Fleetowner 4036 Seanopenrt3 Web
Fleetowner 4036 Seanopenrt3 Web
Fleetowner 4036 Seanopenrt3 Web
Fleetowner 4036 Seanopenrt3 Web
Fleetowner 4036 Seanopenrt3 Web

Drivers: New tools for recruiting

April 8, 2014
Technology is opening doors for carriers in their search for drivers

Many fleets might view an online recruiting tool pitched as “eHarmony for truck drivers” with a great deal of suspicion, if not laughing off the idea right from the start.  An Internet-based matchmaking system designed to unearth the “perfect dimensions of compatibility” between driver candidates and carriers?  Really? 

But Tim Hindes, CEO of Stay Metrics, says that is exactly what’s needed in trucking to help alleviate the ongoing driver shortage—pegged by one study at 30,000 right now with projections for that to grow to 330,000 by 2020—and rampant driver turnover that he believes is costing the industry $7.5 billion per year. “We think the key to this is what we call ‘truth in lending’ on the recruiting side, specifically defining pay, home time, type of routes, type of freight, etc., all on the front end,” he explains.

Stay Metrics is in the process of taking its Satisfaction Survey and retooling it with the help of 500 active truck drivers pulled from a broad spectrum of operations (regional, long-haul, local delivery) in order to define specific sets of characteristics and traits (i.e., “likes and dislikes”) of the driver pool.

The carrier side of Stay Metrics’ system, however,  contains an interesting twist.  Instead of managers and executives creating a profile of their company, Hindes’ team will build such profiles based off surveys of the fleet’s drivers  to create what he calls a truer profile concerning pay, wait times, and home time.

“There’s no faking it this way,” Hindes stresses.  “The result is a much more accurate screening and matching system for carriers and drivers alike, one that we hope to have fully operational in the next 24 months.”

The focus on developing ways to find and keep commercial vehicle operators, whether via new technological tools or more traditional word-of mouth efforts, is only going to keep getting more intense, says Kent Ferguson, director of transportation solutions for HireRight, a provider of global employment screening, drug and health testing, and background check services.

“Over the last 10 years, the driver shortage has only become more constrained.  In fact, the American Trucking Assns. now reports that to keep up with demand, an average of 96,000 drivers need to be hired nationally every year,” he explains.

“That means the market for drivers is tight and as the economy continues to improve, the situation will only get tougher,” Ferguson adds.  “Competition is intense.  Drivers are at a premium and can easily move from one carrier to another; thus, driver turnover for the truckload industry is back to hovering around the 100% mark.”

HireRight recently joined forces with Avatar Management Services to integrate its background check package with Avatar’s ApplicantCare. This will speed up and streamline the hiring process and ensure that the best drivers are hired.

“The driver shortage has been around since the dawn of deregulated trucking,” says Avatar CEO Mark Gardner.    “What has changed during the last 10 years is the use of technology to make the recruiting and selection processes faster and more efficient.  Web-based applicant tracking systems (ATS) enhance recruiter productivity, allowing faster applicant processing, less time wasted on unqualified applicants, and far less paper shuffling.  ATS also collects and stores far more information about applicants in one easy-to-access place—a huge upgrade from shoe boxes full of paper applications or Excel spreadsheets.”

Validated and predictive pre-employment psychometric assessments and behaviorally anchored structured interviews are also available for the trucking industry yet rarely used, he adds.

“This is in stark contrast to more sophisticated industries that uniformly enjoy huge returns on more systematic employee selection protocols,” Gardner explains.  “While the shortage of quality drivers may be partially true, there are more tools than ever to drive down costs by doing more with less.  The carriers smart enough to use these tools have a distinct competitive advantage and enjoy organic growth and higher profits.”

Colliding factors

The truck driver shortage really stems from a confluence of factors that include an aging workforce and regulations that limit driver hours, as well as new demands resulting from an improvement in the  economy, HireRight’s Ferguson points out.

“As the economy grows overall, there’s increased demand for freight from a number of expanding markets,” he emphasizes.  “At the same time, as other industries rebound and increase hiring, there are new employment opportunities that [lure] drivers away, such as construction jobs.

“It can be especially hard to hire younger entry-level drivers because inexperienced drivers are forced to take jobs with national trucking firms that require drivers to be on the road for weeks at a time,” Ferguson continues.  “This is because local trucking firms often require two years of experience to keep insurance premiums down.  Many younger drivers are drawn to construction and other jobs that pay more and allow more time at home.  Plus, people can’t drive a commercial truck until age 21, and most people have already started their careers by that time.”

