If you recruit truck drivers for a living, you probably already have a list of the biggest challenges you face very day. You might have budgetary constraints, disagreements with management about processes or even conflicts with coworkers. But there are a few challenges that face every recruiter everywhere.
Overcoming these challenges isn’t easy, but for every fleet it is a necessity. Trucks won’t go far without qualified drivers.
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1. The Driver Shortage
It makes sense to get the most obvious of the three out of the way first. We all know that there simply aren’t enough drivers to keep every truck in the country on the road. Federal regulations, a lack of young people interested in truck driving as a career, and rising fuel prices are all significant factors of course. But I would like to present this problem in a slightly different way.
Consider the nationwide driver shortage as a simple problem of supply vs demand.
This means that your fleet should be approaching recruiting challenges from two directions. The first is creating a bigger supply of drivers and the second is working to bring in more qualified drivers faster. Look into sponsoring educational programs for drivers, especially in your immediate area. Convincing more young people to take up driving as a career helps every fleet in the country in the long run.
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2. High Turnover
This issue is significant, especially for larger fleets. Many fleets are actually losing more drivers than they recruit each year. Incentives like signing bonuses might help get drivers on board, but keeping them is a whole different issue. If you don’t know why so many of your drivers are leaving . . . ask them.
You should regularly survey your drivers to find out what you can do to keep them driving for your fleet.
Reducing turnover, even by 10%, can add millions into your fleet’s bottom line each year.
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3. Constantly Changing Methods of Recruiting
Hopefully you know that a balanced approach to your recruiting budget is a necessity. But beyond that, actually allocating a recruiting budget is a constantly evolving challenge. Are you spending enough on print? Are you spending too much on applications from unqualified drivers? Are you correctly targeting your online spend?
Answering all of these questions is a necessity, and the reality is that you will have to change how you allocate your recruiting budget regularly.
How can you know that you aren’t missing anything important? The only way is to constantly research marketing principles that can help you recruit more truck drivers. If you are a recruiter, you are already a marketer. Your target audience is qualified drivers and instead of leads you are generating applications. The differences basically end there.
The internet is rife with tons of websites and blogs (like this one) that can help you stay up to date on what is changing in your industry. Knowledge is power, so educate yourself on a regular basis.
