Hiring And Keeping The Best Drivers

Hiring the most qualified commercial truck drivers you can find is a challenge facing every fleet manager. The most powerful recruiting tool any fleet owner can offer is to treat your current drivers with the respect they deserve. Referrals from your current drivers are more cost effective and productive than any other recruiting technique. Current drivers should be incentivized for their referral efforts.

When an individual is being interviewed for a driving position ensure you thoroughly explain the positive and the negative aspects of the work. Every employee comes with their own set of expectations and it is important that your position can accommodate these expectations. Privately drivers will agree that compensation does not vary significantly from one employer to the next. Drivers also understand that being away from home for extended periods is part of the job. What you think are objectionable aspects of the job may not be critical aspects to the driver. A driver will remember if you listened well and explained all of the job aspects when it’s time to make an employment decision.

When drivers terminate their employment, it is usually due to discord with a dispatcher or supervisor. Drivers leave bosses not jobs. Heightening the standards of respect throughout your organization will go a long way towards retaining drivers. Often it is just a matter of listening to their concerns and explaining why something out of the ordinary or extremely difficult is necessary. The number one way to keep good drivers productive and committed to the company is to make them feel like a valuable part of the organization.