Opinion: Driver Recruiting Against the Odds

By Thomas Clark

Senior Vice President of Operations

Con-way Freight

This Opinion piece appears in the Feb. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

According to analysts at a transportation research organization, the industry is facing an increasingly acute shortage of drivers — as many as 135,000 this year. This staggering statistic from FTR Research will only grow more challenging, given the many factors that continue to affect the recruitment and retention of safe, qualified truck drivers.

The influence of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, changes to driver hours of service and an aging driver population will reduce the dwindling pool of qualified drivers even more. Meanwhile, rising operating costs will push many owner-operators out of the business, while poor highway infrastructure and increased road congestion will lessen the attraction of truck driving as a desirable career.

We cannot decouple the growth of transportation from the growth of the economy. Driver shortages equate to restricted capacity to move the nation’s goods. Even as the nation’s unemployment remains stubbornly high, truck-driving jobs are going unfilled.

What’s the answer? How do we entice the next generation of truck drivers to enter the business? How do we train and prepare them with the skills needed to be effective and successful in the 21st century workforce?

Here’s one solution: Create your own driver pool.

There’s nothing new about a company training new workers and helping them to acquire the skills they need to compete in a changing business environment, and in today’s economy, in-house training is worth another look, particularly from the trucking industry.

If you are a carrier that doesn’t train new drivers and is large enough for such a program to make sense, think seriously about going that route. And if you already have an in-house driver training program, think about how it could be improved to ensure a steady supply of highly qualified drivers who will stay with your company long enough to justify your investment in their education.

The challenge when creating or upgrading a training program is making it both innovative and attractive enough that new entrants will see truck driving not just as a job but as a career. It was with this goal in mind that Con-way Freight established an in-house driver training school program.

Under this program, which is now active in 84 locations across the United States, students have the opportunity to learn about a new profession on the job, while still earning a living.

At this school:

• Students pay no tuition. As “driver apprentices,” they work half of their time on the dock, earning a wage and getting a unique glimpse into the business and the culture of the company. The rest of their time is spent in class or behind the wheel, gaining hands-on experience.

• The teachers are also mentors. Students are taught by senior, experienced Con-way drivers who have been trained specifically to be driving school instructors.

• Students learn both business and driving skills. They develop a thorough knowledge of business practices, rules and regulations. Likewise, through hands-on and focused behind-the-wheel training, they acquire superior defensive-driving skills and an intense commitment to safety.

• Students gain self-confidence. Self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities are the logical outcomes of learning a new profession successfully and developing effective interpersonal skills — all life-enhancing experiences.

• Students are taught not to believe everything they hear about the rigors of truck driving. Moving forward also requires correcting the misconceptions that surround the truck-driving profession — and there’s no better place to start than in your own classroom. For example, not every truck-driving job requires the driver to be away from home for weeks at a time. In fact, less-than-truckload drivers typically are home every night — an important distinction with a direct effect on quality of life.

• Graduation includes the rewards of a promotion, personal and professional recognition and a stable, good-paying job with benefits.

With more than 500 graduates thus far, we can report two notable results: The safety performance of our driving school graduates is at the top of the charts, and the return on our investment is remarkable, as evidenced in a retention rate that exceeds 90%.

Let me repeat that: In an industry where it is common for job candidates to learn the ropes at one trucking company and then decide the grass looks greener elsewhere, we are experiencing nearly 100% retention.

If we in the trucking industry are to replenish our workforce and bring in the motivated, dedicated new drivers necessary to succeed, the answer will be people-focused programs such as these.

Smart companies recognize that the path to success requires investing in employees and engaging with them in ways that build respect, trust, accountability and integrity. People naturally want to work for a company that will work with them and celebrate their successes along the way.

You will find that endeavoring to “grow your own” future workforce by teaching them, engaging with them and respecting them at all times will reduce “driver churn” and will build a loyal future workforce. And that’s a game in which we all have skin.

Con-way Freight, Ann Arbor, Mich., is a provider of less-than-truckload freight transportation. The company is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc.