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According to some studies, "work-life balance" is now the single most important key to job selection for young (21- to 30-year-old) employees, ranking ahead of compensation. Can the trucking industry still attract drivers among this group?
Quote of the Day
"A good manager is a man who isn't worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him. My advice: Don't worry about yourself. Take care of those who work for you and you'll float to greatness on their achievements. "
-- H.S.M. Burns, American businessman, president of Shell Oil
My Point
Differentiate Your Company by 'Branding' It
By Marvin Shefsky
All trucking companies do the same thing: haul freight. Does this mean that all trucking companies are the same? I should hope not!
I’ve been publishing OTR and Pro Trucker magazines for more than 26 years now, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in the way we do business, but not much has changed in the field of successful driver recruiting and successful driver retention. In fact, very little has changed. The bottom line remains the same: You are still offering job opportunities to drivers and business opportunities to owner-operators. To sign them on, they must trust you. To retain them, you have to deliver what you offered.
There is no room for gray areas – you must always be consistent in both your presentation and delivery. Therefore the first step in developing your brand is to determine what you want to present, and what you can reasonably deliver.
There are two types of workers in our workforce, and this is how they view themselves in their work environment:
- I drive/work for a trucking company.
- I drive/work for XWY Company!
Let’s focus on our "type-2s,” as this is the group that is retaining themselves every time they talk about what they do and who they do it for. Survey these drivers and ask them how, what and why they feel the way they do about your company, and what makes them feel they are an integral part of your team. If drivers are among the most important people in your company, their opinion must be included in the “who-you-are" big picture and how you want to be seen by others outside the company.
The second part of the branding equation involves the entire home office – everybody who works “within the walls.” The question that needs to be asked and answered is: “How do we see ourselves from within and how do we want to be seen by others on the outside?" The answer to these two questions is what makes every trucking company unique.
Analyze and combine the results of these surveys and you have the power to develop your brand – a brand that you can be proud of, a brand that really does make you different and makes the difference when it comes to “who you are.”
Now you have been branded!
Now it is time to sell your “brand.” You must be consistent – not wishy-washy. This is not rocket science. The really big advertising spenders like “Coca-Cola, GM, GE and. of course, Pepsi, use the same ad copy for the same product wherever and whenever they choose to advertise. These and most other successful companies follow the “branding and consistency” rules of advertising. I concede the fact that they have already invented this particular wheel, not I, and I have always encouraged our customers in OTR and Pro Trucker magazines to follow this path as well.
Over the past 25 years, an astounding 92% of our customers who have advertised four consecutive months or more in one or both of our magazines have considered their ad campaigns successful!
You each have a different product to sell. Coca-Cola is not the same as Pepsi. They each “sell soda,” but they are different, and they show you how different they are by branding themselves through the power of consistent advertising campaigns.
If you are in the business of recruiting drivers (and/or owner-operators), you are really looking for people who are just like your type-2s. They are out there, but they have to be able to find you. This will happen if they can identify themselves with your brand, your image and your culture. If they don’t like what they see, they can call someone else! Hire retention, not turnover.
-- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