Vikas Jain, vice president and general manager at Fleet­Risk Advisors, agrees.  He says the supply and demand ratio for top drivers has significantly tightened over the last decade.  “They have a lot more opportunities available to them given the all-time-high driver shortage,” he notes.  “This continued driver churn and driver shortage underscores an urgent need for fleets to not only recruit but more importantly, retain top talent within the industry.”

One study claims the trucking industry is short 30,000 drivers right now, a shortage predicted to grow to 330,000 by 2020.

Rosalyn “Roz” Wilson, senior business analyst with Delcan Corp., identified some of those challenges in the latest State of Logistics report she compiled.

“The trucking sector has been in a delicate balance for several years now, just on the breach of experiencing capacity problems,” she explains.  “Utilization rates are at all-time highs with load volumes on the rise, but new regulations are expected to take a bite out of industry productivity, especially the new hours-of-service (HOS) rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.”

Wilson says the HOS rules, which went into effect July 1 of last year, represent a theoretical 17% reduction in a standard work week for truck drivers and estimates on their actual impact fall somewhere between a 2% and 10% productivity decrease.

Hard to find

Carriers are still reporting difficulty finding enough drivers, Wilson adds, with the industry right now short about 30,000.  “The HOS changes could have the effect of a net 2% to 5% reduction in driver capacity, so projecting that out arrives at the need for another 100,000 drivers,” she emphasizes.  “That is without an increase in volume.”

Other truck driver recruiting and retention challenges highlighted by Wilson in her latest research include:

  • Trucking companies used to sponsor more drivers in driver training programs, but due to the tough economic times, many eliminated the programs.
  • Expanded unemployment benefits, coupled with what some call the underground economy, mean many potential candidates for truck driving careers can get by on unemployment benefits supplemented with cash-only jobs usually related to a personal service like lawn mowing, handyman work or childcare.
  • Private fleets are attracting some of the most desirable drivers with better pay and working conditions.
  • More drayage work is available because of the growth of intermodal, pulling drivers out of mainstream driver jobs due to the better hours.  But loading delays could drive many away as fewer “turns” equates to less earning potential.
  • Sign-on bonuses and productivity or performance bonuses are becoming increasingly prevalent with each passing day.  Performance bonuses offer a “double benefit” in that they keep drivers happy and improve the bottom line.
  • The industry is not very successful in recruiting younger drivers because trucking companies have not done a good job dispelling negative views of the job and do little to demonstrate a career path to drivers.

Focusing in particular on that last finding, Wilson stresses that truck drivers represent a job category with the fewest potential workers trained to fill openings, with only about 17% of the current driver population under age 35 and a far larger portion of the driver population reaching retirement age.  She adds that maintaining the current minimum age requirement for a commercial driver’s license at 21 is also creating a major problem in terms of recruiting a pool of potential workers.

Continued high driver churn and shortage underscores an urgent need for fleets to not only recruit but to retain “top talent.”

“This is actually a big issue; we’re missing a huge piece of the population as they go to college or find some other avenue of work,” Wilson says.  “The industry also hasn’t done a good job in terms of changing the often negative image of the profession.”

Marc Althen, president of Penske Logistics, which helps sponsor the annual State of Logistics report along with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, adds that increasing both driver pay and home time are critical to recruitment and retention efforts but are also difficult tactics to maintain in the face of rising logistics costs.

As a result, carriers of all stripes are being forced to change the way they recruit drivers, says Jeff Stoicheff, senior vice president-human resources at Penske Logistics. “I believe the driver shortage is more acute today than 10 years ago, which certainly impacts any carrier’s ability to recruit drivers,” he points out.  “But there are different factors at play that make it more difficult to recruit drivers today.”

From his perspective, those issues are:

  • An uneven economy is driving up concerns of job security, thus making many drivers less interested in moving to another employer.
  • Ten years ago, there were fewer avenues of recruitment, which made it easier for employers to reach drivers with their advertising and for drivers to gain visibility of the available openings in their marketplace.  Today, there are literally hundreds of websites and social media outlets, which add complexity and obscure visibility.  “There’s always the option of blitzing every possible media outlet, but that approach is not effective over the long term,” he stresses.
  • There’s also no question that increased regulatory policy and pressures are making truck driver jobs less attractive. 

