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Improve Your Business and Retain and Hire Drivers with Five Small Changes

According to US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, 300,000 truckers leave the trucking industry each year, increasing the truck driver shortage. Fleet driving companies everywhere are scrambling to hire new drivers and keep the ones they have.

This shortage is predicted to only worsen, so it’s crucial to continuously hire drivers and improve your driver retention. Learn how making a few changes can transform the hiring and retention process.

How to Improve the Process of Hiring Drivers 

With so many open truck driver positions out there, you need to stand out. Here are five ways to do that. 

1. Write an Informative Job Description

When recruiting truck drivers, be transparent about the salary range, benefits and expectations in the job description. By being clear and concise, you’ll beat other job postings that don’t mention these things and avoid losing people later in the hiring process or after hire. People want to know what’s in it for them.

Also, use keywords like:

  • Driver
  • Truck driver
  • Delivery driver
  • Non-CDL driver
  • CDL driver

These are words people will search for when looking for a driving job.

2. Ask for Referrals

Talk to your current employees and see if they know anyone interested in a driving position. You’ll get more potential candidates and know they are worth your time because your employee is vouching for them. 

3. Offer Training for New Drivers

Some people may be interested in driving but lack experience or training. If you want to pull in more drivers, offer extensive in-house training. You’ll be able to advertise that no experience is needed and mold drivers with the skills you need.

Our immersive driving simulators at L3Harris are great for new and experienced drivers. 

4. Be Honest in Interviews

It helps retention to be completely honest during interviews. Explain to candidates what’s expected for workload, the kind of routes they’ll drive, and key information they need to know before joining your company.

5. Run Background Checks

If you don’t already, running a background check is helpful to see if candidates have any traffic incidents like speeding or accidents on their record. If they do, bring it up at the interview and ask them to explain. Look for the difference between rare mistakes and genuine red flags. 

What Drivers Look for in Employers 

Now that you have drivers, you need to keep them. With competitors scrambling to get drivers, your employees can switch companies if you don’t encourage them to stay. Here are three ways to increase driver retention. 

1. Fair Pay

According to Commercial Carrier Journal, 68% of drivers believe their company can’t attract new drivers because of terrible pay, and 33% of drivers would switch to a new fleet for better pay.

It may be time to look at your budget and see if you can offer raises to those who have been with you for a long time. Their pay should reflect their performance, so keep your best drivers by paying them a fair wage. 

2. Benefits

Wages are important, but so are benefits — and we’re not just talking about healthcare, though having comprehensive plans for your employees and their families is crucial in retaining drivers.

But other benefits might include paid sick days, having pets join them on the road (if your insurance allows it), and paying for services like Spotify or Sirius XM. The last two benefit ideas will make being on the road for extended periods easier. 

3. Safety

Driving can be dangerous, and you want to let employees know you care about their personal safety. Use our thorough driving simulators to train current drivers to enhance their skills, identify bad driving habits and ask them if there’s anything they need to feel safer.

Focus on coaching instead of scolding. This is about staying safe, not punishing drivers. 

L3Harris Driving Simulators Make Training Easy

For both retaining and hiring drivers, training is essential. Instead of using your vehicles —risking damage, paying for fuel, and tying up your fleet vehicles for training — use our L3Harris driving simulators. Our simulators create the same behind-the-wheel experience in a safe and controlled environment. Change scenario factors like the time of day, types of weather and terrain to ensure your drivers are prepared for anything.

Contact us today to learn more about our driving simulators. 

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