5 Ways to Address the Driver Shortage in the Trucking Industry 

High driver turnover, low wages, unfair fines, and unpaid work are just a few of the causes of the current driver shortage in the trucking industry. But what can be done to fix this? Here are 5 actionable steps you can take to address the trucking industry’s driver shortage:

1. Improve Driver Pay

This may be the most straightforward of all the points on this list. The lack of young drivers entering the industry is very likely attributed to low or simply confusing pay.

A few things you could do to increase driver’s overall compensation are:

1. 1. • Minimize errors in driver pay
      • Reconsider how drivers are compensated
      • Pay drivers for productive non-driving time
      • Pay drivers for time spent at the shipper’s location

2. Improve Work-Life Balance

The issue of work-life balance is increasingly becoming widespread among various industries, the trucking industry notwithstanding. 

To improve your drivers’ work-life balance, you can decrease the time spent on the road, increase time at home, host company events, and give other benefits. Doing this would help relieve the concern of always being away from home while encouraging new, interested individuals to enter the industry. 

3. End trucking company training contracts

While this one might be a little more dated, it still exists in the industry. Training contracts require drivers to work for a set amount of time while receiving very low pay, and this scars the company image. Ending training contracts and employing other means of training would be a great way to address the truck driver shortage.

For instance, instead of a full year of training, switch to an apprenticeship model where new hires learn from existing drivers, preventing them from completing a full year of training only to exit the industry after the first year. WorkHound customers like Dart Transit have found ways to innovate training programs while still conducting a thorough orientation. 

4. Provide accurate information to workers

Transparency as a company is one way to address the driver shortage. Clearly state all contractual agreements, for instance, clarify the independent contractor relationship with all drivers or identify and communicate grey areas in a driver’s experience. 

This will increase trust between your company and new or existing hires. Having contracts that favor drivers would also attract new hires. 

5. Use data analytics for hiring

A simple way to address the driver shortage is to use data analytics to transform all your company systems. 

It’s as simple as this: Collect data from your current workers, analyze it and gain insights into the areas you are performing well in, and underperforming, and use the results to inform your decisions. This can completely transform the hiring process, and give you valuable feedback on what benefits are valuable to drivers. 

At WorkHound, we help you through this entire process. It’s a partnership. We collect feedback from your workers, turn them into ready-to-use insights, and all you do is take action.

These are five steps you can take today to address the current driver shortage. Not only will they improve the company-driver relationship but will attract new hires into the industry.

If you’re ready to join us in addressing these industry-wide challenges, reach out today for a free consultation.