5 Ways to Make Sure New Driver Hires Stick Around

Truck driver retention is priority number one for many carriers, as the trucking industry has an average yearly turnover rate of 97% . This percentage includes all drivers, but new drivers (with a company for less than 90 days) are more inclined to change companies with staggering turnover rates around 300% for some carriers. 

Getting new truck driver hires right and continuing to make them welcomed with the company is essential. 

Use these 5 tips to make sure your new drivers know they made the right choice joining your company!

1. Make Expectations Clear
   Don’t be afraid to inform new hires of what the job will really entail. Be honest about everything from expected miles, pay, home time, equipment and ways of communication.  Sugarcoating the job will only lead to eventual unhappiness. If you are clear from the beginning, employees will be more trusting and ready for what’s to come.

2. Have a Meaningful Orientation
   There is nothing new hires hate more than spending a full day at an orientation that they’ve heard from every job. Make your orientation specific to your company. Use exciting tools or specific driver stories to make the new hire feel as though they are joining something great! Trucking has a tremendous purpose and new drivers need to be reminded of just how important of a role they play with the company. When you have to share the less-than-exciting information, make sure to tie it back to this purpose. 

3. Don’t be Disorganized
   New hires will instantly be put off with a company that is disorganized. If you are constantly changing times, rescheduling, or acting scattered, new hires will have a hard time trusting the organization. They also might feel as though that’s part of the culture and become disorganized themselves.

4. Have an Inviting Personnel
   When a new hire is first coming into an organization for training or orientation make sure the employees they are meeting are welcoming and excited. If a new employee feels as though they are not really wanted, they will quickly become unmotivated. This is an easy, yet effective way to make a good first impression!

5. Give Feedback and Encourage Feedback
   Giving feedback to new employees is highly important in making sure your employees are behaving in line with company needs and culture. If you don’t give effective feedback often, employees will fall into a habit, which will be harder to change. Also, make sure you allow and encourage feedback to be given to the company so that employees are not afraid to share their feelings.

Have other tips? Have feedback about our ideas? Let us know!

Keep on Truckin’!