Build Your Own "Mod Squad": Two Hiring Tips For New Trucking Company Owners
After you obtain your operator's license and start your own trucking company, you need to hire a few more truckers to run more routes as your customer base increases. Individual truck owners who get operating authority often want their rigs to make money while they spend more time closer to home and family, so they, too, need to hire additional drivers.
It's not always easy to find qualified drivers, but there are quality people who are willing and able to do the job reliably and safely. Look outside the "trucker stereotype" for candidates, and provide a reasonable working environment to entice prospective drivers to join your team.
Keep these tips in mind as you search for quality drivers during a driver shortage:
Practice incorporating diversity to find team members and create niche trucking markets.
You easily attract more clients when you meet their specific needs. Decide which kinds of products you want to haul more of; then select diverse driver candidates who are comfortable in the chosen industry environment. Advertise on job boards that other trucking companies neglect. Use social media to raise awareness about the candidates you seek.
Do you want to haul refrigerated specialty foods and imported products? When you have multi-lingual truckers on the staff, they visit and cultivate work from companies who share the same language as the drivers. Clients feel more secure with drivers who explain details in their mother tongue, and your business grows by word of mouth.
If you want to haul more products to music festivals, hire a younger person who is comfortable with loud music and lots of other young people. Hire drivers of different genders, races, and creeds to deliver to other industries committed to diversity if you want to be invited back for more business deals.
Tighten up your log game
New requirements are pushing electronic tracking on truckers whether they like it or not. Electronic logging devices, or ELDs, record everything from location to speed whenever a truck is in service.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expects commercial bus drivers and truckers to be using the devices by the end of 2017. While the regulations seem a bit overreaching, truckers will not need to submit lengthy paper logs any longer. This will save your drivers time and aggravation, especially if you own your own trucking firm.
Begin now to pay close attention to any log-book discrepancies or bad habits among you and your drivers. Make certain your drivers are getting adequate rest, compensation, and other benefits where possible to keep your team happy and loyal to your business. If you have ELDs in place already, do your own monitoring of driver activities. The information is easily downloadable from phone apps and helps you see ways to increase productivity by changing details like inefficient routes or delivery schedules.
There are increasing opportunities out there for serious trucking company operators. Use modern solutions to run the most streamlined, client-friendly transportation service in your niche markets. But remember to keep your dedicated drivers happy, too.
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