Driver Recruiting vs Driver Retention

whatiship said:
What many of us forget sometimes, is that a long haul driver is a trained professional. He needs to not only be capable of handling 80,000 lbs of iron through bad weather conditions and up and down mountains but also has to be trained in Customs regulations of two separate countries, MTO and DOT regulations, hours of service, Hazmat, etc etc.
On top of this he has to abide by whatever policies and regulations his employer puts on him and then be a flexible "customer service representative" to the customer whenever there is a problem.
It's funny, traffic mgrs who take a night course to learn a fraction of what these guys know put a CITT or someother designate after thier name and act like they are doctors and lawyers.
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Well said and thank you for helping remind others of the numerous skills drivers must and do have.
Sadly, the CTA has done very little to even have truck drivers to be deemed as "skilled labour" with the federal government.
It makes one question their motives with their lack of will to push for that.
 
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I was going to leave this one alone but having worked my way from the depths of hand bombing freight, longhaul truck driver, dispatcher, operations manager to my current position as CEO-President Owner of a well established carrier I can not.

We all choose our vocation, no-one puts a gun to your head and forces you to drive truck. In most cases truck driving offers a decent wage to those that have chosen this path. A Trucking career likely outweighs most of your other options. It is obvious by some of the comments here that some of you lack awareness to business economics. Try asking a driver what they think is a fair rate and you will see their lack of understanding. Trucking is a pennies business always has been at least since deregulation. If your desire is to earn a six figure salary as a truck driver then you have chosen the wrong career. I suggest going back to school and becoming a doctor or lawyer afterall its your choice. "Skilled Labour" C'mon folks we're not talking rocket science here! I am so tired of hearing from drivers that this industry owes them. We all work hard and none of us make enough money, yet so many choose to continue in this racket by complaining. During my 33 years in this business I have been fortunate enough to earn a great living mostly by the choices I made. Those of you that constantly bash the industry without ever providing realistic solutions should take a hard look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If not change it!
 
That's funny, I like many others on this site also started on the dock 30 years ago and worked my way up to being the CEO of my own stable business and yet our opinions on the subject are vastly differant.
I respect your opinion and your right to state it.
But, just as a word of advice I wouldnt post it in the company newsletter.
 
Truck It

I'm with you on what you are saying!

Personally I find that the drivers that complain the most are usually the least talented.
I have been in this industry since 1994 and started as a driver after getting my class 1 license in Quebec after 7 hours of practice at a local driving school.
You can only imagine the grinding noises the tester had to suffer through, thankfully he was more concerned about driving ability than shifting gears ,he knew that would come with time.
I then drove long distance regularly for the next five years, leaving Montreal on a Saturday morning for Monday delivery in the Dallas Area. One day I came home and my daughter hid behind my wife, she was afraid of me.
That was a wake up call.
Hence, my phylosophy of having at least one day off during the week end.
I then took a pay cut and went on to dispatch at a great company where I really learnt the business.
Within two years I was on my own, with no harsh feelings from any employer.
I ended up working for my old boss helping him wind down his business.
Most of my present drivers originate from there.

Prior to driving and my present position as the owner of this company, I worked in construction as a project manager, prior to that I worked several trades in construction.
I also studied at McGill , Concordia and Queen universities obtaining a BA with honours. I still have many friends from those days.
Most of these guys are earning in the six figures but some are not, we are talking engineers and upper level managers.

The point here being that good drivers working for reputable companies are earning over $1000.00 a week in their pockets, that after all taxes and deductions. That is serious money by any standard.

I do understand what Black Ice is saying. Drivers , especially the ones going cross border do have added responsibilities. On an emotional level their job is much harder. On the other side, the physical requirements of the job are much less. Trucks are now much more reliable , have power steering, big engines , great transmissions and superb interiors. Driving these trucks, is so much easier.

Again, we are talking about long haul drivers.
Local drivers, that carry out a great deal of physical labour in their jobs should be paid accordingly.

As for driving through the rockies during a blizzard does not make a good driver.
A good driver will pull the equipement over and call in saying that conditions are to dangerous and not proceed.
No self respecting manager will second guess his drivers decision, he is not there!!

I may add that the most important skill a driver can bring his employer other than safety and security is proper time management. Once that skill is mastered, any driver will make a good living.

As for driving skill, that is simply common sense, some have it and some do not. Experience does not always equal skill!!

All in all , I beleive that the near future will be fruitful for good drivers and tough on carriers.
With the real startup of the US economy within the next 6 months, we will face a driver shortage. This will entail an equipemnt shortfall , allowing us to raise rates , which we will have to do, in order to retain our good drivers.
 
Truckitt and Aix I agree whole heartedly all my employees know that if they are not happy they need to go and find something that makes them happy, I have lived by this and told many drivers the same with that being said we do everything possible to make this the best possible place to work but you cannot please everyone. On my screen saver is "Expect Nothing - Blame No One - Do Something".
 
