Raising driver pay won’t solve the recruitment and retention problems that plague the industry, panelists agreed May 25 at the Randall Trucking Spring Symposium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“There is a lot more to it than money,” said Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express. Mentoring programs and personal attention help companies retain drivers, Burch said. “People want to know they are important, and not just a number.”
Employers must remember that truckers are people, too, said Paul Williams, president of Wooster Motor Ways, which has a relatively low turnover rate, between 31 and 32 percent.
Wooster gives drivers one day off every quarter to spend with their families, provides a $500 savings bond for their kids, and pays for drivers’ cell phones so they can stay in touch with their loved ones, Williams said. Wooster also holds a four-day orientation to fully explain to new drivers the business of trucking, Williams said.
Teaching drivers basic business practices is important in keeping them in the company and in the industry, said Sherry Bass, head of capacity development for CRST Malone. For example, how fuel surcharges work must be fully explained so that both recruiters and drivers understand them, Bass said.
Marten Transport stresses the importance of exit interviews, to learn what made the driver unsatisfied with the company, said Jill Larson, recruiting director.
“It helps us restructure and offer more dedicated and regional hauls,” Larson said. The interviews also enable the company to judge whether that driver is a potential rehire. “With a 60 percent turnover rate, rehires are important,” she said.
