WorkHound’s cloud-based system automatically collects driver feedback, anonymously.WorkHound, providers of a software platform designed to help carriers reduce driver turnover, announced a case study with Southern Refrigerated Transport (SRT) that showed a reduction of driver turnover by 16 percent that resulted in $580,000 in savings over the last six months.
SRT, based in Texarkana, Ark., has over 900 drivers.
“If it costs $4,000 to replace a driver [at SRT], and you’re losing 10 drivers a week, that’s a lot of money,” said Terri Lafayette, recruiting director at SRT.
Lafayette sees the company’s family atmosphere as influential to its success. The decision to use WorkHound came after structural changes inside the company put the driver’s fleet manager in charge of any and all needs that drivers may have. Formerly, these needs were handled by SRT’s two-person Driver Relations department.
SRT began using Workhound in February 2016. Drivers use their smartphones to share anonymous feedback, praise, problems and ideas with their carriers through WorkHound. The software then aggregates the feedback data and turns it into insights to help manage and retain drivers.
“What I liked about WorkHound was that it was simple,” Lafayette said. “It was easy to understand, gave the drivers an outlet, and it wasn’t going to be difficult for the drivers to use, unlike some of the other solutions we had researched.”
According to American Trucking Association, turnover continues to skyrocket around the industry. In the fourth quarter of 2015 alone, driver turnover rates at large truckload carriers climbed to 102 percent.
“WorkHound was a very worthwhile investment, and I think other companies are going to have to do the same thing,” Lafayette said.
