  |
||
|
Volume 2 Issue 1 In
this issue: Driver
Sound Off --------------------------------- Our
Sponsors
--------------------------------- Question
of the Day What
will be the biggest issue facing the trucking industry in 2006? •
Driver shortage. Recruiting, training and retaining drivers
is always a big issue for the trucking industry, and 2006 won't be any
different. •
Fuel Rates. If it's anything like last year, we better buckle
up because we're in for a bumpy ride. •
Rules and Regulations. Whether it's HOS, safety and security issues
or driver training requirements, the feds are always throwing something
new at us. • The Economy. As the economy goes, so goes the trucking industry. Click Here to Vote In
our last newsletter, we asked readers the following question: As
far
as
driver
recruiting
and
retention
are
concerned,
do
you
think
the
trucking
industry
is
heading
in
the
right
direction? Here
are the results: •
Yes. While a shortage of drivers will probably always be a problem,
the industry continues to find new sources of drivers and new means to
retain the ones it has: 0 percent •
No. The
industry isn't doing nearly enough in terms of pay, benefits and training
to attract, train and retain good drivers: 40 percent •
It's hard to say where the industry as
a whole is heading because some companies are going in the right direction
and some aren't: 60 percent Note:
Inside Trucking polls are
surveys of those who choose to participate and are therefore not valid
statistical samples. Is
there a question regarding driver recruitment and retention you would like
to ask the trucking industry? Send suggestions to: phorner@otrprotrucker.com --------------------------------- Quote
of the Day "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower--------------------------------- Contact:
What They're Saying About Us With
a combined monthly circulation of 250,000 backed by the best customer
service in the driver recruitment publishing business, Over
the Road and Pro Trucker magazines have an unequaled reputation for producing
results for our advertising clients. But don't just take our word for
it. Here is what one of our clients had to say in an unsolicited
letter: "D.M. Bowman, Inc. is very pleased with RAMP Enterprises (Over the Road and Pro Trucker magazines) and the results they have produced. We have always gotten calls that were generated by one or both of these two magazines, but our orientation class this week has eight drivers (which is great for this time of year), four of which were referred to us by OTR and Pro Trucker. That is simply amazing. "We have used other trucking publications in the past and have not gotten these types of results. When I think of success, I think of the phones ringing and hits. And RAMP Enterprises has definitely gotten our phones to ring. And it is just icing on the cake to make a hire (or four!). "Rebecca [advertising sales rep Rebecca Goldin] has worked with me every step of the way to help make this a success. She is very customer service-oriented and that is a definite plus." Ryan Swope, Recruiter, D.M. Bowman, Inc. To learn more about Over the Road and Pro Trucker and how to put our team to work on your driver recruitment advertising needs, go to: www.otrprotrucker.com
is brought to you by Over the Road and Pro Trucker, the leaders in the driver recruitment publishing industry for nearly 25 years.
|
Effort, Not Money, is Key to Retention Culture Since
it costs a lot more money to hire and train a new driver than it costs to
retain one, it seems obvious that carriers and small fleet owners would do
everything they could to develop a company-wide retention culture. Yet, based
on our 36-plus years working in the area of driver recruitment and retention,
far too many companies appear to be more focused on the first of those "Rs"
rather than the second. That simply doesn't make sense, and it will make less
and less sense in the future as the demand for over-the-road professionals
outpaces the supply. Ironically,
building a successful company-wide retention culture doesn't have to cost a
lot of money. Heck, it doesn't have to cost a cent. How much does it cost to
treat drivers with respect, to pat them on the back for a job well done, to
smile when you see them walk in the door? Building
a company-wide retention culture, however, does require a total team effort
from everyone and every department within the company. Many people in your
company may come in contact with your drivers on a daily basis. These people
can either contribute to your retention efforts, or they can undermine them. The next few years are going to be very interesting as the competition for drivers heats up. Companies will have to better understand what it takes to keep drivers because, as one client put it in a recent e-mail, it's just getting too expensive to keep a revolving door for drivers. The customer finished his e-mail by posing this question: "Why is it that if a customer calls in to complain, everybody knows about it, but if a driver does, only a few people know about it?" Good
question. Inside Trucking is here to
find some answers. As
always, we appreciate your feedback. If you think others at your company would
benefit from reading Inside
Trucking, encourage them to sign up for a free subscription. --
Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
By
Steve Prelipp
My
background includes 33 years in the truckload industry. During these years I
have led operations departments as well as companies (as president). The
past seven years I have consulted in this industry on a wide range of
issues. One of the most important of these issues is how operations (and the
dispatch process) can be managed to create a high-performing company. Operations
is where the “product” of a trucking company is produced. That product
is a load that is picked up on time and delivered on time, safely and
claim-free. The starting point is to get and document high-quality
information from the shippers, consignees and drivers. The key is to put it
all together into an early and effective dispatch decision that gets clearly
communicated to the driver via Qualcomm or voice. The
effectiveness of this dispatch process drives everything – profit,
service, safety, price, etc. There are many items that need to be in place
to have this dispatch process get exceptional results. Some of the major
factors that need to be managed very well are described below.
