The Top 5 Truck Driver Retention Best Practices for 2025

Retaining truck drivers is the cornerstone of success for trucking companies and logistics providers in 2025.

While technology has taken center stage in recent years — with tools like dash cams and ELDs sparking heated debates — much of the resistance stems from how these technologies are perceived. Drivers often view them as invasive tools for surveillance rather than support. But with the right approach, even these innovations can be reframed as drivers’ allies.

At WorkHound, we understand that pairing technology with an authentic commitment to driver well-being can help manage challenges like these and beyond. By prioritizing anonymous driver feedback, we empower leaders to show drivers they’re valued, essential members of the team. With the right tools and an unwavering focus on listening, leaders can foster trust, build company culture, and transform company communications. Ultimately, this approach strengthens driver retention with loyalty, creating a better experience for drivers and businesses alike.

The Importance of Truck Driver Retention

Retention starts with trust, and trust is built through communication. By giving drivers a voice and acting on their feedback, companies can shift the narrative from “Big Brother is watching” to “We’re in this together.” It’s a subtle yet powerful change that transforms turnover into loyalty.

Let’s face it: in a market where losing a driver can cost upwards of $12,000 to $15,000 per seat, retention isn’t just about company culture — it’s survival. Amid a persistent driver shortage, every experienced driver who stays reduces the high cost and disruption of recruiting and training new ones. Improving driver retention rates directly correlates with enhanced operational efficiency and profitability for trucking companies.

Factors That Contribute to Driver Turnover

Truck driver turnover has long plagued the transportation industry, with annual turnover rates often surpassing 90% in some segments. Beyond the staggering costs of replacing drivers, turnover disrupts operations, compromises service reliability, and creates a revolving door that undermines morale.

The root causes span a range of valid complaints: 

• Inadequate pay that doesn’t reflect the challenges of the job
• Insufficient home time that leaves drivers feeling disconnected from their families
• A lack of respect from leadership and/or customers
• Poor working conditions, from subpar equipment to chaotic schedules
• And perhaps most importantly, the pervasive feeling of being undervalued 

Adding fuel to the fire is the growing use of surveillance technologies like dashcams. While these tools are marketed as safety enhancements, drivers often see them as tools for micromanagement and distrust — a perception that drives resentment and, ultimately, resignation.

Solving these challenges demands a fresh approach that centers on empathy, transparency, and collaboration. Companies must address the underlying issues head-on, finding ways to respect drivers’ contributions while fostering trust in both policies and technologies.

When drivers feel valued and respected, they stay. And when they stay, businesses thrive.

The Top 5 Best Practices to Increase Truck Driver Retention for 2024

By addressing what truly matters to drivers and tackling turnover at its core, companies can build lasting loyalty and improve operations. Here are five proven practices, shaped by years of curated research and real-world success stories, to help you keep your drivers happy, engaged, and committed in 2025:

1. Get Truck Drivers’ Feedback

Asking for truck driver feedback might not sound like a groundbreaking strategy, but it’s the cornerstone of effective driver retention. It’s the critical first step to building trust and creating meaningful change within your organization. 

Whether your drivers are full-time employees or independent contractors, they deserve to be treated with the same respect and attention as any other vital team member. Sadly, many transportation companies fail in this endeavor, taking drivers for granted and ignoring their needs. Drivers unfortunately fall victim to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, where their contributions are overlooked until a crisis arises — be it a breakdown, a missed delivery, or, worse, a resignation.

This mindset not only breeds resentment but also accelerates turnover. Drivers need consistent recognition and support to feel like valued members of the team, not just an afterthought. By actively addressing their concerns and treating them as integral to your company’s success, you can foster loyalty, reduce turnover, and create a workplace where drivers feel appreciated and respected.

Your truck drivers are no different from your sales reps, your management team, your accounting team, and the like. They make your business go. Give them a forum to submit their thoughts and insights on how the business is running. You might be shocked at how quickly the feedback will impact driver retention. Implementing this open-door policy for feedback is a strategic move to increase driver retention, demonstrating the value of listening to your drivers’ experiences and concerns.

