote a healthier lifestyle for truckers for years. Isn't it time your company joins the healthy movement?

What is your company doing to attract a driver with a solid CSA2010 rating? Sure, money is great, but in today's environment, your company also has to offer an equally solid CSA2010 rating. And the best place to convey the message that you're a “carrier that cares” is in Driver HEALTH.

It's a new world out there full of drivers with new outlooks and new attitudes about health, wellness and lifestyle. Is your company rebranding itself and repositioning itself to meet the change?

Give us a call at 678-739-0921 or send me an email (Marvin@RampMediaGroup.com), and together let's start winning the recruitment and retention battle the healthy way. Good health is good business.

-- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
(Marvin@RampMediaGroup.com)

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