1.
Have a clear set of company goals and measure them ·
Revenue
– per truck per day, per loaded mile, per total mile, total fleet revenue
per day ·
Miles
– the miles you target per driver per week ·
Lanes
– what are your power lanes, what lanes do you want to avoid, what
delivering capacity are you targeting to get in your major market areas? ·
Major
shippers – know your volume, lane and service commitments for your major
shippers ·
Home
time – what does the company commit to the driver and how well are you
doing at meeting that commitment? 2.
Have a well-defined strategy ·
Service
to major customers ·
Lanes
to serve ·
Lanes
to not serve ·
Home
time ·
Driver
miles goals 3.
Have the rewards system focused on the results you want ·
Be
clear on the operations results you need from each position ·
Measure
those issues daily, weekly and monthly ·
Bonus
the results on an ongoing basis ·
Give
positive and immediate reinforcement for high quality front line decision
making 4.
Have a recruiting and selection
process that puts people in operations that have the skill set, mind set and
behavior style that will allow them to be effective in their position 5.
Have a training program for people in
operations to ensure they are capable in: ·
Computer
navigation – if you can’t navigate the computer system fast enough, you
can’t do the job ·
Understanding
the operating computer system(s) ·
Understanding
the optimization system(s) 6.
Operations business acumen – understand the business ·
Teach
trucking 101 ·
Understand
the key business factors (rates, miles, utilization, revenue) ·
Understand
how these business factors interact with each other ·
Understand
the direct impact they have on these business factors ·
Understand
how the company profit and loss is driven by operating results 7.
Have
clear driver expectations ·
What
the company expects (safety, service, miles, home time, etc) ·
What
they can expect from the company (pay, miles, home time, etc) ·
Have an
"expectation exchange” between the driver and the fleet manager 8.
Have well-defined processes that that are written, trained and applied daily ·
Beginning
of day ·
Dispatch
procedures ·
End of
day 9.
Develop and apply best practices ·
Be
aware of industry best operating practices ·
Benchmark
with high performing companies ·
Have a
front line process to identify the most important practices ·
Have a
front line process to document and train best practices 10.
Speed of decision making and implementation ·
Daily
emphasis on pre-planning and early decision-making ·
Make
early decisions based on good information, not late decisions based on
perfect information 11.
Teamwork and effective
problem-solving ·
Between
fleet managers, customers and planners – fast decision-making and
problem-solving are critical (driver home time, customer service, miles) ·
Between
the leaders of customer service/planning, sales and driver management –
communication and common goals are key to new account development, account
penetration and building account value ·
Don’t
let organizational rank get in the way of high-quality and fast
problem-solving 12.
Make safety a “what counts” issue ·
Have
clear expectations on what operations will do to be safe ·
Have
safety as part of the rewards structure ·
Have
safety be an operations issue with safety department support (not the other
way around) ·
Build
safety considerations into the dispatch decision ·
Have
clear driver safety performance expectations and enforce them 13.
Understand conflicting goals and have processes to work through them ·
Home
time versus customer service ·
Home
time versus goals ·
The
“next load” versus safe operation 14.
