The Spaghetti Ain't Sticking!

In 2008, the ATRI (American Transportation Research Institute) published a report on the impact of driver training upon safety. Among the factors considered and the metrics compiled in their research, the following data was made public:

 

"The selected driver population matched the national new entrant driver population in another key area; length of employment. Driver turnover is a critical issue within the trucking industry, with many carriers experiencing turnover exceeding 100 percent annually. Among the new entrants included in the study, slightly more than 25 percent were no longer employed by the carrier that initially hired them by the 60th day of employment. At 100 days, more than fifty percent of the new entrants had left and less than three percent worked for the original

employer on the one year anniversary of the date of hire."

 

This was four years ago, and we have come through the deepest part of a recession that was unprecedented since the Great Depression. In fact, this recession has come to be called "The Great Recession" by many.

 

As a driver recruiter for a major carrier in the years before and right up to March of 2008, I kept abreast of the turnover rate in the industry because I have always had a deep interest in the principles of retention, some of which are job satisfaction, employee engagement, and company culture. As is plainly denoted by the statistics in this report, even at the onset of the recession, drivers were frequently changing jobs.

 

The new entrants are perhaps the most revealing segment of the turnover phenomena. When less than 3 of every 100 recent driving school graduates remain with a company for one year, it should raise a number of flags; and it did! At about the same time as the country was slipping into the economic recession, turnover was an issue on the front burner. Unfortunately, the housing market collapsed and Wall Street had to be bailed out. That took its toll on the Trucking Industry as no recession before this one and after the Great Depression had ever done. That put the brakes on all turnover considerations because those who had jobs were holding on to them for dear life. That meant that retention would have to be considered later; if at all.

 

Companies were crashing and burning left and right. Drivers were being fired for over-idling their trucks; and for any other minor infraction that could be used to further reduce the driver force, since there was not enough freight to justify keeping them on the payroll. There were chargebacks for assorted reasons, and some drivers quit due to heavy-handed company policies that were meant to reduce the load on those companies that were trying to survive. Some drivers were returned to their terminals just to find out that it was time to clean out the truck because the company had shut down. In an atmosphere like that, what need was there for either recruiting or retention?

 

Having lived through other recessions in my life, I knew this one would either become a greater depression than the last one or turn around sooner or later in the future. In any case, I also knew that in all probability, things would have to start moving forward once again once this recession bottomed out. For that reason, I kept a close watch on economic conditions and especially on signs of the Trucking Industry showing signs of a return to forward movement. Those signs came when I saw the smarter players begin to move towards increasing their capacity. The call for driver recruiters increased exponentially almost overnight and class 8 orders suddenly grew as well. The job boards that had been devoid of any jobs in recruiting were suddenly posting jobs for recruiting managers.

 

This morning, I came across a statistic that confirmed for me what I knew would happen once the industry started its upward climb once again. Even with the overall unemployment rate at *8.1% nationally, trucking is now suffering 106% turnover according to a report from a trusted source. Imagine what it will be when the economy cranks up.

 

The WIA is funding training for new entrants on a level unheard of before the recession. There is money available for people to be trained for entrance into the field. But as the economy improves in other areas, and other industries start to recover, those who came from those industries into trucking as a means of keeping their bills paid will return to their industries of choice. Attrition will add to the shortage as some of those who reach retirement age decide to work part-time or not at all.

 

So it all boils down to this: Where 100 people used to stand in line for a chance at 10 jobs; trucking companies with a greater demand for capacity will now have to stand the scrutiny of those valuable assets we call professional drivers as to whether they are even worthy of being considered as an employer. What will these companies offer these drivers that others won't? What kind of hype will work in the trade publications in this new reality? How will they fare when they are examined minutely by the power of social media? How many drivers do not carry a smart phone yet; especially among the new and younger entrants? The old school methods will not work any more!

 

Change has come and more is coming yet! The aggresiveness of FMCSA rules enforcement and reporting will have its own impact on both drivers and carriers.

 

Now is the time to think outside the box. This is the right time to invest in innovative changes to recruiting efforts that provide not only for a 100% return on every dollar invested in recruiting; but most importantly, recruit with the principles of retention as an equally important part of every hire.

 

Let me put it this way: If your recruiting department is still banking on the old "spaghetti on the wall" methods of recruiting, and your recruiting team's idea of brainstorming is finding catchphrases to use in the trade publications; and their idea of effective recruiting is to send in an attractive woman (sex sells) or slick doubletalk Sam to promise them what can't and will never be delivered; then figure on needing some deep pockets, because at the present average rate of 106%, just multiply $8000 (average cost of each incidence of turnover; including Sam's salary) by the number of drivers you employ; and get an idea of what it will cost you to do it the "old school" way.

A company with just 500 units with solo drivers that experiences this level of turnover annually is hemorahging money to the tune of $4,240,000 each year. And as the 800 pound gorilla in the room would say, "But what do I know?" New reality; new paradigm! Tudaloo and Happy Trails!

Francisco H. Gomez                                            *7.8% as of 10/05/2012
Commercial Driver Liaison Services
www.procdldriver.com