Business Fleet, September/October 2018

WWW BUSINESSFLEET COM 8 BUSINESS FLEET September October 2018 HIRING At a time when the driver shortage is an ever prevalent problem across almost all fleet related industries hiring competent experienced drivers might seem more like wishful thinking than a basic business practice While the stories about driver shortages can be cause for concern there are tactics to employ to make sure that companies hire diligent and passionate drivers for their fleets NOT JUST PAY Mark Murrell president of CarriersEdge provider of driver training solutions says typically driver advertisements will lead with the compensation package when the first order of business should be to identify candidates with a cultural fit While sourcing candidates with a number of years experience clean driving records and the ability to pass medical and skills tests are a given The fleets that focus more on who will be a good fit for the company are having better success in finding the right candidates Murrell says Were starting to see a shift to this way of thinking And yeah lets then talk about what the pay package is going to be The same goes for recruiters says John Elliott CEO of Load One LLC a Taylor Mich based transportation and logistics company While recruiters are incentivized financially to bring in as many candidates as possible they need to be more focused on retaining drivers Elliott says Our recruiters are salary and we give them a bonus based on retention he says So our recruiters are not incentivized to just bring people through the door If drivers are going to turn over it fares poorly for them because it will hurt their score So theyre looking for the right fit versus a body right out the gate Once recruiters are on board with valuing retention rates over recruitment numbers hiring managers need to determine if the candidates will add value to the company and the first stop is looking at résumés Elliott says the aspect of a candidates résumé that should concern hiring managers the most is job history and stability While a résumé with line after line of relevant work experience might initially pique a hiring managers interest having numerous places of employment doesnt necessarily mean the candidate is an experienced driver or a good fit for the company There are a lot of truck drivers who tend to be job hoppers Elliott says We tend to avoid them Acknowledge he has too many employers in a short period of time and that sends a red flag to us We dont want to just be a number or just another one on your list IN THE INTERVIEW Murrell recommends treating driver candidates like other open positions in the company If youre hiring a bookkeeper an IT person or a sales rep the first things youre going to talk about are what are you looking for in a position and what is it that you want to do And then if theres a match the recruiter can check if the candidates qualifications align with the companys needs Regarding what factors to consider during the interview process I think attitude is probably one of the biggest BY MICHAELA KWOKA COLEMAN A decline in the volume of driver applications doesnt mean you need to sacrifice hiring best practices Heres how to ensure potential drivers are the best fit for your company How to Hire GREAT DRIVERS While a résumé with line after line of relevant work experience might initially pique a hiring managers interest having numerous places of employment doesnt necessarily mean the candidate is an experienced driver or a good fit for the company PHOTO VIA OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FLICKR