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According to trucking company CEOs in the Midwest, for the first time in several years they have a pipeline of qualified, approved drivers ready to go to work for their company…but they don’t have any work for them.

One CEO of a multi-state regional intermodal carrier said this week, “I have 220 drivers working, mostly every day, all day but I also have 15 new drivers that safety has approved, but we can’t put them to work yet”.

He continued, “Freight is slow and has been since right after the July 4 holiday.  It’s like somebody threw a switch and turned off freight”.

This motor carrier has 3 recruiters and he has told them to slow down. Without freight for the current drivers, they can’t use more. He may have to lay off the recruiters.

The VP of operations of a Chicago suburban local LTL carrier told the author, “We recently turned over 10 aging tractors and straight trucks in favor of new long-term leased equipment.”  He said “I have two new tractors that have been sitting every day for 4 months.  They have no miles on them because initially we did not have a driver for either of them and now we don’t have enough freight to keep everyone else busy every day.”

What is going on? The pendulum has swung from not enough drivers to not enough freight – this unexpected turn is a very dangerous position for these carriers to be in.

But what is the real problem that these company executives should be worried about? Why are these drivers all of a sudden becoming available– is it because there is not enough freight where they presently work?

Probably so, but have you considered these questions?

First, how will you keep them interested until you need them?

Second, where else are they already “hired” pending the call to report for work?  What if when you need them they have already accepted positions elsewhere.  Your pipeline of new driver prospects may quickly become empty.

Third, and possibly most important, how many of YOUR drivers also have become nervous and made themselves available for work elsewhere?

When freight volume begins to pick up, which it will, and you want to start adding those new drivers you may find yourself without that bench strength and also see that some of your existing drivers are also no longer available for work with your company.

The ATA predicts freight volumes will increase by almost 29% over the next 11 years.

S. Freight Transportation Forecast to 2026– from ATA and IHS Global Insight

Quite a turnaround and a very interesting set of unexpected consequences. So the euphoria you feel now that you believe that the capacity crisis is over may be short lived. It’s time for a reality check.  The revolving door of drivers is on temporary hiatus and could quickly become a disaster. Your growth strategy could crater quite quickly.

While consulting with many motor carriers on recruiting and retention strategies, I have offered a different kind of approach to building their driver force while reducing attrition.  Clearly there is no shortage of strategies that carriers are using to attract and keep drivers. Also, there is no shortage of money being thrown at the problem. There are offers of bonuses, loyalty programs, more home time, new trucks and higher mileage rates, yet the shortage and turnover problems continue. Why?

In my new book How to Find and Keep Drivers and Independent Contractors (available now as an eBook and on Amazon Kindle,  September 1, 2015), I offer a solution that depends on motor carriers creating an “Attractor Factor” culture that will draw drivers to their companies like Google and other companies do to attract wannabe employees from all over.

The ATTRACTOR FACTOR strategy depends on three principles:

• Changing the company culture in ways not currently being used by more than 98% of motor carriers
• Having a set of “tools” that will change the way you market, recruit, screen, qualify, hire train and retain new drivers as well as existing drivers
• Changing the game. Become a company of “next practices” thinking and innovation beyond the best practices of your competitors.  Show your customers and your drivers why they should hire YOU (Your Company)

This powerful set of strategies, action plans and execution steps that I call “Next Practices” in driver retention and recruiting can be relatively easy to implement though it takes commitment, time and everyone in your company buying into a new program and way of thinking.

Sound familiar? Nice words and yet the same old stuff that you have been hearing for a long time?  Check it out and see how the possible is possible. Working with many motor carriers at the same time allows me to see lots of different strategies and gives me the ability to develop these next practices out of the different approaches of dozens of carriers. This is the best of the best.

For more information and a free sample Recruiting/Retention tool, contact me atnorris@rredinc.com or LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in.norrisberen

Norris Beren, CEO of Risk Reduction Education located in Mt Prospect, Illinois provides executive advisory services to transportation and logistics CEOs and their executive teams to get out of “stuck” and become a top performing company. He uses a “different lens” analysis of legacy thinking including advanced strategies on retention and recruiting.

Consider the Driver’s Point of View — Make Them Happy

Well known 20th century author C.S. Lewis said:

My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through the eyes of others. 

How many trucking company executives and staff look at their job and interactions, communications and conversations with drivers through the eyes and perspective of the driver rather than their own?

Sure, many of these company people have been around the industry for a long time, and many have been drivers themselves. But what does that really mean in the recruiting, screening and retention of drivers?

