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Driver turnover is a process

By Thomas Stirr

Anyone associated with the trucking industry certainly understands the importance of reducing driver turnover. The typical costs associated with having to replace a driver such as recruiting, advertising, training and testing are often quoted at $5,000 to $7,000 per driver. If a fleet also adds the reduced productivity that often comes with new drivers, the potential erosion in customer satisfaction and all of the costs associated with having trucks parked up against the back fence due to driver shortages, the real “all-in” cost could be as much as 35% to 45% of a driver’s earnings.

While there are no quick or easy solutions to reducing driver turnover, the first step is for managers to understand that turnover isn’t an event; it’s a process with discernable stages that can be managed.

The first stage in the turnover process is a turning point. This is when something happens that gives a driver his or her first inkling that they may have made a mistake signing on with your fleet.

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Driver Recruitment Center ready to roll

The Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville will once again serve as the center of the trucking world from March 22-24. An estimated 70,000 people are expected to descend on the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center for what is widely considered the "Greatest Truck Show on Earth."

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Have gray hair, will travel

Some trucking companies are actively recruiting older workers, whom they see as reliable and trustworthy, with good driving records and valuable life experience. Laid-off workers, forced retirees and second-career workers tend to stay longer in their jobs and are typically excited about their new career.

Schneider National, sensing that driving a truck for a living has become less desirable among today’s younger workforce, two years ago decided to actively recruit older workers. Last year, the company’s workforce of 50-and-older drivers was up 85 percent. Today, more than 30 percent of Schneider’s workforce consists of workers 50 and older.

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My Point: Here's to Your (Drivers') Health

Marvin Shefsky
- Publisher

When it comes to retention issues, the prospect of making more money, having more home time and receiving more respect is sure to get any driver's attention, yet can any issue be more fundamental to a driver's happiness and well-being than good health?

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Treat drivers as professionals for recruitment and retention

By Duff Swain

If you want to recruit and retain professional drivers, you need to treat them as professionals within your company. Career paths are one of the ways to demonstrate professionalism to your drivers. A career path should provide an outline to personal improvement, an opportunity to advance in skill sets, and an opportunity to improve income and recognition for experience and skills.

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Four basic personality traits

By Greg Mechler

Much has been written in the trucking trade press about using personality assessment tools to help select drivers. These tools can be quite effective for selection but are even more important as tools to understand the differing personality ingredients of individual drivers and how to apply this knowledge to build more effective relationships.

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Drivers Sound Off

If you've been a recruiter for any length of time, you've heard the complaint from disgruntled hires: Recruiters will do anything, including lie, to get drivers to sign on the dotted line.

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