When it comes to serious issues facing the truck driving industry, there is one key challenge that stands out from the pack: driver retention. Without CDL drivers on the roads, the entire logistics industry is at-risk. This means that a majority of carriers are constantly on the lookout for new, innovative ways to find new drivers and to keep the ones they have.
In our newest ebook, “Driver Retention: Why Your Drivers Aren’t Sticking Around – and What to Do About It“, we collaborated with Workhound to divulge the go-to retention strategy many CDL organizations are overlooking. Instead of turning to multi-tiered strategies and complicated programs, recruiters and carriers should turn their attention inward, to their drivers, and collect the one thing that can help improve retention quickly: driver feedback.
Drivers crave more communication and more transparency from carrier organizations, and yet many companies are still under the impression a monthly newsletter to drivers is all it takes for people to be happy. Drivers want a two-way playing field, and they want their opinion known and heard. Collecting feedback from drivers can be beneficial for multiple reasons.
- It uncovers issues with drivers and puts challenges in front of corporate conversations.
- It shows drivers that their parent organization cares about their opinion, their knowledge of the industry, and their experience.
- And finally, drivers are the ones on the front lines of the industry every single day, and they are more than likely going to have some good ideas to help improve operations.
Here are the steps your team can take to make driver feedback part of your ongoing retention strategy:
- Let drivers know you’re going to start asking for feedback. Be clear and up front about the purpose of this exercise and allow for anonymous feedback if necessary.
- Collect driver feedback. Use multiple channels to make it easier for drivers, including social media, online forums, anonymous forms, phone calls, and more.
- Organize and analyze your feedback. Is there anything critical that can be addressed right away? Are there driver-specific issues that need to be handled one-on-one?
- Take action. The biggest mistake an organization can make is to ask for feedback and then not do anything with the information gathered. Your drivers have spoken, and now it’s time to make a change.
- Let people know about the changes. Send updates and notifications to your team letting them know about new policies, infrastructure updates, or other new ideas that came out of this exercise.
- Celebrate your wins. If you received positive feedback, celebrate it!
- Repeat and repeat. Continuously collect feedback on an ongoing basis to keep things fresh and exciting.
Want to learn more about how collecting driver feedback can help increase retention and recruiting at your organization? Download our newest ebook, “Why Your Drivers Aren’t Sticking Around – And What to Do About It”, produced in partnership with Workhound.
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