Wrapping Up 2020 & Our Retention Resolution for 2021

Max Farrell, Co-Founder and CEO

If there’s one thing that held true in this year of uncertainty, it’s that frontline workforces innovated, adapted, and persevered. 

We paid close attention to trucking, where most of our customers operate. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were signs of a recession. Historically, when the economy is headed into a downturn, trucking is one of the first industries affected.

But in this particular year, trucking shined as an essential service, and the entire country got to see the work they’re doing. If you bought it, a truck brought it, so the trucking industry had a great year, economically, and drivers are once again being seen as the knights of our roadways. 

The other piece that has been really impressive is the industry’s ability to change and adapt more than ever before. Trucking has often previously been seen as behind the times, but this year, it caught up. 

The industry had to evolve the way paperwork was processed and digitize the experience. Many motor carriers went remote for education and training. The trucking industry evolved very quickly as a requirement and that was inspiring to witness.

This year, we also saw trucking embrace empathy for drivers in ways we have not seen historically. Companies rolled up their sleeves, and they emphasized being a driver’s co-pilot. They ramped up communication frequency and the desire for regular feedback from their drivers to show the agility of their workforce. 

Shining a Light on the WorkHound Team

Our team has been incredibly resilient during this time. In March, we shifted from being in an office to becoming 100% remote. We’ve become more and more efficient each month. 

We’ve found ways to stay connected even though we are apart. We have done team activities like hot sauce tasting challenges or virtual talent shows, even a virtual holiday party. Getting creative has brought our team together and allowed us to truly connect outside of just the work we do. 

There’s no question that this year has been heavy on all of us, and every single person out there has faced some setback. Our team has rallied around each other, and we’ve been really transparent about the fact that it’s okay to be human at work. The power of WorkHound’s culture shined through our team this year, and it’s become clear that everyone plays a role in retention.

We were able to grow in the middle of a pandemic. We developed some incredible case studies, where our clients saw reductions in employee turnover by 30% or more, and it’s really rewarding to show a quantitative impact like that.

Despite this year of great uncertainty, our engineering team has been able to roll out more features this year alone than we have historically because we have a high-impact vision that’s focused on meeting our customers’ needs faster. 

This year was also certainly a big year in raising awareness in the fight against systemic racism. Our team has launched internal diversity and inclusion efforts to take time to understand and be more empathetic during a very trying year while building a company culture that stands for a better community for our employees, customers, and neighbors. 

Our Retention Resolution in 2021

We have the privilege of having innovative customers. Because of that, we are not only continuing to improve based on the feedback and needs of some of the brightest leaders in the industry, we’re also dedicated to raising the voice of frontline workers across multiple industries. 

Our product roadmap is based on building what those customers need. Not only does that help our existing customers, but it satisfies the needs of future customers as well. 

My final thought for 2020 is this: We are grateful to our team, our customers, and all the workers using WorkHound. Thank you for riding out the wildest, weirdest year in recent history. We are working every day to be a better version of ourselves, and we look forward to amplifying our impact in 2021. 

If you’d like to share your retention resolution for 2021, I’d love to hear about it. Reach out and share your story here.