In this series of articles we are looking to explore strategies that are different, highly effective and innovative to help motor carrier companies change the game of recruiting and retention to achieve an ‘Attractor Factor’ which motivates drivers to come to the motor carrier for work rather than the company struggling to get enough qualified candidates to begin to screen.

This third ‘secret’ to say goodbye to high commercial driver turnover is to walk in the shoes of the driver and see things as the driver sees his job, his day-to-day routine and his needs, wants and rewards.

Here is a sample of what causes drivers to be “unhappy campers” but seldom mention:

1. I don’t want to be told: “Drive it as is and we will fix it when you come back”.
2. I am a person, not a number: “They don’t care about their drivers”.
3. Poor dispatch –“I wait around for a long run and they give me a short instead, then maybe a long run. This gives me very unpredictable home time”.
4. Shop delays: “I waited all day for them to fix…”
5. “This is the third time I wrote up the same defect and it’s still not fixed”.
6. I’m a company driver and I am required to attend safety meetings without pay.
7. Don’t mess with my settlement/paycheck for unexpected deductions or not getting paid for promised detention/waiting times/expenses.
8. “Why can’t I get their help when situations call for it”?
9. They abuse my personal cell phone usage and they too often call me at home on my off time.
10. “Too often they give me the wrong address or the wrong directions”.

This is not the usual list of driver concerns most often expressed such as mismatched expectations, lack of respect, or promises not kept. These are the type of issues that drivers talk about at the truck stop or at home or while standing around at the shipper or receiver waiting to load or unload.

Companies that are sensitive to looking at their drivers from the driver’s perspective and learning, knowing and responding to the emotional reactions resulting from the types of situations mentioned above will find themselves with much better retention and a high level of word-of-mouth PR that will attract drivers that will seek them out as a potential company to work for.

Walk in their shoes, listen to them, ask them “how are you doing” and, yes, you will hear a lot of whining and complaining, but is some of it real, important and worth doing something about.

You decide the cost/benefit of ignoring meaningful problems or taking action where appropriate.  It costs much less to keep a driver than to replace one. Drive down your turnover by driving up the emotional quotient of your drivers.

Thanks to the drivers who have commented on previous posts — I am listening and passing on to the company execs what they need to hear.

Knowledge is Power – How to Know What You Don’t Know About Your Company

In the previous article we began a discussion of why only a few trucking companies enjoy low driver turnover and high productivity, when most don’t.

Developing a powerful brand reputation where Drivers are Really Everything[DARE] and where it is well known that the CEO is committed to build a culture that supports the drivers is a powerful way to create an ‘Attractor Factor’. This approach will pull drivers to the company rather than push them away, which most companies unintentionally seem prone to do today.

So ask yourself: Do you know what you need to know to begin to build a competitive retention strategy for your company?

Before you begin, consider that you may have the same challenge in common with so many other carrier companies (or any industry struggling with finding and keeping good employees) — you don’t know what you don’t know.

In consulting with dozens of trucking company recruiters, operations and safety staff, we follow the simple mantra Knowledge is Power. You cannot find out what you don’t know about your company and drivers or more importantly, what you need to know, unless you ask!

A discovery initiative will most likely yield some unsettling or less than desirable insight, though if you continue to bury your head in the sand you risk short term quick fixes instead of building a foundation that supports long term, productive results.

So here are some action steps that could have a huge impact on retention and promote your brand reputation that existing drivers will begin to talk about. This approach will go a long way to reach drivers looking for a change, but to a company that really cares about and understands their drivers and their needs and desires. Steps to gain necessary knowledge:

1. Conduct live interviews with existing drivers in a structured format when possible, you will be surprised about what you will learn. For a copy of our live sample interview survey script, Driver Study Talking Points message or email me.
2. Train your dispatchers how to listen to, honor and respect drivers. As your ‘front line’ they should also be aware of how to be sensitive to unspoken problems and obstacles carriers face on the job and know when to report issues that need attention.
3. Ask your drivers for their solutions to these problems. When conducting your live interviews or consider using a survey for them to record their thoughts as a tool for you to begin improvements.
4. Send out regular questionnaires to drivers and ask them to ’rate’ your customers, and your key staff from their point of view. Then take action on problems or explain why no action is warranted — but stay connected and be responsive. You will have to separate legitimate comments with merit from comments that are self-serving. For a copy The Employee Perception Survey, message or email me.
5. Introduce a senior executive, as high level as possible to all new drivers at orientation, in person, or electronically where there are multiple locations.
6. Avoid the usual practice of classroom orientations that go on too long by reviewing policies on PowerPoint presentations. Endorse the DARE attitude on day one – give them the necessary, interactive attention and you will learn if initial expectations are being met.
7. Let drivers know the CEO is committed and open to hearing their questions and concerns and invite them to have open and honest conversations with management. The development of the type of culture where “Drivers are Really Everything” must begin at the highest level of management, and that must be the CEO/Owner.

