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Have you heard the number one concern among carriers is the Driver Shortage while the number six issue is Driver Retention? Does anyone see disengagement from the obvious? This suggests to me that some carriers have lost their enthusiasm on retention in a climate of demanding drivers. It is this disenchantment within the industry that has made driver managers, safety and compliance personnel, and human resources unable to make the association between driver shortage and driver retention. Driver turnover in the trucking industry is unacceptably high and should not be an acceptable part of doing business.
Trucking managers want dedicated employees who worked diligently in their given role to the maximum benefit of the company. This is what the employer employee relationship has been for as long as I can remember and we are seeing with great enthusiasm on the driver’s part – it is not working. Empowered employees who work towards mutually benefiting both themselves and their employer are more satisfied and tend to stay longer.

Henry ford believed that coming together was a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success. To be successful the driver manager must engage their drivers and listen to their ideas. If the driver manager brings the drivers together with their many diverse ideas and accept and implement some of the ideas, it will inspire other drivers to look around them and come up with innovative thoughts as well.

“Trucking has not been very good at this and as such it has lagged behind other sectors of the economy and it has suffered ridiculously high turnover for years because of it. It has become a self-fulfilling prophecy for many companies” says Ray J. Haight. If you do not change with the industry, the industry will pass you by. There is a new breed of drivers in the market place who embrace technology, lifestyle, and are not the least bit interested in “old school trucking” methodology’s or perceptions.

A successful company of today embraces the new type of driver. You have to. If we are worried that the average age of the truck driver is nearing semi-retirement to retirement you must realize you cannot continue with the thoughts of those men and women. They may have built the industry but they did that to make things better for the next generation. Not only is the next generation of drivers here, there is a whole other group behind them entering the driving workforce as well. Companies are going to have to embrace the thoughts and ways of these younger people and begin modelling their business concepts around them – the Millennials.

The Millennials are looking for a whole different job description and way of doing things. If you cannot adapt to the Millennial they will move on with ease. And why not – they have their dis-enfranchised parents to back them up and support them. The same parents who have been, in their minds, putting up with the traditional workplace too long. A company must show and actively demonstrate opportunities for growth and education for all drivers. These front line workers are going to be the people coming up with ideas on new electronic programs and apps to make life easier, more bearable, while embracing safety, fairness, and strategies for the future. They are making connections. Those companies who view their Millennial drivers as a strategic advantage in the marketplace are set to move forward into the future.  Are you one of them?

Written by
Heather Darrington CCLP
Flash Freight Systems
www.flashfreight.ca