Bert Johnson, vice president of human resources, attributes this to CFI’s fairly robust student program that includes an in-house finishing program and tuition reimbursement.
Thirty percent of its current drivers went through the program, but the share of drivers at CFI with between one and four years of experience is comparatively lower than the industry, he says.
On Nov. 26, CFI announced an Experienced Driver compensation package to change that trend. The new package pays current and future drivers for over-the-road (OTR) truck driving experience.
The pay program starts at $0.40 per mile and increases one cent per mile for every full year of experience up to $0.45. To qualify, drivers can earn the experience with CFI or another over-the-road trucking company.
Special consideration is also given to military veterans who possess translatable driving experience.
“CFI’s Experienced Driver compensation package is designed to recognize and reward the skill and professionalism of seasoned drivers in the trucking business,” said Tim Staroba, President of CFI. “Experience has a direct correlation with safety, so it is doubly important to recruit and retain seasoned professionals to work with us here at CFI.”
The company also announced a new top pay scale. Once employed, drivers can earn a penny increase per mile after every 125,000 miles, which is approximately what drivers travel in one year. The increases continue up to $0.48 per mile with the final increase of $0.01 per mile awarded to drivers that reach one million miles.
To make room for the Experienced Driver pay program, CFI discontinued its annual productivity bonus. Management found that the annual incentive did not have an impact on productivity, retention or recruiting, Johnson says.