The process of interacting with drivers to get their opinions and then acting on some of the needed actions will provide the company with enormous brand value and go a long way to attract new drivers — and keep many more that might otherwise leave. These action steps will begin to create a new culture and high level of professionalism if the procedures laid out herein are adopted.

Drivers will appreciate the new level of involvement and share it with outsiders. This will help create and promote a pull marketing initiative.

Measure the results by using a dashboard to report daily and weekly activity and the impact on recruiting new drivers and retention of existing drivers. It will also allow you to tweak any activity which needs improvement or elimination.

Next up: Secret # 3: Incentives Don’t Overcome Other Issues

From How to Find and Keep Truck Drivers and Independent Contractors  by Norris L. Beren of RRED, Inc. – Coming Summer 2015: Norris Beren, CEO of Risk Reduction Education located in Mt Prospect, Illinois, provides executive advisory services to transportation and logistics CEOs and their executive teams to ‘get out of stuck’ and become a top performing company again through a different lens analysis of old school thinking.

Today’s Truck Drivers and the Truth about Retention and Recruiting

Keeping commercial drivers today is challenging and finding drivers is even more difficult. You need a solution now that will help your company overcome this major obstacle – but where to start? Which comes first – recruiting then retention or retention then recruiting?

In an industry that loses 9-1/2 out of every 10 people they hire, mostly within the first 3-6 months, nothing seems to be working to reverse the trend. With all the money spent on recruiting, paying sign-on bonuses, providing all sorts of real or perceived perks, benefits, brand development and on and on – drivers still leave.

Retention and recruiting of truck drivers, especially independent contractors/owner-operators is like the weather.  Everyone talks about it but few change their strategy to prepare for the dismal results.

So what is missing?  Why do only a few companies enjoy low turnover and high productivity while most don’t?

The difference is simple to understand but very challenging to execute; let me explain.

Most drivers are smart – street smart – and know a poker player when they see one.

Secret #1 to avoid driver turnover prevention is to avoid broken promises, and it begins in the hiring process. You can solve this problem by training your entire company staff on message delivery, accuracy and completeness.

Follow-up with a continued focus on the driver is a must. Stay tuned in to what drivers really value in working for a company, not what you as chief executive think they want. What are their needs, what is important, what works and what doesn’t work from their point of view?

The key to reversing the driver crisis starts with the company CEO and his (her) commitment to do what needs to be done internally and externally to change the culture. Core values impact customer relations, customer cooperation, employee relations with drivers and the synergy necessary to make drivers happy.

Today’s trucking company is not your grandfather’s or even your father’s company.  Even the older, ready to retire drivers know that life is very different in trucking and blame company leadership for the sorry state that we find ourselves in with respect to turnover, driver pay and lack of new entrants.

You can change the game for you and your company. The formula is alignment with the driver, senior management and key personnel — and this alignment must be in the hearts and mind of everyone.

Here are just a few action steps you can take to begin to set the stage for ‘driver friendly’ and necessary policies, procedures and behavior execution.

1. Select top management officials to conduct one-to-one onsite chats with each driver over a period of a few weeks
2. Reduce the disconnect between departments – train on inter-department communication, collaboration and cooperation with drivers. Bring in an outside trainer who is an expert in these matters
3. Empower fleet managers/dispatchers to be advocates for drivers
4. Fleet managers should provide personal one-on-one contact and attention to drivers; call them by name, not their truck number…know their spouse/significant other’s name.
5. Do retention seminars for everyone – including communication skills and sensitivity training

Begin the process of building your company brand by developing these traits that matter – ‘attractor factors’ – to draw and retain drivers.  This will become your competitive advantage for the best-in-class drivers.

Up Next – Secret #2: Knowledge is power. Learn what you need to know to begin to build a world class retention strategy for your company.

From The Executive’s Playbook by Norris L. Beren of RRED, Inc. – Coming Summer 2015: How to Find and Keep Truck Drivers and Independent Contractors – Motor Carrier Driver Retention and Recruiting

Norris Beren, CEO of Risk Reduction Education located in Mt Prospect, Illinois, provides executive advisory services to transportation and logistics CEOs and their executive teams to ‘get out of stuck’ and become a top performing company again through a different lens analysis of legacy thinking.

