The 5 Essentials That Make Truck Driving A Great Job

Today’s business world is an uncertain one— out of the fifteen most wanted jobs in the market today, eight of them didn’t even exist ten years ago. But it’s a bit different when it comes to truck drivers. 

Even though there are around 3 million truck drivers in the U.S., the American Trucking Association estimated that the industry would have to hire more than 1.1 million truck drivers in the next few years. That’s a staggering number. And considering there’s a massive shortage of truck drivers already today, that makes truck driving a stable career path. 

Even though the data above presents truck driving as a stable career with job security, that alone won’t make people flock to become truck drivers— they need more than that to commit to trucking as a  career path. So let’s see what companies need to do to make truck driving a great job. 

What are the benefits of being a truck driver?

A career as a truck driver holds many hidden benefits and the following five are the most impactful ones. So next time you present the jobs of your truck drivers as an attractive career path for your recruiting program, think about including the following five: 

They get paid to see the best man-made and natural beauties of the country

One of the greatest things a person can do as a trucker is exploring the country’s best man-made and natural beauties. As a trucking company, you should use this benefit to brand the truck driving job as an explorer’s job. 

Meeting new people, exploring the country, and seeing new places can all be attractive ways to boost a plethora of new candidates for your company. 

They get to learn while driving

Truck driving has a lot of down-time, where truck drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours a day under HOS regulations. The remaining time, truck drivers can use to explore new environments, see new things, read books about people whose places they are currently visiting, or even learn something new.

The benefits of having long, uninterrupted time on the road means that they can even learn a new skill. Also, they have time to be alone so they can center their thoughts, become mindful, and work on their mental health and well-being. 

Excellent pay

According to Indeed, the average salary of a truck driver is $67,903 a year which is almost double the national median salary. Considering trucking is a stable job with a secure future, this can make the career of a truck driver highly desirable. 

As a trucking company, don’t forget o present these benefits to your talent pool of candidates so they understand the possibilities of their career at your company. Also, make sure to outline professional development opportunities for your drivers so they can look forward to growth within your company. For example, some of our customers have developed specific paths to becoming trainers and recruiters. 

They can become a trainer or a recruiter

Truck driving can be their first career option, but it’s not their last career option. 

Drivers have the option to use their experiences and become trainers for a new generation of truck drivers, teaching them the ins and outs of the business, and being their mentors. 

For most truck drivers, becoming a recruiter means they will need to have a reputable employee experience in order to convince others that trucking is a great opportunity. That leads us to improving the driver’s experience as a prerequisite. 

Improved driver experience

The industry-wide annual turnover rate has an average of over 90%. So trucking companies will need to invest heavily in retention practices in order to save time and money and grow their fleet — and this is critical if they want their drivers to grow into trainers or recruiters. 

Drivers expect more from trucking companies because these are the experiences they can gain from other careers instead— better logistics, tech to communicate with dispatchers and companies, and a two-way communication channel to collect feedback from them so they can have a better working experience. All of this information can be found in our 2021 mid-year report where we talked with more than 10,000 truckers to find out what’s important to drivers. 

Positioning truck driving as a societal need

Did you know that around 70% of all items consumed in the U.S. are being transported on the road? Truck drivers are the essential workers that ensure that the nation functions properly— food, gas, and healthcare supplies are just some of the things that truck drivers bring across the country so that everything can work as intended. 

This is a perfect opportunity to brand truck driving as an essential job in the U.S. and explain to people that the truck drivers were the ones that ensured that the supermarket had food, that the pharmacy had drugs, and that the filling stations had gas during the pandemic. So companies should tell candidates that being a truck driver isn’t only great when it comes to excellent pay and a promising career; it’s also the cornerstone of a functioning nation. 

Conclusion

Being a truck driver is an exciting career path. As we’ve established the need for more drivers in the future, it’s a safe path to reliable employment, but that alone won’t make employees flock to truck driving. 

Companies will need to invest in better logistics, tech, and communication with their drivers. And if you’re unsure how to do all of those things, you should talk to one of our driver retention experts at WorKound.