When Will You Ever Begin To Change Your Driver Recruiting and Turnover Processes? Norris Beren, Chief Executive Advisor driversarefirst.com

“Those are just words!”

 That’s what the CEO of a very large motor carrier said when I suggested a new and very different approach to help him retain drivers. I asked him why a high percentage of his new drivers that make it beyond 90 days and then leave early in the second year. He answered, “I don’t know” and “neither does my brain trust of executives and recruiters who are supposed to know”. 

 By the way, he called me after reading an article I wrote in a national trucking newspaper. 

 I gave him three possible reasons why his drivers were leaving and suggested a strategy to change his current retention results. His response to me was “Those are just words”. He continued, “You can’t do what none of the other retention gurus purport to do that just wasted my time and money. Everyone has an answer and no one has an effective method of getting and keeping drivers.”

Okay, are you going to keep spending money on awards programs, webinars, attending conferences, buying training videos and using the same recruiters who are using the same old tired and out-of-date recruiting methods and expecting different results? 

Are new enticements such as college tuition programs enough to get AND KEEP drivers in a company that does not treat its drivers well? Is pay enough?

Do you want to stop hiring your turnover? When is the last time you reviewed your entire recruiting and retention methodology? 

Do you know why do your drivers really leave? I’ll bet you don’t. I’ll prove it. (Hint - it may be about money but it’s never ONLY about money. Remember pay is the third reason that drivers give in most surveys.)

Do you want to develop a reputation of being a company with a waiting list of drivers wanting to work for you?

No, these are not just words. If you have exhausted every angle to get and keep drivers, consider that there may be a fresh approach. I wrote the book on how to do it. Do you want to create an intelligent driver recruiting and retention program? Do you want to begin to make a real difference in your recruiting and retention results? Let me know if you do.

A brief conversation will confirm whether these are just words or something new and different that really works!  

 Norris Beren is the trusted advisor to many transportation companies offering a different perspective on how to get less drivers and keep more. As Risk Reward Consulting’s Chief Executive Advisor, he provides guidance to trucking and motorcoach CEOs. He is author of the book “How to Create an Intelligent Driver Retention System” and strategic resources such as The Driver Turnover Assessment and The Secret Sauce to Get and Keep Drivers.