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Editor’s Note: Filling the Driver’s Seat is a series that delves into fleet driver recruitment and retention strategies through the lens of the people leading the efforts. Know someone we should profile? e-mail [email protected].
AUSTIN, TEXAS — American Central Transport sends anonymous surveys to its hundreds of driver employees each week to keep its finger on the pulse of its workforce, president and COO Phil Wilt said this week.
Kansas City, Missouri-based TL Dry Truck Fleet also hired a life coach this year and contracted with an outside agency to ensure drivers and students get extra attention during the critical first six months on the job. Executives hold a monthly Zoom call with drivers.
“Every year, we figure out what’s the next thing we can do that really puts us in a place where a driver says, ‘I wish I had come to you sooner,'” Wilt said. “And honestly, that’s probably what we hear most often from our drivers.”
Beyond the basics of competitive pay and benefits, seeking regular feedback from drivers — then acting on it — is a differentiator for trucking companies looking to boost retention, said Mark Murrell, co-founder of CarriersEdge and co-creator of the annual Best Fleets to Drive workplace recognition program.
During a panel discussion at the American Trucking Associations 2023 Management Conference & Expo, Murrell, Wilt and Prime Inc. Director of Operations Jim Guthrie shared some best practices for driver support and engagement.
“Anyone can do a survey and say, ‘Tell us what you want! Tell us what you want! Tell us what you want!” Murrell said. “But if [drivers] they don’t see you doing something with that feedback, they start to shut up.
“You highlight the things you do in response to their feedback. You give them an update on what’s going on. This is a critical piece.”
Guthrie, whose company has about 8,000 independent contractor drivers, said Prime broadcasts weekly safety meetings at all of its major terminals.
Executives also receive submitted questions in real time and seek to be as transparent as possible about the economy, driver earnings and other concerns.
“We say, ‘We’ve never had a bad meeting,’ even if we get some tough questions,” Guthrie said. “And there are some tough questions sometimes. But you know, that communication is really important. … Our operators are extremely astute business people, and it’s gratifying and refreshing to have these conversations with them.”
Remuneration is always the main concern of drivers and compensation has risen on average along with other operational costs. The industry offered increased connection bonuses and improved benefits packages as truckers tried to woo drivers during the freight boom of recent years, Murrell said.
After years of paying drivers $100 a day during orientation, many fleets have doubled or tripled that offer, the CarriersEdge president said. Others are offering up to $500 a day, pushing the average above $200 for the first time, he said.
Murrell outlined the process for fleets to join the Best Fleets to Drive For program: a nomination from a driver, a detailed company questionnaire, a company interview and a driver survey.
The program’s findings highlighted a major growth in the trucking industry in recent years.
“HR came in truckloads,” Murrell said. “They bring a lot of new ideas that come from outside of trucking. It was really interesting to see. And it really changed the dynamic in terms of building culture in the workplace.”