PEOPLEASE, the leading provider of HR solutions and services for the transportation and logistics industry, announced today they will be hosting an Advanced ’People’ Strategies Summit on June 18, 2015 at the Hilton Oakbrook Hills Conference Center in Oak Brook, Illinois.

This half day conference will address critical driver retention and recruiting issues motor carrier executive teams are facing on a daily basis.

“CEOs of transportation companies are concerned about many matters that are negatively impacting safe and efficient operations, and ultimately profitability.  With the annual truck driver turnover rate close to 100 percent, the market is experiencing a real crisis,” stated Norris Beren, CEO of Risk Reduction Education (RRED, Inc.).

We think it is critical, now more than ever, to address these issues head on; therefore, we decided to create an opportunity where motor carrier executives can hear from industry thought leaders regarding these crucial matters.

During this half day event transportation experts will present on a variety of key topics.  The agenda will include the following sessions:

• Develop an “Attractor Factor” to Get and Keep Drivers
• Learn to Develop Advanced and Robust Strategies to Recruit, Hire, and Retain Drivers
• Learn the “ROI” of Advanced Safety and Compliance Strategies
• Prepare for the Future and New Normal of Human Resources, Payroll, Management, Safety, Risk, and Compliance Management Challenges
• Learn Seven Secrets That Will Improve Your Recruitment/Retention Initiatives

Founded in 1994, PEOPLEASE is a full-service, professional employer organization headquartered in Mount Pleasant, SC. The company serves hundreds of transportation customers nationwide, managing tens of thousands of employees.

For further details and to register for this complimentary event, please visit the Summit Registration site, or call 1-800-948-4453.

According to a statement made recently at the TIA conference in Orlando, there were more than 1000 deals made last year involving transportation companies. The expectation is that this year there will be over 1400 transactions. Why?

Do you want to be included in this exclusive ‘Former Owners Club’? Will your transaction, buy-side or sell-side, deliver the expected benefits? Let’s explore several reasons to sell and potential pitfalls of poor planning and execution.

It can be argued that fear is driving owners to sell – the risk of outrageous liability claims, potentially increased insurance coverage minimum requirements, commercial driver shortages, regulatory pressures, wages and freight rates issues, increasing cost of trucks and trailers and a host of other issues.

Another factor some consider is that the next generation is not interested in the transportation sector or succeeding dad or mom; “if it’s not tech, it’s not good” say the millennials.

The real reasons for so much activity from the point of view of the sellers are:

• There are a lot of potential buyers for the same target companies
• Sellers can get more than “top dollar” – six, eight or even ten times earnings is a common formula
• Sellers are motivated because the stock market provides exciting options to invest
• Sellers know that a drop in the stock market could change the game quickly –the time is now (and has been for about 2 years)

• Private equity firms are a second source of buyers compared to the years when only other transportation companies were potential buyers
• There is a lot of money to buy and cash is a very likely payment method
• The real currency in trucking today is drivers, more so than in years past; it’s no longer about buying customers and equipment
• Selling truck freight capacity to shippers has more value than any other asset or service they have to offer

• Organic growth is not very likely and efforts to increase margin over time are dim
• Sellers know that rising freight rates and the improving economy provide the best environment for maximum sales price
• The smarter owners that have been living off of high fuel service charges know that as fuel prices remain at presently reduced levels, their profitability could disappear. Time to get out?

On the other side of deals, buyers know that the transportation industry is fragmented. Many potential buyers know that with their current platforms the driver shortages will also limit their ability to grow so acquisitions or mergers make the most sense.

The transportation companies that have cash and robust balance sheets know that they can leverage their way into making an acquisition. In a different economic environment, this would not be possible. Companies often see as a new strategy acquiring smaller regional companies to help build density, especially in east west traffic lanes.

Buyers are interested in consolidations to offer services, technology and building scale that they might not easily be able to provide internally. Other reasons for the high level of acquisitions is to access and diversify customer concentrations, enter new markets and acquire proprietary know-how, especially technology.

Of particular importance in these transactions is the potential failure or at least major complications that often arise from these transactions, sometimes immediately and perhaps even after weeks or months after closing.

The three most common results of a ‘bad’ deal arise from:

1. Failure to prepare properly and plan for a transaction
2. Failure to do proper due diligence or not challenge assumptions effectively
3. Failure to anticipate and execute the economies of scale and implement and protect the culture and changes that result

In Part II of this article we will explain these three steps and provide a blueprint to help you increase your company’s value, properly plan for a transaction and help you make the transition as a seller with a company to an employee of your former company.

To help you analyze a potential target company or your own, download a complimentary copy of my Buy Side/Sell Side – Due Diligence Checklist for Trucking Logistics.