Truck driver turnover is common in the transportation industry. This is an issue for many motor carriers; more than 80% of fleets report high turnover rates. Because all these drivers are choosing to leave, these companies are forced to hire new drivers regularly. This process is becoming both time-consuming and costly in the long run.
Truck drivers who are currently employed are leaving their jobs in search of better wages, perks, and working conditions because they feel underpaid and underappreciated. Therefore, truck driver turnover remains a major concern for many, and some companies have devised solutions to address the issue.
Throughout this article, we’ll discuss some strategies for lowering your high levels of turnover. Let’s get started!
Truck Driver Turnover Prevention Strategies
There are several ways to identify the wants and needs of your drivers. If you can identify the reasons for dissatisfaction at your company, you can increase your driver retention rate.
Improve Hiring and Onboarding Processes
During the hiring process, you must ensure that your applicants meet your company’s standards (for more information on carrier snapshots). This may include a spotless driving record, stable employment history, driver fitness, and possession of a CDL. Beyond that, you want to be sure that you’re capable of fulfilling the applicant’s employment needs. If it’s not a good fit then it’s best to keep looking!
Being cautious of who you hire for your transportation company is crucial. You’re investing in someone and entrusting them with important responsibilities. You should also consider what they bring to the table and whether you’re able to compensate them adequately per their experience and skill set.
Finally, ensuring that your drivers receive appropriate compensation, benefits, and training increases your chances of significantly reducing truck driver turnover. Also, it’s important to consider your future employee’s work/life balance as it’s a driving factor for many.
Provide Anonymous Surveys
Some employees, particularly those who are new to the company, don’t always express their doubts and concerns. Therefore, anonymous surveys give them the opportunity to provide constructive feedback without the fear of negative backlash.
With this strategy, you can identify problems and address them before you start losing employees.
Because confidentiality is crucial, business owners can hire a third party to conduct the survey. If you prefer a less expensive option, you can use anonymous survey applications such as Survey Monkey.
Encourage Online Reviews
Employees who have previously worked for your company will likely leave reviews on multiple hiring sites, however, there’s a site specifically for truck drivers called thetruckersreport.com. You should visit this website regularly to learn what others are saying about your company.
With the feedback you gather, you can make changes and address issues head-on.
Conduct Exit Interviews
Employees who have already resigned will likely be more forthcoming about their experiences at your company. Their honestly can help you determine which policies to implement and which to abandon. Asking questions is the best way to find out. It’s critical to inquire about their experience, what caused them to leave, and whether there was anything you could have done to prevent it. And, if there were any problems, ask what they were and how they affected their job performance. Some businesses don’t even conduct exit interviews. As a result, they don’t have any answers as to why their truck drivers are leaving.
Exit interviews are proven to be very beneficial as they provide insight into any existing problems at your company.
Bottom Line
Truck drivers quite often leave for a wide range of reasons, the most common of which are that they’re underpaid or don’t feel valued for their work.
When you employ each of these methods you’ll gain perspective into the minds of your employees. By doing so, you can make changes to better suit your drivers. In turn, you’ll improve your rentention rate.
