In the world of CDL driver recruiting we talk a lot about candidates going dark during the recruiting process and effectively ghosting recruiters. But what about when recruiters go dark on candidates?
This black hole of recruiting is becoming a larger issue for the recruiting community overall with the increased reliance on digital tools and solutions to manage recruiting processes. The modern recruiting process for multiple industries is rife with potential holes where drivers can slip through the cracks.
Let’s take a look at the traditional CDL driver recruiting process from the perspective of the driver. A driver might come across your opening online, or through a job forum, or from another driver who currently works for your company. The applicant will most likely view your application a few times before actually filling it out, and during this period he or she might reach out to your team with a few questions about the opportunity. Then, after a few back-and-forth conversations, it may be clear that an opportunity exists, prompting next-stage processes like verification of employment and background screening.
Unfortunately, the above process only happens for a small portion of applicants. For each corporate job posted, an average of 250 people will apply and, out of these applicants, only 6 will be called in for an interview. This is an incredibly low conversion rate made even more startling when you start thinking about what is actually happening with the other 244 applicants who didn’t get an interview. In the world of CDL driver recruiting where recruiters can hire more than one driver for a position, it’s important to nurture applicants and keep them engaged long-term. Not establishing this line of communication and engagement is what sends drivers down the dreaded black hole of recruiting.
Don’t Let Your Driver Leads Get Sucked Into the Black Hole
So how can CDL driver recruiters ensure that drivers don’t get sucked into this black hole? It all starts with understanding how recruiting technology and in-person engagement can work together. While recruiting technology is a must-have for modern CDL driver recruiters to deliver an innovative, driver-first recruiting experience, it shouldn’t replace personal engagement. This is where the disconnect in recruiting so often occurs.
Recruiters have started to lean so heavily on technology that, in many cases, they expect these solutions to seamlessly carry applicants through the recruiting process. While these solutions are built to help recruiters track and monitor applicants throughout the recruiting process, they aren’t meant to be a replacement for personal interactions. Recruiters should still expect to reach out to applicants via phone or email, set up interviews with drivers either in person or via video chat, and focus on driver-first engagement opportunities.
Additionally, nurturing CDL driver applicants during the recruiting process is a big part of ensuring they don’t get lost in the shuffle. This means doing more to establish your organization as an engaging, exciting place to work so that drivers don’t end up working for your competition. Carriers are embracing social media to create a team culture and to connect potential applicants with current drivers on the road. This helps keep drivers from falling through the cracks while establishing long-term relationships and driver loyalty.
Want to learn more? DriverReach is the leading CDL driver recruiting platform that helps recruiters manage the entire application process. With DriverReach’s unique solution suite tailored specifically to the needs of CDL recruiters, the chances of driver applicants falling into the black hole of recruiting are significantly reduced.
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