There’s no doubt about it—truck drivers are an essential element for a prosperous economy. Despite this, the turnover rate for truck drivers is staggering. According to the American Trucking Association, the yearly turnover rate for large-load truck drivers was 91% in 2019.
“So, how can I find and keep good truck drivers?”
In this guide, we’re going to look at what you can do as a truck driver employer to find and retain good truck drivers for the long haul.
As somewhat of a spoiler, according to the data, loyalty is a two-way street. Let us begin!
Proper payment is one of the biggest reasons truck drivers quit a specific job or leave the industry altogether. Being paid by the mile can make life stressful for drivers as they attempt to earn a consistent, predictable paycheck.
How can you ease this stress? By offering immensely competitive pay and incentives.
The National Transportation Institute reported a correlation between trucking companies with the highest rates of driver retention—pay. Companies with the lowest turnover rates just so happened to also pay their truck drivers 50% more on average.
In addition to higher wages, consider increasing driver loyalty by providing minimum pay, bonus compensation, and competitive benefits—such as health insurance and retirement plans.
“How can I improve a truck driver’s work-life balance?”
Truck driving is a hard job and a lonely existence. Though this is the case, there are steps employers can take to improve their work-life balance.
Accommodating Flexible Work Schedules
From baseball games and to recitals to family gatherings and leisure events, truckers regularly miss out on many events that fill our lives with joy. Assisting truck drivers to be able to add flexibility to their schedules can go a long way toward earning their loyalty.
Comfortable and Modern Equipment
A driver’s truck is their home on the road. Investing in comfortable and capable equipment in the form of trucks, cabs, and the like can help drivers feel appreciated. We’ll discuss this more later in this article.
Enacting Wellness Policies
One positive step in supporting drivers’ work-life balance is by enacting policies that support their well-being. Strive to enact policies can increase time at (or near) home, reduce increased workloads (without reducing pay), make it easier to maintain physical fitness, increase access to proper healthcare, and the like.
Even seemingly smaller steps to increase the quality of a trucker’s life—both behind the wheel and at home—can have a lasting impact when it comes to a driver’s career decisions.
If you want to keep good drivers around for a long time, they need to feel less like hired hands and more like the trained and experienced professionals they are. Part of respecting their professionalism means supporting their career development.
This support should come in the form of regular paid training. Everything from assistance in acquiring additional certifications, industry-specific learning, leadership development programs, and the like should all be looked at as investments in your company rather than hard-swallow expenses.
And this method of driver retention is supported by data. According to a study by Stay Metrics, truck drivers receiving training within the first 90 days of employment were 35% more likely to stay with their company—a statistic some equate to feeling valued by the employer and prepared for their duties.
A company’s culture and work environment can have a great impact on a driver’s decision to remain with the company or move on down the road.
Fortunately, the decision to craft and execute a positive company culture is not difficult or immensely costly. Some steps include:
Carefully Define Your Company’s Values
Defining company values and expectations for employees, regardless of seniority, can help foster accountability and instill a greater sense of pride in their work.
Celebrate Safety & Helpfulness
Safety should always supersede performance expectations. This is an attitude displayed from the top to the bottom of every trucking company. When it is not, truckers do not feel valued. To foster a sense of value placed on drivers, enact policies that celebrate and reward safe practices, good decision-making, and helpfulness whenever possible.
Encourage Wide Open Communication
All employees of your trucking company should feel that the leadership’s door is always open to ideas, concerns, and needs. This also includes leadership checking in on the work satisfaction of those they manage.
Foster a Culture of Cohesive Teamwork
All drivers, dispatch, and other personnel should never feel that they are competing with each other, but instead that they are all on the same team. To foster this sense of cohesiveness, arrange regular paid engagements in which different departments come together as equals. These events can be additional paid training or recreational activities to help form the bonds of the team.
Go Forth & Keep Drivers (Happy)
Keeping truck drivers on your team seems simple but requires deliberate execution. While changes in company culture and training can help keep drivers from leaving, fostering work-life balance and providing competitive pay remain among the strategies with proven success.
“But this seems expensive and time-consuming.”
Yes, this can feel a bit daunting. However, in the long run, building a culture that is dedicated to reducing truck driver turnover may end up being one of the most financially wise decisions your company can make.
Find Your Drivers the Best Trucks & Equipment
As mentioned earlier, one element of making drivers feel valued is by making them feel as comfortable on the road as possible. One huge step toward accommodating driver comfort is by providing exceptional trucks, cabs, and other superior equipment. Fortunately, finding stand-out trucks at competitive prices has never been easier with help from your friends at My Little Salesman!
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