Truckload Authority - Winter 2014/15

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be going to “recruiting” sites that host forums or encourage reviews.
Another form of “review” is hosted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration through the sharing of your company’s CSA scores online.
Prospective drivers are checking, too, and using the information in their employment
decisions. A carrier with a high score in the “Vehicle Maintenance”
BASIC, for example, can be perceived as running poor, unmaintained equipment.
Drivers keep up with turnover statistics, too. Many will question why, if
your company is so great to work for, your turnover percentage is only average
or even worse than average.
Reach them where they are:
No matter how good your message, it has to get out if it’s to be effective.
Jackson advises some diversification. “The most successful recruitment
advertising strategies,” he said, “are diversified in their approach. All print
and all digital media is not created equal, so place your message in front of
the largest and most qualified audiences possible for the money and do it
consistently.”
It’s no secret that the age of the average commercial driver continues to
creep upward, creating a host of carrier issues including health issues associated
with an aging work force. Everyone agrees that there is a need to bring
younger drivers into the industry, but many are attempting to do so using the
same methods they’ve always used.
An April 2014 study published by Edison Research showed that 61 percent
of Americans own and use smartphones.
According to the study, four out of five people ages 18-24 have smartphones,
and the number only decreases by 1 percent (from 80 to 79 percent)
for ages 25-34. After that, smartphone ownership declined with each age
grouping, reaching its low of 25 percent among those 65 and older. More
school kids, ages 12-17, carry smartphones than people 45 and older.
A 2012 Pew Research study found that up to 67 percent of smartphone
owners routinely check for calls and messages, even if the phone hasn’t
rung. The study also claims that 44 percent of owners sleep with their smartphones
nearby in case someone calls or messages.
We’ve reached a stage where even websites can be obsolete. Sales of
desktop computers and laptops are declining, replaced by tablets and smartphones.
Sites that don’t display well on smaller screens that can’t be negotiated
with just a couple of fingers (or thumbs) are useless to many.
How technology is used has changed, too. It’s no longer good enough to
maintain a website or to simply place an ad “on the Internet.” Today’s user
is social: They need more than a driving job advertisement that appears in
the margin of the screen. The modern applicant wants to see what others
have posted on your Facebook page and if drivers are proud enough of your
equipment to post photos on Pinterest. They’ll check out YouTube to see if
there are videos posted, and if those videos are posted by your company,
disgruntled ex-drivers, or others. They’ll look for forums and enter your company
name to see if others have posted information — positive or negative.
Communicating can present challenges, too. Many prefer texting to calling
or e-mailing.
Reaching this group of potential drivers means getting in front of them
repeatedly and making it easy for them to contact you when they’re ready.
Target your applicants:
Shooting your message out to as many as possible, the “shotgun” approach,
may work if you’re selling soft drinks, but probably isn’t best for recruiting
drivers. It’s best to know who you want to reach, and concentrate
your efforts and advertising dollars toward reaching that group.
Different forms of advertising can produce results that vary in both quantity
and quality. Some methods generate prodigious quantities of low-quality
“leads” and applications, while others result in smaller numbers of higherquality
applications. An applicant who specifically wants to work for your
company rather than sending the same application to dozens of carriers
is much more valuable. Recruiters processing quality leads work more efficiently,
and the hires from such leads are much more likely to stay, helping
reduce turnover.
The trucking industry, on average, must recruit, train
and employ 96,178 new drivers each year over
the next 10 years to avoid a shortfall.
TCA 2014-15 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 27