Retention is the New Driver Recruiting

When it comes to driver recruiting, the main problem is that many trucking companies are filling a leaky bucket. Instead of asking themselves WHY they have a high turnover rate, they are dumping a bunch of money into marketing for new drivers. With an abundance of freight and an unstoppable supply chain, it’s easy to focus all the energy on finding new drivers, but without dedicating resources to retention, it’s impossible to grow.

As drivers are the backbone of your company, struggling to fill your pipeline with new talent can make your business feel unstable. To understand the problem behind your turnover rates, it’s necessary to ask yourself if you are creating an environment that rewards and respects your company’s current drivers.

Or is it possible that you’re so focused on recruiting that you’re not taking care of your current employees? Read on to learn more about what better care for current employees could look like.

What Happens When You Focus on Driver Retention Instead of Driver Recruiting

Attracting drivers to the company is very important. We already know that. More drivers means more loads and more revenue. Once you have them, you need to make sure you are giving them a reason to stay.  This is both good for retention and for recruiting. For starters, having a reputation of high turnover sends a message to other drivers that working for your company isn’t worth it.

The current driver shortage has made it harder for trucking companies to find new drivers,  making driver retention all the more critical at this point in time. There are several things that you can do to create a better environment for your drivers. The results will automatically attract more drivers and customers to your company because you will have a reputation for reliability. 

What Can You Do Right Now?

The first action to take in order to retain your work is to simply ASK your drivers what they need, and we know from experience they’ll tell you exactly how to retain them. Trucking companies across the country are asking drivers what they like about working for them and what the company can do to improve their experience. 

WorkHound has used the feedback of thousands of drivers to figure out exactly what can be done to reduce turnover rates. The anonymous feedback system helps drivers feel more comfortable with giving honest answers because whether or not your company has a culture of retaliation, there’s a real fear from drivers from their own past experiences. 

Keeping your drivers regularly engaged will help with both retention and recruiting. Happy drivers are more likely to refer other drivers to your company, growing your driver pool with more reliable and enthusiastic drivers. At the end of the day, this will help your company build a stable and respectable reputation in the trucking industry allowing you to save thousands on recruitment marketing and onboarding costs.

If you’re ready to shift your focus from driver recruiting to driver retention, start asking for driver feedback. But don’t just take our word for it, learn how Bay & Bay Transportation experienced a net increase in drivers by 30% by downloading their case study here.