Healthy Trucking Kiosks Offer Innovative Advertising Opportunities
Quote of the Day
Today we give you not one but several quotes, all from the legendary British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was known as a great political leader and statesmen, but his wonderful command of the English language allowed him to craft some glorious insults, such as these gems from an era when wit (rather than 4-letter words) ruled:
* “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
* “A modest little person, with much to be modest about.”
* George Bernard Shaw to Churchill: “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend … if you have one.” Churchill in response: “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second … if there is one.”
* An exchange between Churchill & Lady Nancy Astor after a tense dinner party: She said, “Winston, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea.” Churchill’s response: “Nancy, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”
My Point
Take Advantage of Economic Downturn
By Marvin Shefsky
The trucking industry, especially those responsible for recruiting and retaining drivers, is witnessing something we haven’t seen in 15 or 20 years: diminished demand for drivers. The nation’s “sagging” economy – which is either “slowing down,” “experiencing a downturn, “on the verge of recession” or “in recession” depending on the view of your favorite economist– has apparently done what the collective trucking industry could not do: solve the dreaded driver shortage crisis (at least on a temporary basis).
I’m no economist, but this smells like a recession to me. History tells us that the trucking industry is the first to feel the pain of recession and the first to feel the relief of recovery. Right now, we’re feeling the pain. How long it lasts and how deep it goes is anyone’s guess, but certainly it’s the sharpest such pain we’ve felt since the late 1980s when interest rates were as high as 18 percent.
Fortunately, challenges such as this almost always present opportunities, and so it is with the situation driver recruiting and retention professionals now face. For the savvy recruiting and/or safety director, there may never be a better time to solidify and fortify your corps of drivers with first-rate professionals than right now.
Let’s run some numbers. Let’s say that 20 or 25 percent of your drivers are top performers, and you wish you had a bunch more just like them. They consistently deliver freight on time, they drive safely, they don’t cause problems, they make money for themselves and the company, and perhaps best of all, they stay put. Then you have the 20 or 25 percent of drivers at the other end of the spectrum who can’t seem to get from Point A to Point B without incident. They’re always complaining, they’re always looking for greener pastures, and they have no qualms about jumping ship the minute something upsets them. Between the two extremes are maybe 50 percent of your drivers who do a decent job and you’re glad to have them.
OK, now there’s a downturn/slowdown/recession and your freight is off 25 percent. Do you distribute the remaining freight equally over 100 percent of your drivers? Or do you make sure your best drivers have all the freight they can effectively manage and assign whatever is left to the bottom half of your drivers? Remember, your fixed costs remain the same either way. The question is, which group of drivers do you want to protect and thus keep – your best drivers or your worst drivers?
Under the first scenario, common sense tells you you’re likely to upset and perhaps lose drivers in equal numbers in both groups. Under the second scenario, you’re likely to retain most of your top drivers while a large number of your lowest performers may or may not walk. Of course, some of those same low performers are going to walk during the best of times.
Under the second scenario, you’re rewarding your best drivers and showing the door to your worst performers. This may sound harsh, but those drivers in the bottom half are the ones who cause most of the problems and cost the most money because you’re going to have to replace them anyway.
Think of it this way: In a downturn/slowdown/recession when the job market is tight, for every low performer who walks, you’re creating a potential opening for a top-flight professional to join your fleet. Remember, the economy impacts just about every carrier, and even loyal first-rate drivers working for your competitors who aren’t getting enough freight will eventually start looking around for greener pastures. When they do, you want them to look at you.
How do you attract these top drivers? By raising your new hire standards and reworking your driver recruitment advertising. Get the message out there that you’re looking for the “best of the best” and spell it out in your ads: must have three to five years verifiable experience; no more than three moving violations in the last five years; no more than three job changes in the last five years, etc. It’s been 15 years since I’ve seen ads like that. It’s time to see them again.
If you want the best, advertise for the best! Here is the silver lining behind the cloud: When the economy does turn around, you will be in a position where your core of top quality drivers has never been better, and you can focus on filling your ranks with more of the same. Quality attracts quality.
Give us a call today (770-587-0311) to find out how Over the Road, Pro Trucker and our knowledgeable sales staff can help strengthen and solidify your driving fleet during these difficult economic times.
-- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
(Marvin@otrprotrucker.com)