Daily morning planning meeting ·
Get the
status of system balance, customer needs, customer service, etc. Steve
Prelipp is president of Prelipp Consulting, Inc. He can be reached at prelipp@aol.com
or 919.933-9107. A version of this article appeared in the TCA newsletter.
My Point
We're
in a celebratory mood as we start the New Year. It's the perfect time for
all of us to recharge our batteries, refocus our goals and reenergize our
efforts in order to make this year the best year ever -- personally and
professionally. On
a professional note, we're celebrating the first anniversary of
Inside Trucking as an online newsletter and the 25th
anniversary of our flagship publication, Over
the Road. (OTR's sister
publication, Pro Trucker, will
celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.) When
it was launched 25 years ago, Over the
Road was the industry's first digest-sized recruiting magazine wholly
supported by advertising dollars. At the time, I was an independent driver
recruiter looking for an innovative way to match drivers seeking new
employment opportunities with carriers interested in hiring them. We
apparently struck a nerve. Over
the years, many imitators have come along, but we were there first, we're
still the only family-owned magazines in the truck driver recruiting
industry and -- judging from the response of our readers and advertisers --
we’re still the best. While
25 years marks a significant milestone in the life of any business, we
aren't planning any parties to celebrate the occasion. Instead, we prefer to
quietly reflect on all of the people who have played a role in our success
over the years -- our talented staffers and salespeople, and our loyal
advertisers and readers, without whom we wouldn't have 25 years of success
to celebrate. Though
it's only been around in its current form for one year, Inside
Trucking has likewise made a significant impact as the first online
newsletter devoted exclusively to perhaps the industry's most important
issue -- driver retention. As with Over
the Road and Pro Trucker, the
success of Inside Trucking is
attributable to many people, starting with some of the industry's leading
experts in the area of driver retention who contribute their expertise to
each issue. Last year, the impressive list of contributing writers included
Ray Haight (president and COO of MacKinnon Transport), Kelly Anderson
(founder and president of Impact Transportation Solutions), Greg Mechler
(founder and president of the Human Advantage), Tim
Jenkins (director of Business Development at Christenson Transportation),
Adam Mertz (manager of Transportation Workforce Solutions at Unicru) and Troy
Austin and Steve Whiting (owners of T.A.W. Recruiting Solutions). We
thank them all, and we look forward to sharing more expert insight on driver
retention from some of the industry's best and brightest minds throughout
2006 and beyond. Finally,
on a personal note, the extended Ramp/OTR/Pro
Trucker/Inside Trucking family has yet one more reason to celebrate.
Aaron Jordan (A.J.) Shefsky was born Dec. 14 to my son and associate
publisher, Andy, and his wife, Jessica, which makes Penny and I two very
proud grandparents. --
Marvin Shefsky,
Publisher/CEO,
(mshefsky@otrprotrucker.com) According
to Steve Prelipp, the author of this issue's lead article, the effectiveness
of the dispatch process drives everything from profit and service to safety
and pricing, yet the relationship between drivers and dispatch remains
sketchy at best. To get to the bottom of the conflict between drivers and
dispatch, Over the Road and Pro
Trucker asked a random sample of drivers the following question: Why
do so many drivers have problems with dispatchers? Here
are some of the responses: "I
don't think dispatchers intend to lie; it’s just that things happen and a
lot of drivers take it too much to heart. The best dispatcher I ever had was
an ex-driver. He knew what it was like out on the road. For safety reasons,
I don't think anybody should be allowed to become a dispatcher unless
they've had at least one year behind the wheel. They're getting way too many
college-educated kids right out of school and saying, 'OK, here's your
computer, here's what you do, now you're a dispatcher.' That doesn't
work."
--
Carl Shoemaker, 58, Rock Island, TN, Professional
driving experience: 22 years "I
think dispatchers have to be honest, and you have to build up a trust with
them. We just lost a dispatcher that we had problems with not because he
couldn’t dispatch us; he just didn't understand how to run a team. We've
got an ex-driver now and things are much better. We hated to leave the last
company we were with because we had a great dispatcher, but the company just
couldn't get the pay rate up where we needed it to be."