TRUCKIT said:
I was going to leave this one alone but having worked my way from the depths of hand bombing freight, longhaul truck driver, dispatcher, operations manager to my current position as CEO-President Owner of a well established carrier I can not.

We all choose our vocation, no-one puts a gun to your head and forces you to drive truck. In most cases truck driving offers a decent wage to those that have chosen this path. A Trucking career likely outweighs most of your other options. It is obvious by some of the comments here that some of you lack awareness to business economics. Try asking a driver what they think is a fair rate and you will see their lack of understanding. Trucking is a pennies business always has been at least since deregulation. If your desire is to earn a six figure salary as a truck driver then you have chosen the wrong career. I suggest going back to school and becoming a doctor or lawyer afterall its your choice. "Skilled Labour" C'mon folks we're not talking rocket science here! I am so tired of hearing from drivers that this industry owes them. We all work hard and none of us make enough money, yet so many choose to continue in this racket by complaining. During my 33 years in this business I have been fortunate enough to earn a great living mostly by the choices I made. Those of you that constantly bash the industry without ever providing realistic solutions should take a hard look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If not change it!
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No, we don't like what we see. We are changing it. Perhaps you've missed out on the fact that drivers are no longer flocking to this industry. Perhaps you've missed out on the fact that according to many here, they can't even find good drivers or are having great difficulty in doing so.
Drivers themselves are changing it by simply leaving the industry by doing something management can't seem to do..

Saying NO to working for cheap labour rates.

yet so many choose to continue in this racket by complaining
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Would that include yourself and the many members here who complain about companies not paying them for their work?

You expect to be paid in full for all of the time your trucks work.
Drivers deserve the same respect... however I'm not so sure you can comprehend that fact from way up on your ivory tower.

Would you mind telling us the name of your company so I can ensure drivers can know of your lack of respect for the skills that they have and your general disdain for their hard work.
 
whatiship said:
That's funny, I like many others on this site also started on the dock 30 years ago and worked my way up to being the CEO of my own stable business and yet our opinions on the subject are vastly differant.
I respect your opinion and your right to state it.
But, just as a word of advice I wouldnt post it in the company newsletter.
Click to expand...
Yours is a voice of reason who I tend to think treats his drivers with great respect for the skills and work they provide this country.

I thank you for that.


Edited to add: To Monsieur liner, you think I would bail that easily? LOL.
 
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Black_Ice,
While I respect that to work toward improving the wages and working conditions for all workers is commendable, I think truthfulness and honesty are paramount in establishing any degree of credibility, and for others to seriously consider any opinions or arguments proffered toward achieving that end.

Late last night I visited your homepage, canadiantruckers.freeforum.ca, and read your posts in a thread entitled "Truckstop Canada and Censorship", as well as the reasons the administrator banned you from the forum. The following post is from that forum's administrator:"I put a forum called " Union house " in place, but you guys are starting hijacking almost every thread in every forum. You don't stop , your membership will be deleted."

I believe that you then characterized this as "censorship" because your views or methods were not agreed to.

I discern from your posts here that you'd like to see wage improvements and demands that drivers be treated with more respect. A noble pursuit I agree, but it begs to be asked, were you being respectful to the other members of that forum by refusing to confine your posts to the relevant forum? Having a passion to "balance the equation" with a sense of urgency, noble that it is, is I believe, no license for a strategy of subterfuge or disrespect.

In forming my opinions regarding important matters, I do my very best to employ intellectual honesty, which can be characterized by an unbiased, honest attitude, which can be demonstrated in a number of different ways:

1. My personal beliefs do not interfere with the pursuit of truth.
2. Relevant facts and information are not purposefully omitted even when such things may contradict my hypothesis.
3. I try to present facts in an unbiased manner, and not twisted to give misleading impressions or to support my view over another.
4. References are acknowledged where possible, and plagiarism is avoided.
Harvard ethicist Louis M. Guenin describes the "kernel" of intellectual honesty to be "a virtuous disposition to eschew deception when given an incentive for deception."

To do otherwise would be doing a terrible disservice to those very people whom you'd like to help.
 
Monsieur Activet, that is but one side of the argument.

Monsieur liner, ralph and other pro-management posters would hijack threads in the other forums with anti-union sentiments being expressed and somehow that was supposedly acceptable.
You will find that the only people to be "shouted down" were those who are fighting to improve working conditions, safety and pay for drivers.

It was extremely one sided and myself along with several others who have contacted me feel likewise, which led to the creation of that online community to further our cause. Both sides are freely welcomed to express their opinions there without the threat of not being permitted to do so as I will not tolerate censorship on any level.

You can't engage in a healthy debate or make progress towards resolving a situation where one side is permitted to speak freely while the other side is effectively "gagged".

As I have mentioned, this huge elephant in the room is not going to go away quietly. I fully intend to fight for drivers rights and will utilize every means and avenue to pursue this. Without lobbying to raise the awareness and motivate change from within, or protest if you will, nothing can be accomplished
That being said Monsieur Activet, I do appreciate that this forum has so far been very gracious and has respected this side's right to speak freely without censorship.
It provides hope that together, there can be progress made to improve conditions for drivers and the industry in general.
 
