10 things you must consider when recruiting truck drivers
Every time a trucking company has to replace a driver it can cost $5,000 to $10,000, of lost revenue, insurance and maintenance on a parked truck and, the cost of training a new hire. Hiring drivers that are a good fit for your company and will minimize turnover is the most cost-effective business decision you can make. It is also one of the hardest things to do. However, there are several free and cheap techniques that will improve your recruit if you embrace technology and are honest about your driver’s experience. Here are ten tips to help.
1 Your goal is to hire drivers that fit in your company not to fill 100% of trucks
It does you no good to keep your trucks filled if it means you have a high turnover, since every turnover is thousands of dollars. Likewise, if you have a recruiter, you shouldn’t reward them based on the number of hires, they make. A better metric for a recruiter is the number of hires that last a year.
2 Find out why drivers choose to work for you
You probably don’t know why drivers that you like actually work for your company, so ask them. Not only will it make that driver feel more appreciated but the specifics of what that drivers likes about working for you should go into your advertisement.
3 Ask your driver personally for referrals
If you have a driver that you do like tell them and ask them if they know anyone else who would be a good fit for the company. Don’t ask if they know someone looking for a job, that is a different question, you’re looking for the best possible candidates.
4 Make your ad more specific
Your goal with a help wanted ad is not to have everyone that sees it apply but, for the people that would be a good fit to apply. The ad should filter out people that would be a bad fit so be specific and honest about what working for your company will be like. If you are getting a lot of unqualified applicants or recruits that don’t work out, then your ad is the problem.
5 Run your ad in more than one place
You should advertise on as many services as you can: local newspapers, Craigslist, Facebook, Indeed, etc. Track where recruits heard about your company so you know that a platform is working for you.
6 Have a website or improve the one you have
A good driver will do some research on a company that they are applying to. Having a web presence will make your company look more legitimate. There are plenty of web hosting services that provide user friendly interferences and at an affordable monthly cost.
7 Have a vibrant social media presence
Like a website, a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page that you post on every day or every few days does a lot to make your company look more legitimate to potential recruits. Post about driver safety, welcoming new employees or even trucking memes are easy to do and demonstrate you are a company that is fun to work for.
8 Take advantage of technology
There are more companies offering technology support for small business today then there as ever been. A great example for hiring purposes is an applicant tracking system. It provides a professional way for applicants to apply and allows you to follow up on applicants. An applicant tracking system are cheap enough that it will pay for itself with one good recruit a year.
9 Make recruits feel welcomed
There are always lots of open driver position that could hire a good recruit before you. If you are talking to a recruit before they fill out an application don’t be afraid to make them a tentative offer on the spot if you have a good feeling about them. It will make the driver feel good about the company and might stop them from applying to other jobs while they go through your application process.
10 Exit interview every driver
When a driver quits you should interview them to find out why. For both good and bad drivers, it is helpful to keep track of the reasons that they quit. If one former driver complains about your dispatcher, maybe it was just that driver, if every driver that leaves mentions the dispatcher as a reason, then you need a new dispatcher. If you like the driver ask if you can recruit them again in the future. This should not be a negotiation, but maybe you will be able to make changes in the future that will allow you to rehire good drivers.
With all these new recruits you probably have questions about payroll taxes, you can refer to our article about the 3 Taxes You Will Need to Know as an Employer. If you want to stand out in help wanted you could advertise that you pay per diem, which makes drivers more money, you can read our article here, to find out more about per diem.
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