--
Alma Shoemaker, 55, Rock Island, TN, Professional
driving experience: 2 years "Most
dispatchers don't really know what's going on. All they know is they have a
computer in front of them that says this load needs to be picked up here and
it's gotta go there. My favorite dispatcher quote: 'Well, it's only that far
on the map.' I don't think enough dispatchers have been out on the road, and
when they do get out, they usually take a three- or four-hour trip. It's
basically a cherry run because they have to get back to the office. And if
they do get out on an overnight run, they stay at a hotel. They just don't
know what the driver faces every day."
--
Kenneth Harrison, 61, Tampa Bay, FL, Professional
driving experience: 9 years "Everyone
has dispatch problems. The thing is, all they have to do to make my life a
whole lot easier is to think a little bit. Know where I am, know where I've
got to go, know where I need to go to stay loaded and make money. It's
pretty simple, really, but it's amazing how many dispatchers screw things
up."
--
George Fitzpatrick, 41, Cincinnati, OH, Professional
driving experience: 10 years "Like
everyone, I've had problems with dispatchers. I left my one company because
I got tired of getting written up for my dispatcher's mistakes. What would
make a good dispatcher? Someone who actually comes out on the road and
spends more than a few days out here. Let them spend a month or two out here
on the road with a driver and let them deal with the other dispatchers. A
lot of dispatchers and a lot of companies need to learn that drivers have a
life other than sitting behind that steering wheel."
--
William Ringstaff, 42, Omaha, NE, Professional
driving experience: 16 years Trucking Industry Offers Attractive Careers to Returning Military As
the trucking industry scrambles to find qualified drivers, thousands of
men and women returning from active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan are
seeking employment. In the first quarter of 2005 alone, the monthly
average of unemployed veterans 20- to 24-years-old was 43,000, according
to figures released from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
With so many young people seeking to enter the job market, and the
Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) projecting the industry will need
to fill an additional 80,000 positions every year for the next 10 years,
it seems like a win/win situation for both parties. Many
of those now separating from the military entered just out of high
school. As a result, they have little employment experience, no
interviewing or job-seeking skills, and no idea where to turn. For these
newly separated military, as well as for older veterans, the truck
driving profession offers an attractive alternative. “It
creates a level of comfort for those who have no idea where to look for
work, or have no jobs,” says Harry Kowalchyk, president of National
Tractor Trailer School. Kowalchyk has long targeted veterans for his
truck driver training program. Not
only can veterans help supply a need in the trucking industry, they make
ideal truck driver candidates. According to the TCA, recruiters for
driver training programs actively seek former military personnel because
they make good students and have a higher training graduation rate than
their civilian counterparts. Veterans are known for their leadership
skills, ability to work well with others, respect for procedures,
integrity, self-motivation and level of maturity. Carriers know these
characteristics are critical to a successful career as a professional
commercial truck driver. In
an attempt to attract prospective drivers, Kowalchyk participates in the
VA's “Operation Transition.” He speaks to military personnel on base
at nearby Fort Drum, and advises potential students on the best way to
take advantage of the benefits the VA offers. He also attempts to
recruit National Guard and reservists, posts career information at
outreach centers, attends job fairs and advertises in base newspapers. The
VA is attempting to help facilitate the transition of veterans into the
civilian world by developing a job-search initiative called the Veterans
Employment Initiative. Expected to be operational in early 2006, the
initiative will offer targeted and sustained career information and job
search assistance. A portal page will be created for national employer
associations that will allow employers and service members to locate one
another. The American Trucking Associations and TCA plans to use the
portal page to post jobs, access resumes and display promotional
materials to tout the benefits of trucking as a viable career.
