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Healthy Trucking Kiosks Offer Innovative Advertising Opportunities
Quote of the Day
“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
– Colin Powell
Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1989-93
An Alternative to the Sink-or-Swim Strategy
By Rim Yurkus
The transportation industry press is full of stories about the "truck driver shortage." The focus is on filling vacancies, but the sustainable solution involves much more than that. There is an important issue to consider: the “Sink-or-Swim” strategy of onboarding new drivers by the truckload industry.
On average, it takes about four months before a new driver gives value to a company equal to what the company gives the driver. It takes about eight months before the company's investment in the driver is fully recovered. Yet, truckload carriers lose 60 percent of the drivers they hire before six months. This means that truckload carriers lose money on most of the drivers they hire. Why not consider a change in strategy?
The employer-driver relationship is a treacherous intersection of two volatile ingredients: the job with its opportunities and pitfalls, and the driver with his/her strengths and weaknesses. About 40 percent of the time, the driver's strengths match up with the job opportunities long enough to form a sustainable relationship. About 60 percent of the time, the job's pitfalls collide with the driver's weaknesses before the relationship is strong enough to withstand it.
New Faces in Truck Cabs
There are new faces in trucking these days, as carriers look to recruit nontraditional drivers. Who are they? Here’s a look:
1) Baby boomers. This demographic is practically a custom-fit for the trucking profession. Thousands of boomers are tired of their desk jobs and looking for a change of pace and a chance to travel. Others are turning to trucking because they were laid off or are looking at semi-retirement options. Either way, these drivers, typically 50 and over, are considered safer, more dependable, and more aware of their driving limitations than their younger counterparts.
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Drivers’ Health Joins List of Key Retention Issues
Question: What weighs 240 pounds, has a 90 percent chance of taking medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol or heart problems and likely suffers from sleep apnea?
Answer: The average American male truck driver.
That’s the not-so-pretty picture that emerged from a survey of 2,000 truck drivers conducted by the Professional Drivers Medical Depots (PDMD).
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My Point: Health Initiatives Seen as Recruiting and Retention Tools
Marvin Shefsky
- Publisher
The Healthy Trucking Initiative is quickly growing into a nationwide movement, as carriers, owners and drivers alike have pledged their support to RAMP Media's coast-to-coast efforts to help professional drivers and owner operators get healthy and live longer lives.
Education and awareness are the keys to making a difference. Many people are shocked to learn that the current driver population is in such bad shape that drivers now have a life expectancy of LESS THAN 60 YEARS of age.
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Drivers Sound Off
Just about everyone in the trucking industry considers “driver shortage” a critical issue, but is the issue really about a lack of drivers or is it a case of too many drivers jumping from job to job? In other words, is the driver shortage real? If it’s real, the next question is, how do you solve it? Again, everyone in the industry seems to have an opinion of how best to fix it, but what do the people who are directly involved – the drivers – have to say?
TCA Safety 411
Got a question about safety or security? Check out the "Safety 411" initiative on the Truckload Carriers Association’s website (www.truckload.org).
Safety 411 enables TCA member safety directors to network with each other on safety and security issues year-round, not just at the TCA's 25th Annual Safety & Security Division Conference.
White Paper Addresses Recruitment, Retention Issues
Duff H. Swain, president of transportation industry consulting firm TRINCON GROUP, recently released a white paper that addresses how companies in the trucking industry can resolve recruitment and retention issues by implementing a career path into their corporate culture.
To learn more about Over the Road and Pro Trucker and how to put our team to work on your driver recruitment advertising needs, call our advertising sales team at 800-878-0311 or go to: www.otrprotrucker.com.