2 choices folks.
Either get your house in order and give your employees and owner ops fair compensation and respect or the Teamsters will gladly help them get what they want. Personally I would prefer to do it myself.
Ask somebody at Wilson Truck Lines what happens when you wait too long.
 
Black-Ice

What kind of wages are we talking about here? What is a standard industry rate for local driver/long haul driver and or team drivers? Can anybody give me some numbers?

I pay local drivers $20 per hour plus extended plan. Long haul drivers get .40 cent per mile + pick drops and teams get .50 divided between them + pick drops. Is that fair rates?
 
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Rates

I was going to reply to BigT, but decided otherwise seeing I was not sure of the regional factors that may come into play.

May I suggest that Black Ice put forward the pay scale that would satisfy drivers needs as he sees them!
 
The heart of the problem appears to be that driver compensation is tied to productivity, and drivers are often unable to control productivity due to factors that are out of their control...i.e. wait times at docks, traffic, truck problems, cancelled loads etc.


The only way to fix that is to develop a wage scale that compensates for all work performed and for any down time that detracts from the driver's available hours. That's of course easier said than done, but that's really the only solution.

We should look at how it's done in Europe. They don't have a driver shortage over there, might be worth investigating.
 
Can you tell me what the going rate is for hourly city (GTA area) drivers for LTL, we pay benefits and it's never overnight, we also pay overtime. Thanks
 
I know a guy who'd switch companies if he got a free baseball hat. Some drivers will switch for a few cents a mile and then come back after they find out smaller companies don't pay the same rate as larger companies, especially after they find out the larger companies don't give a flying crap if you stay or go when a driver says "so-and-so is paying $0.50 a mile for team...you have to pay me the same or I'm going there." The driver shortage has a lot to do with most driver applicants not being qualified to do the work you need. Being too picky, in other words. Like saying they don't want to go to the U.S. (a few years ago, it was "I can't go" and can only run the corridor) or looking for "dedicated runs." Not many people have dedicated runs anymore (we do, though) so you have to tell them if they want to work, do the gig you're given. Another problem is some drivers think dispatchers are travel agents and think you should send them to states like Texas, Kentucky or California because they want to. You end up telling them that it's not a travel agency, it's a trucking company and it's a truck, not an RV pleasure vehicle. Unrealistic expectations is what is causing part of the shortage. Drivers get into the industry and then find out it's not all easy on-easy off or driving in a straight line forward. Your pay is commensurate with experience and the prima donnas expect top dollar only because they make threats to go where they think the money is better. The revolving door has to stop turning but the retention part has to come from sitting the driver down and finding out why they are so damn flighty and fickle.
 
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wages as a factor in driver retention?

As a freight broker, I don't employ drivers and probably never will, however my simple calculations showed me the following.

Regardless of whether you choose a 7 day or 14 day cycle, the maximum number of on-duty hours a driver has available to sell to their employer is from 3,120 to 3,640 per calender year, or an average of 2,880. A $70,000. average remuneration per year works out to about $24. per hour, regardless of how those hours are used.

I know that carriers will probably say they don't pay on a salary basis, and for good reasons - it eliminates wage expense as a variable, as well as ensure a reasonable amount of productivity from an employee with no direct supervision. Also, to pay an annual salary would create a fixed cost against a variable revenue stream and result in a bigger gamble for the carrier.

That being said, I think most drivers perceive pre-trip circle checks, filling out log books, border crossings, etc., as non-paid work, as there's usually no numbers associated with same, as in the case of picks and drops. Carriers have developed a performance based remuneration system that most driver's wouldn't be able to roughly forecast their annual earnings from. This leads to doubt and uncertainty, which are the seeds of discontent.

I understand that there are no easy answers for these seemingly competing forces, but if on board recording devices become a reality, the industry may have to consider moving away from a performance based system.
 
All I do Is Recruit, I am a Freelance Consultant with one large account and some smaller ones. I find my success comes from working with companies that have a clearly defined payment program coupled with a management philosophy that understands their company success comes from a properly trained and reasonably compensated driver force. This philosophy starts at the top and must go right to the bottom. My favourite clients are the Private Fleets, they have a wide range of employees and have built their success around a solid employee plan.
Most companies see driver recruitment as a necessary evil and it usually falls on the person within the organization who put up the least resistance. it should be seen as one of the key positions. Because, without drivers in seats, wheels don't turn and money isn't made.
My little input into an ongoing and never ending dilemma.
 
These drivers that complain they're not paid enough usually are a bit on the lazy side (my experience, not all them). Next - if you don't think your paid enough, buy a truck and see how much less you'll make and how much more you'll have to do to get it. If drivers where paid according to auto worker rates - they'd get between $27 & $40 per hour based on occupation and experience. At the same time the O/O would be compensated $5.00 to $6.50 per mile based on fuel prices. Do you know what this would do to a gallon of milk or loaf of bread? They go up and the vicous cycle continues.
 
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