If you were to ask a random selection of driver recruiters what their number one goal is in 2022, the answer would more than likely be ‘get more drivers on the road.’ While this, of course, refers in part to new drivers, an essential factor of recruiting goals is focused on driver retention and keeping current drivers on the roads.
The importance of driver retention
Over the last few years, the demand for qualified employees has skyrocketed across multiple industries. Workers now can be extremely picky and selective when determining where they want to be employed, which means the pressure is on for employers to provide support, benefits, and development for their employees.
For CDL drivers in particular, the changing trucking and supply chain landscape has introduced an entirely new scope of challenges – and opportunities. Drivers now can pick and choose carriers they want to work with without worrying about losing out on an opportunity because, simply put, there are just so many opportunities out there. Drivers are in such high demand that your current drivers out on the roads now are precious assets that your organization must protect and cultivate.
Improving driver retention
When thinking through ways to improve driver retention, a few things probably pop into mind first. Benefits, security, flexibility are all significant in the modern world of truck driving. On top of that, however, is communication with drivers and visibility into the driver experience. This is where a “Customer Relationship Management” platform, or in the recruiting industry, a “Candidate Relationship Management” platform (CRM) can come into play.
While CRM may be most often associated with sales organizations, these powerful platforms can also play a key role in internal HR initiatives, including retention. Here’s how this can work:
- Instead of setting up customer accounts in your CRM, each of your drivers act as your customer, allowing your team to track sentiment, health, and other satisfaction metrics in a single location.
- Just as a sales team would communicate and nurture leads, your recruiting team can implement continuous engagement touchpoints with drivers – and track results in your CRM – through email, text, voice calls, and other channels.
- If a driver needs attention, they can be ‘flagged for follow-up’ in your CRM, alerting a stakeholder that an issue requires hands-on attention. When the stakeholder opens the driver record in the CRM platform, all notes and documentation are readily available, giving them a full rundown of the issue before they reach out.
- Driver retention and recruiting metrics can be tracked and managed in a single location – your CRM platform – for easy access and visibility throughout your team.
The bottom line
Driver retention is a focus area that recruiters can no longer ignore, and technology is critical to ensure that current drivers and their needs don’t slip through the cracks. With the DriverReach platform, the modern driver recruiting and retention management solution, you can tackle driver recruiting head-on.
Stay up to date on CDL trucking trends! Be sure to check out the DriverReach blog for other relevant articles and head over to our webinars page for an up-to-date list of upcoming events and on-demand recordings.
Listen to Taking the Hire Road podcast, hosted by Jeremy Reymer and in collaboration with FreightWaves, for timely conversations with industry experts. For more information, or to join a live group demo, visit www.driverreach.com/livedemo