2.  Act on Driver Feedback

Don’t let driver requests, complaints, concerns, or suggestions sit idle. Feedback is a gift. It’s a window into a perspective you would not otherwise have. If you fail to acknowledge it, it could very well be the last time you’ll get such a gift. 

If their feedback is actionable and valid, act upon it. Show drivers that their input leads to tangible changes.

When feedback isn’t directly actionable but points to gaps in understanding, use it as an opportunity to educate and empower your drivers. Provide the guidance and support they need to bridge those gaps, demonstrating your commitment to their success. For instance, if a driver raises concerns about fuel efficiency expectations, provide training on fuel-saving techniques or clarify policies.

Enlist your operations, recruiting, and HR teams to develop a comprehensive strategy for responding to feedback. This cross-functional approach ensures that every piece of input — no matter how big or small — is addressed thoughtfully and strategically.

At WorkHound, our tenured Customer Success team specializes in helping companies transform feedback into actionable strategies that improve retention, build trust, and create stronger teams. 

3. Build Dialogue, Rapport and Trust

On top of keeping everyone informed and working toward the same goals, communication creates dialogue and builds rapport, both of which ultimately lead to trust, the cornerstone of any lasting relationship. With your drivers, it’s no different.

Honest, open, and authentic communication is key here, and so is consistency and forum. Give your drivers a designated way to clear the air and express themselves to your management team. Collect insights from these conversations and put them to work. Use the feedback to inform company practices and strategies, showing your drivers that their voices not only matter but also shape the future of your organization. By prioritizing trust through dialogue and rapport, you’ll not only improve retention but also cultivate a culture of respect and collaboration.

4.  Improve Work-Life Balance

Life on the road comes with unique challenges, but even despite this, many drivers enjoy their time traversing towns, cities, and states across the country. The key, of course, is balancing their time driving with plenty of rest and time to recharge at home. When this balance is upset, the challenges that come with the already demanding job of driving a truck become unsustainable, leading to frustration and burnout. 

Give drivers routes that establish a natural work-life balance. Build routes that allow them to stay home for appropriate stretches of time and keep consistency in mind as much as possible so drivers can accurately predict their pay and schedule. 

Drivers have families, hobbies, holidays, birthdays, and milestones that matter deeply to them. Ensuring they have opportunities to be present for those special moments is an investment in loyalty and morale.

Whenever possible, provide semi-regular hours that allow drivers to spend quality time with their loved ones. This simple yet impactful gesture shows that you value them as people, not just as cogs in the machine. And the benefits are clear: Drivers who feel supported in balancing work and life are more likely to stay loyal and engaged, building a stronger and more committed workforce.

5. Align Pay Practices With Driver Expectations

For trucking leaders navigating tight profit margins, improving compensation doesn’t necessarily mean increasing pay. Of course, drivers expect (and deserve!) to be fairly compensated. At a minimum, this should include what they were originally promised, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. Even when their pay rates are fair and consistent with market expectations, drivers still find themselves frustrated with pay, reporting a lack of transparency about how pay is calculated, inconsistency in paycheck amounts, and unmet expectations.

Because pay is often tied to mileage, which can vary, and elements like bonuses or other additional earnings can make paychecks fluctuate, driver pay can be confusing and unpredictable. Worse still, shrewd recruiters will frequently oversell opportunities, making drivers believe there are more miles and money in a job than there are, sowing distrust and suspicion. 

These kinds of inconsistencies are beyond frustrating, and for drivers that operate paycheck to paycheck, they can be unsustainable. It is already a difficult, demanding job. Adding financial stress makes it untenable, and can result in truck drivers looking for a stable paycheck elsewhere. 

The truth is there are plenty of other opportunities for improving driver pay that don’t require paying them more money. Leaders must work to incorporate transparency into pay practices, align recruiting promises with reality, educate drivers at onboarding, and commit to maintaining an open-door policy for questions about pay. When compensation plans are clear, drivers can confidently understand and trust what they’ll take home after each job, giving them comfort in predictability and a way to plan financially. 

Ready to elevate your driver retention strategy? Discover how WorkHound’s feedback solution can help you create happier, more loyal drivers — and a stronger, more successful business. Contact us today to get started.