Letter to the Editor: Driver Issues

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Anytime one reads literature that is transportation-related, you can always find an article referring to driver recruitment and/or retention. For the past couple of years, [the driver] has been the big talk in the transportation industry. I would think by now we all know the problem, but are we getting any closer to a solution?

In every article you read the question, why can’t we keep drivers? Not once do we see anything about hiring practices or dispatching. No doubt drivers are always complaining about multiple issues, but are we really listening to their complaints?

Maybe we should look at this problem from a different angle. Have we, as managers, stopped to take a good look at the positions we have open? One of the most important things to consider is how much these driving positions have changed since we last evaluated them. Or maybe we have never evaluated these positions. We, as managers, would never hire an office staff person without first identifying the position, what type of person it would take, the duties it would entail, the time involved in doing the job and asking ourselves if the workload is fair for the position.

Once we have identified these requirements, should we not review them with the persons who do the interviewing? Are the people doing the interviewing representing the position and the company properly? Do we have people working on bonus systems that require their numbers to be high? If so, reevaluate their positions. Why not try selling the job on the negatives instead of the positives? This could possibly help the driver retention issue.

I think if one were to dig far enough into the system, one would find the dispatcher to be most of the problem. Dispatchers tend to be very territorial people with severe cases of tunnel vision and want things done their way. Most dispatchers would not dare handle their own money the way they handle the company’s money. This position requires more silent monitoring from management than one would think.

Take the time to sit back and see how your money is being spent and equipment is being utilized. Once you take the time to investigate your dispatch system and your dispatcher, I think you will be totally flabbergasted by what goes on.

Take the time to investigate and evaluate the practices of your human resources department and the dispatch department. After doing this you will find where the problems really are, and you will find a lot of money being wasted.

George T. Thornes

I>Salisbury, Md

This story appeared in the Nov. 19 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.