Anything you can do to help your owner-operators manage their business more efficiently makes very good business sense for you and can be one of your greatest retention tools. If you’re looking for ways to encourage best practices among your owner-operators, consider sending your fleet manager or recruiting manager to the Partners in Business Retention Forum (RF:07) in Dallas Aug. 21-23.
Held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, RF:07 is jam-packed with expert speakers, including representatives from carriers with some of the lowest turnover rates in the business. You’ll learn what you can do to help match your valuable owner-operators with the resources they need to be successful. You’ll also hear about the issues they face, the obstacles and real-life solutions.
Here are some of the topics that will be covered at the forum:
- How to help owner-operators manage fuel costs;
- Developing an owner-operator educational program;
- How to start and use a driver council;
- Anti-idling solutions;
- Maintenance issues for owner-operators;
- Healthier owner-operators (insurance and wellness programs);
- Improving your drivers’ quality of life on the road; and
- Hiring for retention.
The content for the forum – which is sponsored by Freightliner Trucks, Castrol, American Truck Business Services and Randall-Reilly Publishing’s Overdrive Magazine – was developed by the editors of Overdrive and the owner-operator business experts at ATBS.
And if you or your owner-operators are interested in attending the Great American Trucking Show at the nearby Dallas Convention Center Aug. 23-25, there’s plenty of free business seminars they can attend – along with all the excitement and entertainment of a giant truck show. The 2007 GATS is shaping up to be the biggest and best show to date, surpassing the record-setting 2006 event. GATS is the second-largest trade show in the trucking industry, and was named the fastest-growing trade and consumer show in the United States and Canada by Trade Show Week magazine.
Exploring ways you can help your owner-operators succeed, and encouraging them to seek information about their business practices, strengthens the bond between both of you. A financially successful owner-operator reflects well on your fleet and can be one of your best retention tools.