Recruiting changes

Recruiting has evolved over the past decade due to the sheer number of websites, forums and social media channels that employers can use to reach drivers, Stoicheff says.  “One of the areas where I think it’s moved in a positive direction is the advent of mobile recruiting applications.  Previously, one of the challenges all driver recruiters experienced was trying to reach drivers during normal working hours.  Mobile recruiting apps allow drivers to submit employment applications quickly and easily while on a lunch or rest break.”

From a retention perspective, he emphasizes that the “game” hasn’t changed.  “It’s about respect, good pay and benefits, safe and reliable equipment, and home time,” Stoicheff notes.

And that’s why technological tools, particularly those providing predictive analytics, will become more critical in the driver recruiting and retention fields, says FleetRisk’s Jain. “Predictive analytics technology is and will continue to challenge traditional personnel management practices by shining a light on the psychology behind the drivers.

“For example, it’s crucial for fleet managers to understand that being at home is just as important as the sense of connection and security a driver feels to his/her fleet manager and fleet as a whole,” Jain continues.  “One of the greatest benefits technology brings forth to its customers is allowing fleet managers to have quality conversations with their drivers regularly.  The ability to communicate with the right drivers, on the right subject, at the right time, ensures that problems are addressed in a timely manner… and that factors into driver retention.”

Beyond tradition

As fleets continue to look beyond traditional methods to better manage their drivers and overall company operations, Jain emphasizes, they will be able to capitalize on technology to help retain top talent, reduce accident occurrences, and build better, lasting relationships with drivers.

“What attracts and keeps drivers today are the same things that attracted and kept drivers 10 years ago,” Jain says.  “However, within the past 10 years, fleets have started implementing technology solutions to help them manage the behavior of their drivers and identify the different elements that cause drivers to leave their jobs, have an accident or file a worker’s compensation claim.”

That’s why HireRight’s Ferguson thinks that over the next five years, increasing demand, new technologies and generational shifts will continue to drive hiring procedure changes where truck drivers are concerned.

“More motor carriers will adopt social media and mobile recruiting technologies because more drivers will access companies that way, especially younger recruits who will be necessary as more of the current drivers retire,” he says.  “Transportation companies will continue to seek out new ways to improve the job by customizing it to driver needs as much as possible.

“Over the years, increasing hiring process efficiency, speeding hiring time, and improving candidate experience will continue to be significant factors for motor carriers as they improve their recruiting and retention programs,” Ferguson says.

School is back in session

Getting drivers the proper training to safely operate on the road is a challenge for many fleets.  Despite advances in technology that are changing the way carriers recruit drivers, some leading carriers have revisited a tried-and-true tactic many abandoned two decades ago: opening and operating their own driving schools.

Indiana-based Celadon Group is following this path, opening its own school via its Quality Drivers program within its Quality Companies subsidiary. First opened in 2012, the company recently invested $7 million in a new training center in February of this year.

“We have tried in the past to work out a partnership with a third-party driver school, but the results we experienced were disappointing,” Scott Vogel, manager of Quality Drivers, told Fleet Owner.  “We found both the quantity and quality of driver applicants/graduates to be less than acceptable to what we require of our drivers.”

He explained that operating its own driver training center ensures that the drivers hired receive the training necessary to be effective drivers for Celadon.

“Another advantage of having our own program is that it builds a positive relationship with the drivers starting from day one of their driving career,” he says.  “The new driver training center offers a basketball court, workout rooms and a racquetball court that can be used by both the driver trainees and other employees of Celadon as part of our overall ‘wellness initiative.’”

Danny Williams, vice president of Quality Companies, adds  that Celadon is actively recruiting drivers for its school from any number of trades and occupations. He is finding that the average age of its new “school recruits” is 38, only 10 years younger than the age of the “experienced” drivers being hired by the carrier.

“What has been a real draw for our school is the fact that the school is free; we will pay for their transportation to our school, in addition to all housing and meals being provided,” Williams notes.

“And drivers can get their CDL in as little as four weeks and a guaranteed job with Celadon upon graduation,” he continues. “The only requirement for the driver is that they fulfill a contract to log 120,000 mi. of driving for Celadon after completing the training.”
 

About the Author

Sean Kilcarr | Editor in Chief

Sean reports and comments on trends affecting the many different strata of the trucking industry -- light and medium duty fleets up through over-the-road truckload, less-than-truckload, and private fleet operations Also be sure to visit Sean's blog Trucks at Work where he offers analysis on a variety of different topics inside the trucking industry.

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