Over two years ago, when the floundering economy forced the company I was employed by to reduce its workforce, I commented to others who were affected by the downturn that unless this was the end of the world, the economy would have to resume its upward movement sometime in the future; even if at a snail's pace.
Having seen more than one of these recessions, albeit all of lesser impact, the rebound in the economy has always made the period between the start and end of a recession seem like a pause that tends to disavow the concerns that were important before the recession began. Let's face it; who cares about recruiting quotas when there isn't enough freight to go around for the drivers still employed by the company? Who cares about becoming the employer of choice when faced with the fact that the very survival of said company is at stake?
In fact, at least one trucking company that went out of business during the recession did not care enough to warn its drivers that it was on the brink of total collapse. They only found out after it had bottomed out and they had no fuel or way to get home. The resulting chaos left drivers stranded throughout the country during the Christmas holiday season.
My question is: Was this callous and treacherous act isolated and completely alien to its normal attitude towards its drivers?
My answer: Not just no, but NO!
Just as Rome was not built in a day, the success or failure and the culture of a company is not determined by one isolated incident. It is a series of choices and decisions that paves the way to either of the two. This graphic example of indifference to just treatment of human resources was perpetrated upon truck drivers, but it also affected those employees who worked inside and knew nothing until it happened. It took the adverse effects of a recession to bring the company's culture to the surface and into full view of all the world.
And that is the point I would like to stress today. Although the recession may seem to have paused everything to the point of making all the concerns that were important before the recession disappear, I beg to differ.
Most, if not all, companies had to reduce their capacity to haul freight in order to survive what was clearly the closest thing this country has seen to a full-blown depression since the Great Depression. As the economy gathers steam once again, capacity becomes extremely important to all who would remain competitive. After all, success is measured by growth in any industry.
This means that the push for trucks and drivers must resume and resume quickly. Don't believe me? Check the job boards using the keywords, Driver Recruiter. Add to this the push by diverse entities to make the rules for drivers more stringent, the training more in-depth and effective, and the sanctions for infraction more severe; and you have part of the ingredients needed for a driver shortage. Add to the mix the reduced pool of eligible candidates and those who have no desire to adjust to the lifestyle of an over-the-road driver, and it isn't hard to see the writing on the wall. Competition is going to be hot and heavy!
If a company is going to survive during the upswing, it will have to strive to build a company culture that does more than pay lip service to employee appreciation at all levels; but particularly at the driver level. Let's face it, what is the whole purpose of a trucking company if not to move freight from point A to point B? Until trucks become self-driven, drivers are the life blood of any and all trucking companies.
Just as surely as the recession brought to light the diseased company culture of several companies that ultimately failed because they did not think it important enough to respect the principles of retention, the time of prosperity that is just beginning will become for some companies a death toll because they will not be able to compete due to baggage they accumulated before the recession.
A bad reputation is one huge piece of baggage. If a company has a standing reputation for ineptness, unfairness, and indifference, it can kiss the bulk of experienced drivers goodbye; and the majority of new entrants into the industry are social media savvy and scouring the Internet for any and all negative reports on companies before they graduate from driving school. It is no longer business as usual. Things are changing rapidly and those who plan to remain in business must adapt quickly to the changing environment. Either that, or die the slow and painful death of a dinosaur. Happy Trails!
