Addressing Driver Turnover

In todays trucking world, there is a huge concern for driver turnover. Most companies address this problem, in one way or another. Many companies (the smart ones), actually calculate the cost of driver turnover and then try to come up with ways to keep drivers. The companies that don't calculate this cost, are in for a big surprise when they do. Some companies simply boost their recruiting efforts, to offset the numbers of drivers that quit. Which of course, is not addressing the problem at all. It's like putting a band-aid on a headache. Recruiting cannot bring your driver turnover numbers down. All it can do, is bring the number of new hires up. The only way to bring the driver turnover numbers down, is to retain the drivers that you already have.

One of the problems is that drivers are very different from each other. Needs change for drivers and a driver may be looking for something different today, than he was last year. Some, simply get bored and need a change. Some, get out of trucking altogether. Some, move up into management positions. Some need money and some need home time. Some need both, which is hard to find these days, unless you work for a company that can offer you local, dedicated, regional and long-haul choices. Some drivers need to be able to choose their loads. Some need good health insurance. Some, need to bring a pet, or a friend along. Some don't like being treated as a number and need to work for a company that knows their name. Some drivers don't like certain shippers. They may refuse to hand unload, or refuse to return to a shipper that doesn't know how to treat drivers right.

A few years ago, trucking giant JB Hunt raised driver pay by thirty-three percent, in an effort to retain drivers. Although this was a massive step and initially cost the company fifty-two million dollars, eighteen months later, they recovered that much and more. And in the process they reduced driver turnover by an amazing fifty percent. So, for all the companies that think they can't afford to raise drivers pay, I say you can't afford not to.

Another giant in the industry, Celadon Trucking Services (who recently bought Burlington Motor Carriers, but that's another story), now has what they call Lifestyle Fleets. Which is four different plans, to try to be able to give a driver exactly what he is looking for. Their long-haul division, for drivers who need money more than home time, will send drivers on the longest runs, to help them earn the most possible miles. Another plan they offer, is the seven-by-seven division, which allows drivers to work seven days and then get seven days off, week after week, all year. The drivers who join this plan, obviously need home time more than money and only have to work twenty-six weeks a year. They also have regional and dedicated fleets. By offering drivers these kind of choices, they too have cut their driver turnover numbers way down.

There will be a seminar on this very subject, this April 10th, in Atlanta, Georgia. It's called the 2002 North American Driver Recruiting & Retention Summit. If you would like to attend, call (877)564-2333, or (800)642-2067, or go to www.jjkeller.com to learn more. 

The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute took a survey of some top carriers, which included Crete, CRST, JB Hunt, Kat, Marten, MS Carriers and more. They concluded that the average cost per driver was $8,234. Some companies, which provided incomplete reports, claimed as low as $2,243. But, some were as high as $20,729! The study also revealed that hardly any of these companies took all considerations into account. Some of the key expenses which many companies left out were, idle equipment costs, entry and exit administration costs, safety, insurance, legal, maintenance and productivity costs.

That study, as accurate as it was, left out a few expenses that I thought about. For example, if you pay your drivers more money and benefits, give them more choices (local, long-haul, choice of loads, even promotions, etc.), you will not only reduce turnover and thus save money, you will also save money on accidents, because experienced drivers don't have many accidents. You will also save money on advertising. Word of mouth is better that any newspaper ad. When your drivers tell other drivers how great their job is, more drivers will come to you. (It also helps to offer drivers a recruiting bonus.)

The companies that stay on top of this problem are the smart ones. They know that they are saving money when they pay drivers more. They know that they will get more experienced drivers with higher pay and decent health insurance. And we all know that the top, experienced drivers out there hardly ever cost a company money. They hardly ever have accidents, which of course costs a fortune. They are more stable with their credit and less apt to quit or do anything irresponsible, like say, abandon a truck or go around telling other drivers how cheap their company is. Instead, they go around telling everyone how great their job is. And we all know that many drivers will believe another driver before they believe a recruiter.

Experienced drivers can literally choose where they want to work. If you want them to work for you, then you better get with the program and start offering some real benefits and choices.

There is a lot of competition in this industry, not only for customers, but for drivers as well. If you think this article is a little one-sided, on the drivers side, all I can say is, you probably have a high turnover rate. Do the math and see for yourself.

Thanks for listening. For more about this and many other subjects that pertain to drivers, check out www.bigcitydriver.com.

C 3-16-02 Ken Skaggs

1. Understand Traffic Waves
2. Prevent Traffic Jams
3. Stay Calm
4. Do The Math
5. Be Predictable
6. Time Traffic Lights
7. Expect the Expected
8. Compensate for the Ignorant
9. Teach Others
10. Make Sure an Accident is Never Your Fault
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