The shortage of truck drivers in the US is noticeable in the last couple of years, but there are ways to raise your driver retention.
More than a decade ago, nobody thought that the continental US will experience such a shortage of commercial truck drivers. Even FMCSA started taking steps to overcome this issue, but it will certainly need more than a few years for truck companies to fix the problem and return to where they were 10 years ago.
However, the above-mentioned shortage of drivers is not the only problem companies are facing right now. Driver retention is another crippling issue that fleet managers constantly deal with. The companies are in a constant quest for new drivers because they don’t expect that the driver who just joined the company stick for a long time.
Reportedly, more than 30% of drivers quit their job within the first three months, while approximately 50% of them leave within the first six months!
Even for us who are in this industry for years, these numbers are shocking. But, we have some solutions that can be implemented to keep those numbers as low as possible.
Why Drivers Leave in the First Place
The number one reason for drivers quitting the company shortly after joining is because their initial expectations haven’t been met.
Many companies are not transparent enough, and drivers feel scammed if they earn less than expected. However, we must also say that drivers themselves often don’t read the whole contract carefully, and they shouldn’t blame the company if that was the case.
Niki Express is not among those companies. We are transparent, and during the whole recruiting process we are at drivers’ disposal, and we will answer any question they might have!
The second biggest reason for early departure lies in the differences between recruiters, fleet managers, and dispatchers. Sometimes, drivers will feel that the organization is not coherent and all sorts of communication issues can arise from that.
Niki Express offers dedicated dispatch, so you will always hear the same, friendly voice that will assist you with anything. Also, our managers and even owners are easily reachable, and we are truly the big family!
Top 5 Moves to Increase Driver Retention
- Transparency
- High Hiring Standards
- Healthy Business Environment
- Ask for Feedback
- Reward Excellent Performance
Always talk about the conditions and benefits clearly, repeat the most important obligations from the contract several times as needed, and the number of drivers who will be disappointed will shrink dramatically.
During the recruitment process, you will deal with many different profiles of potential employees. The selection must be sharp. To get highly professional drivers, you need to raise the bar in the recruitment process. If you hire applicants that see this job as a last resort, the driver turnover rate will certainly go up.
Working environment, human relations, and how the drivers are welcomed into the company have a huge role in driver turnover rate. If you don’t make a new driver feel welcome and be at service in the period of acclimatization, they will feel alienated and likely leave within the first three months.
It is always smart to ask for feedback from your drivers. In any business, or life in general, it’s not easy to look at things from another perspective, especially if it confronts your views. However, talking about the problems with your drivers and acting accordingly is something they will highly appreciate and it will affect driver retention.
Rewarding excellent performance will not only save you from changing drivers constantly, but it will also spark higher performance as well. For example, Niki Express offers increased pay per mile to company drivers who drive over 3000 miles weekly.
Conclusion
Driver retention is one of the biggest problems in the trucking industry, without any doubt. However, we feel that majority of companies don’t do enough to keep their drivers happy.
Niki Express is a company that started small, but it is constantly growing because of the family-like atmosphere and relations that keep every employee as happy as possible!
