3 Ways to Instill Trust Between a Recruiter and CDL Driver

CDL driver recruiters are in a unique position. With so much competition in the trucking industry, modern drivers have their pick of positions when joining a new carrier. This means that recruiters must do anything – literally, anything – to attract new, quality talent to the team. Some recruiters may immediately jump to the conclusion of “what can I tell drivers to make them sign with us?” or “What is a go-to hook to make sure we attract new applicants?” And right here is where the conundrum occurs.

Of course, recruiters can tell drivers everything they want to hear. Website landing pages can be full of glossy stock photos, marketing-approved soundbites, and paragraphs of perks. But unless your team can follow up on these promises and deliver the driver experience you’re promising, you’re going to lose the trust of your drivers. You’re also going to establish a pretty low reputation for your company in the industry.

Building and cultivating trust between recruiters and CDL drivers is key to succeeding in today’s modern driver recruiting landscape. With such a small margin for error between hiring a new driver and losing him or her to a rival carrier, trust could be a deciding factor in a driver’s decision-making process.

Here are a few ways to instill trust between your recruiting team and your CDL drivers:

1. Lead with personal connections. First and foremost, drivers want to feel connected and valued by the recruiters they work with. When possible, reach out personally (whether via phone, text, or video call) to check in with drivers all throughout the application and recruiting process. Introduce applicants to current drivers so they can ask questions and get an unfiltered view of your company. Publish your notes for specific drivers in a way that's available to the entire team so that any recruiter talking to the driver can reference and know exactly what has and hasn’t been discussed. These little personal touches can go a long way to building and reinforcing trust with drivers.
2. Be available to help drivers through the process. It’s second nature for recruiters to tell drivers to ‘reach out with questions at any time,’ but will you actually be available? Regardless of when you specifically are engaged with a driver in the recruiting process, check in with them to make sure things are progressing smoothly and that they aren’t lost in the process.
3. Don’t lose touch when the recruiting process is over. Becoming a trusted resource for your drivers means not losing interest in them once they are hired. Reach out periodically to see how things are going and address any issues. Companies who build this into their post-hire process have the lowest driver turnover in the industry. Asking current drivers you worked with during the hiring process to speak with current applicants can show that you value their opinions and trust their judgment.

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At DriverReach, we’ve built the industry-leading recruiting management and compliance platform to help driver recruiters attract, hire, and retain CDL drivers. But we also have decades of experience in an industry that is constantly changing and growing. You can stay up-to-date on all the news and thought leadership from the DriverReach team by subscribing to our blog here.

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