Individual employers will have the ability to link their Web page to the
initiative to promote their business and identify their location to
prospective candidates. Sources:
ATA, TCA, VA
Canadian Drivers Offer Driver Apprenticeships In
a unique partnership, the Canadian government has joined forces with the
country's trucking industry in an effort to attract and train
professional drivers. The Canadian Ministry of Training, Colleges and
Universities (MTCU) announced a new voluntary apprenticeship program for
entry-level professional drivers looking to apprentice with an Ontario
carrier. More
than 75 industry stakeholders representing every sector of the trucking
industry pulled together to work with the government in making Canada's
first official apprenticeship for professional drivers. Nearly two years
of work went into the project, which has been endorsed by the Ontario
Trucking Association, Owner-Operator's Business Association of Canada,
union officials and the insurance industry. Research
material for the curriculum includes materials and modules from the
Professional Truck Driver Institute and the Canadian Trucking Human
Resource Council. The first group of drivers is expected to start their
apprenticeship early this year. For
more information, contact Ray Haight, MacKinnon Transport,
1-800-265-0444.
Court Slams Commercial Driver Training Rule A
federal rule establishing training requirements for truck drivers is
“so at odds” with safety information assembled by the government
that it should be thrown out and redone, the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia recently ruled. Senior Circuit Judge Harry T.
Edwards said that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
“has adopted a rule with little apparent connection to the
inadequacies it purports to address.” The rule, issued in May 2004,
“completely ignores” data about “practical, on-the-road
training.” The court deemed the agency’s analysis “frail.” The
rule was supposed to set minimum training requirements for commercial
motor vehicle operators. Instead of requiring that drivers have
on-the-road training in such things as backing, driving in severe
weather, controlling skids and passing other vehicles, though, the rule
merely requires training in driver wellness, driver qualifications,
hours of service and whistleblower protection. Concerned
about driver safety, Congress in 1991 directed the Secretary of
Transportation to begin a formal process investigating the need for
minimum training requirements for entry-level truck and bus drivers. The
agency was to issue a rule by December 1993 or submit a report to
Congress explaining why a rule was not necessary. In
a study published in 1995, the agency found that commercial motor
vehicle drivers were not being adequately trained. In fact, it found
that only 8.1 percent of heavy truck carriers and 18.5 percent of bus
operators provided entry-level drivers with adequate training. The
agency held a public hearing in 1996 on the issue, but didn't issue a
rule until forced to do so by a 2002 court order. When FMCSA produced
the rule in 2004, it called for 10 hours of training, none of it on the
road. The
"10-hour" rule drew support from many trucking groups such as
the American Trucking Associations, but was opposed by an unusual
coalition of public safety advocates and driver organizations, including
the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Sources: FMCSA, ATA, OOIDA, Public Citizen
As
a new year begins, everyone is thinking about ways to make 2006 a
triumph. That's especially true for those involved in the retention and
recruiting side of the trucking industry. Let's face it, recruiting and
retention is a competitive game that every recruiter wants to win.
Winning is a habit. In order to help you stay on top of your game, we
offer the top-10 winning habits from Y.K. Kim, author of the book,
"Winning is a Choice": 1.
Smile. Winning always begins with a smile. 2.
Eat and drink wisely. The saying, "You are what you eat,"
is absolutely true. The purer your body, the purer you will be. 3.
Exercise daily. Exercise cleanses both your body and your mind,
keeping you ready for winning. 4.
Focus on the positive. By focusing on the positive, you will feel
encouraged and energized, which will help you prosper in life. 5.
Make preparation a habit. Preparation allows you to be more
efficient while reducing mistakes and stress. Planning is truly the
foundation for success. 6.
Act with passion. Nothing great has ever been achieved without
enthusiasm. Passion can double or triple the results in whatever you are
do. 7.
Communicate clearly. Communication is the most important tool for
building healthy and prosperous relationships, which are a crucial
element for achievement. 8.
Share with others. True accomplishment involves sharing your
experiences with others. The more you share the greater your legacy. 9.
Love to learn. Education is mental food and mental exercise, and it
builds mental muscle. Any winner is a lifelong learner. 10.
Fight within yourself. Victory in its purest sense is victory over
yourself. By fighting within yourself you will become a confident
individual with balance in your life.
Inside Trucking is freely distributed by the publishers of Over the Road and Pro Trucker magazines as a service to help our clients strengthen their driver recruiting and retention efforts. |
