Driver retention

How SMBs can win (and have won) during the pandemic

How SMBs can win during a global crisis

Chuck Kuhn has been president and CEO of JK Moving Services for almost 40 years, but he’s never faced a test quite like this. Kuhn’s company, a medium-size independent moving service headquartered in Virginia, is inherently reliant on drivers to make the business run, but when COVID-19 hit, finding them became near-impossible.

“Prior to the pandemic, by no means was it easy to recruit and retain quality drivers,” Kuhn told Modern Shipper, “but it was nowhere near as difficult as it is today.”

Call...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-smbs-can-win-and-have-won-during-the-pandemic

Check Call: Lassie, when did you learn how to drive?

Hot Take

Image: drivemyway.com

National Take Your Dog to Work Day is a favorite for many office workers. Lassie gets to come with you and have a pup-tastic day at the office. Those in pet-friendly offices get to experience this joy on a daily basis, but what about truck drivers? Turns out about 40% of truck drivers bring their pets along on the road. Driving for hours on end without a partner in the cab is extraordinarily lonely. 

The human/animal bond has been proven to be beneficial to those...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/check-call-lassie-when-did-you-learn-how-to-drive

Loaded and Rolling: Driver recruiting and supply chain pressures

Driver recruiting challenges, pay and demographics trends
(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Driver recruiting remains a key challenge heading into 2022 due to pandemic, demographic and economic trends. Pay and wages remain a central theme in both driver recruitment and retention, with carriers raising base driver pay multiple times in 2021 to keep up with demand. These pay raises are passed off onto shippers and consumers through higher freight rates and transportation costs, fueling inflationary...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-driver-recruiting-and-supply-chain-pressures

Leadership in challenging times — Taking the Hire Road

Driver recruiting and retention is perhaps the industry’s oldest issue, but its severity has seemed to only increase since the start of the decade. As we enter a new year, perhaps it’s time to rethink hiring strategies.

Jeremy Reymer, CEO and founder of DriverReach, chats with Page Siplon, CEO of TeamOne Logistics, about his company’s interesting approach to driver retention on this episode of Taking the Hire Road. 

TeamOne utilizes a unique business model to eliminate workforce risk, reducing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/leadership-in-challenging-times-taking-the-hire-road

DriverReach boosts speed-to-hire in driver recruiting

Ask any motor carrier what’s giving them headaches and they’ll likely say “hiring drivers”. It’s no surprise, considering we’re in what many are calling an ongoing driver shortage.

External factors have largely taken the blame for such woes. They’ve been an albatross around the neck of driver recruiters nationwide – especially during the pandemic. It started when COVID-19 slowed the once bountiful driver school pipeline to a trickle, virtually eliminating new talent. Things only worsened with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/driverreach-boosts-speed-to-hire-in-driver-recruiting

Loaded and Rolling: Fleet availability; autonomous truck testing; driver employment data

Struggling for capacity: A briefing on fleet availability
(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The holiday season in trucking traditionally sees lower driver activity due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The driver’s home time and geographic location pose a unique challenge to carriers, as larger fleets have drivers domiciled in locations that may be far from their primary high-volume contracted lanes. This leads into an important fleet operations topic: fleet availability percentages and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-fleet-availability-autonomous-truck-testing-driver-employment-data

Central Freight Lines’ closure puts quality drivers on market

LTL carrier Central Freight Lines met its demise earlier this week in what many have said was a long time coming after a series of misfortunes. The biggest trucking company shutdown since Celadon’s closure in December 2019, Central Freight similarly leaves 2,100 workers, including 1,325 drivers, without a job just a week before Christmas.

For the drivers, their plans for the new year will involve more than just making resolutions. They will be finding new employment as well. What are their next...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/central-freight-lines-closure-puts-quality-drivers-on-market

Taking the Hire Road: Process plus culture equals growth

David McBride, executive vice president of recruiting and human resources at Lazer Spot, joined DriverReach founder and CEO Jeremy Reymer on this week’s episode of Taking the Hire Road to discuss what it takes to successfully recruit and retain talented drivers.

Born into a trucking family, McBride knew from an early age which career path he wanted to take. He has since enjoyed a successful career helping companies build their recruiting and fleet growth strategies.

Over the years, he’s developed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/taking-the-hire-road-process-plus-culture-equals-growth

Sign-on bonuses ‘double-edged sword’ for recruiting and retention

Is it worth jumping ship for a sign-on bonus at another company? 

Truckers sure think so — and with good reason. Sign-on bonuses have been getting bigger and bigger, but as carriers begin offering similar perks, at what point do cash incentives lose their luster?

That’s the topic of discussion on this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? FreightWaves’ Timothy Dooner and Michael Vincent weigh the pros and cons of sign-on bonuses, welcoming Brian Runnels, Reliance Partners’ vice president of safety, to the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sign-on-bonuses-double-edged-sword-for-recruiting-and-retention

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