How to Reduce Employee Turnover in Trucking

Truck driving is a fulfilling career for many in the industry, but it is a hard profession that demands long hours, time away from family, and navigating difficult road and weather conditions. The pressures of the job unfortunately result in high turnover rates, making it one of the toughest industries to sustain a stable workforce. However, armed with insights into the driver experience and a willingness to commit to positive change, leaders in trucking can reverse the high turnover trend and transform company culture.

An employee feedback platform like WorkHound offers real-time insights into drivers’ concerns and needs, which can be invaluable in frontline work and high-stress environments. By actively addressing driver issues, companies can reduce turnover, improve efficiency, and pave the way for a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

The Importance of Real-Time Feedback

When drivers leave a company, the effects reverberate throughout the organization. When workforce availability is disrupted, workload distribution is thrown off balance. This disruption creates operational bottlenecks, which drive delays and strain production. These problems lead to compromised service quality and can even prevent deliveries, damaging the company’s reputation and bottom line. Worse still, high turnover negatively impacts team morale, causing frustration, burnout, and reduced engagement among the workforce left to pick up the slack.

With a platform like WorkHound, leaders give drivers an outlet to share questions and concerns and raise issues about their experience at work. With a layer of anonymity, drivers are empowered to share what’s on their minds, giving leaders an unfiltered view from the front lines.

Effective communication is a cornerstone of driver retention, and real-time feedback serves as a powerful tool to bridge gaps, enhance understanding, and build a more engaged and loyal workforce. This open channel of communication not only resolves concerns before they have a chance to escalate but also strengthens the overall relationship between drivers and management. It signals to workers that their perspectives and voices are valued — and in turn, they’re encouraged to keep sharing.

Strategies for Reducing Turnover in Trucking

Driving a truck is demanding work, but the best employers know how to support those who are committed to the craft. By leaning into driver experiences and building a support system that can help when the going gets tough, leaders can create a positive workplace culture that attracts great talent and retains it — from “hire to retire,” as one WorkHound customer described it. Here are some practical changes you can make to build a more supportive and engaging environment that encourages drivers to stay and thrive within the organization.

Regular Check-Ins: Consistent communication with drivers helps them feel valued and respected, which is crucial for retention. In addition to ongoing feedback with a platform like WorkHound, it is usually valuable to commit to regular one-on-one conversations with drivers as time allows. These check-ins allow management to address individual concerns, provide career development support, and reinforce a sense of connection with the company.

Fix Onboarding: It’s true that first impressions are among the most important. If your onboarding process is ineffective, you put your new hires at a disadvantage almost immediately. Ineffective onboarding can range from minor discrepancies to major misunderstandings. Give new hires the best chance at a great, long-lasting career by investing in a high-quality, consistent onboarding process that sets them — and you! — up for success.

Find Education Gaps: Trucking is a unique industry, deeply influenced by many external forces that impact fuel prices, business operations, profitability and more. New drivers especially, who don’t have extensive experience or insight into what is influencing the industry and how things can change over time, may view industry challenges as employer shortcomings, fueling a ‘me vs. the company’ mindset. A little education goes a long way in helping drivers understand how to navigate the freight cycle and the role their company plays, shifting the narrative from a perceived imbalance of power to a shared purpose. By deploying a feedback platform like WorkHound, you tap into active listening strategies that help you meet drivers where they are. Add new educational initiatives into onboarding and safety training, and improve your workforce relationships along the way.

Prevent Problem Escalation: Early signals of dissatisfaction often brew quietly but can snowball into larger, widespread workforce issues if left unaddressed. Proactively gathering and acting on driver feedback helps pinpoint these concerns early, allowing leadership to implement targeted solutions and prevent minor frustrations from turning into disengagement or turnover.

Give Everyone a Voice: Every workforce features at least a few quiet, hard-working individuals who rarely voice their concerns. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns, but more often, they remain quiet because they prefer not to ruffle feathers. WorkHound gives everyone a space where even the most reserved team members feel comfortable sharing feedback thanks to a layer of anonymity. This ensures that their needs and concerns are heard and addressed without fear of exposure or reprisal, encouraging more participation, even from the quietest corners of the workforce.

Competitive Compensation and Benefits: Offering attractive compensation packages and comprehensive benefits is essential to attract and retain talented drivers. Recognizing that competitive pay, health benefits and retirement plans are relatively standardized across the industry, consider expanding your packages to include things like bonuses, flexible scheduling, and even wellness programs.

Recognition and Rewards: Establishing formal programs and policies to recognize and reward drivers for their hard work and exceptional performance can boost morale and engagement. From driver of the month awards to safety incentives and milestone celebrations, a little recognition goes a long way toward driver satisfaction.

Real-Time Feedback: With a feedback platform like WorkHound, leaders can systematically collect and analyze feedback, identifying and addressing issues quickly. This proactive approach empowers drivers to share their thoughts and concerns while enabling management to make informed decisions that enhance the overall work experience.

How PS Logistics Cut Turnover in Half

PS Logistics used WorkHound to reduce driver turnover by over 50%. By gathering real-time feedback from drivers, WorkHound helped the PS Logistics team strengthen communication and build trust with their workforce. The comments they receive help leaders identify and resolve key issues such as pay discrepancies and operational challenges, improving both job satisfaction and retention. Through consistent engagement and a commitment to fast response, the company built a supportive workplace culture and environment that ultimately led to a significant decrease in turnover from 85% to 32%.

By leveraging tools like WorkHound’s real-time feedback platform, trucking companies can gain crucial insights into driver concerns, allowing them to address issues proactively and prevent small problems from becoming big ones that evolve into quit-worthy drama. Implementing key strategies and committing to positive change will help leaders foster a more resilient and loyal workforce, paving the way for long-term success and stability in an industry that is the lifeblood of our communities.

To learn what WorkHound might look like in your organization, book a demo today.