Between a driver shortage, higher operating costs and ever-changing regulations, operating a fleet of trucks is no easy task. While larger carriers benefit from bigger recruiting budgets and resources, small to midsize carriers need to become more efficient in order to stay competitive.
Despite the challenges, America’s trucking industry is tough and resilient. Fleets figure out how to operate with limited resources all of the time. But the good news is that you don’t have to! DriverReach is modern software built to improve operations and help carriers stay ahead of the curve. After implementing DriverReach, customers even reduce their marketing spend to $0.
Let’s take a look at what specific tools small and midsize trucking carriers need in order to recruit, hire and retain top CDL drivers, maintain compliance and keep trucks on the road.
Top Hiring Challenges for Small & Midsize Trucking Fleets
Every fleet—from 100 trucks to 10,000—struggles with recruiting and retaining CDL drivers. Small and midsize fleets face distinct challenges, especially because many of these small but mighty teams have to wear multiple hats.
Limited Recruiting Resources
- Smaller Recruiting Teams: Small fleets often have small or non-specialized HR teams, meaning they have fewer resources dedicated to driver recruitment and retention.
- Advertising Budget Constraints: Limited marketing budgets make it difficult to reach a broad audience of potential drivers across multiple platforms.
Time-Consuming Compliance and Administrative Burden
- Regulation and Paperwork: Handling DOT compliance, drug testing, background checks, and other hiring-related paperwork manually can slow down the hiring process.
- Inefficiency: Without automation, small fleets can experience bottlenecks, leading to missed opportunities to hire qualified drivers quickly.
Relying on Outdated Technology
- Antiquated Hiring Processes: Smaller fleets are less likely to use advanced technologies, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS) or automation tools, which can streamline the hiring process.
- Slow Hiring Times: Manual processes slow down the application, interview, and onboarding process, meaning small fleets may lose top candidates to faster competitors.
Difficulty Reaching Qualified Candidates
- Limited Reach: Small fleets may lack access to large job boards or specialized recruitment platforms, making it harder to connect with qualified CDL drivers.
- Niche Markets: Some small fleets may operate in niche markets or remote areas, limiting the pool of drivers who are familiar with or interested in those specific routes.
This is a short list of dozens of difficulties small and midsize fleets deal with on a daily basis. But a smaller size comes with its own advantages: the ability to pivot, implement new strategies quickly, and build lasting relationships with your qualified truck driver candidates. Let’s examine how a few savvy techniques and processes can change the dynamic for carriers.
How to Gain a Competitive Edge in Driver Recruiting
A successful strategy to grow your fleet involves a combination of technology and people. After implementing a made-for-trucking software like DriverReach, carriers are able to focus more on building their company culture and taking care of their entire team. Automation and digital documents reduce the administrative burden, while mobile-friendly applications and an optimized marketing strategy make getting new drivers in the door easier.
Increase Your Recruiting Power—Without Adding Headcount
- Use Authentic Automation: You don’t need to hire more recruiters to hire drivers faster. Automate the tedious follow-up steps and box-checking so your recruiters can focus on building strong relationships with candidates instead.
- Leverage Data for Smart Decisions: Stop the expensive guesswork. Recruiting reports like our Lead Expense Report show your cost-per-hire by source so you know where to invest your advertising dollars for maximum returns.
Reduce Tedious Back-Office Tasks to Hire Drivers Faster
- Go Paperless with eDocs: Make the application process painless! DriverReach’s eDocs not only speeds up the entire hiring process, but builds a complete Driver Qualification file from step one. Stay audit-ready and avoid nuclear verdicts.
- Integrations Keep Fleets Compliant: DriverReach integrates with systems like SambaSafety to bring MVR monitoring into the hiring process. RelaDyne reduced their driver qualification time by 85%—from 6 weeks to just 1 day!
Utilize Software Built for the Trucking Industry
- ATS & CRM for Easy Hiring: Software can’t solve everything, but it does make hiring a lot faster. DriverReach combines an applicant tracking system (ATS) with customer relationship management (CRM) for one single platform that does it all for fleets.
- Mobile-First DOT Applications: Make applying foolproof with driver applications that are optimized for mobile. Plus, the driver’s information is automatically stored to streamline the hiring and onboarding process while reducing manual paperwork.
Attract Top Drivers with Smart Marketing Strategies
- Advertising Best Practices: Optimize your website for mobile (like your applications are with DriverReach!), highlight your values and company culture, and track your recruiting KPIs to evaluate the return on ad spend across different channels.
- Use Tech, Stay Human: Even with advancements like AI tools in trucking recruiting, maintaining a strong company culture based in caring about drivers goes a long way. Your advantage as a smaller fleet is the ability to build personal connections.
Let’s Get More Trucks on the Road
Hiring the best CDL drivers quickly and efficiently is a challenge for all trucking companies, but especially for small and midsize trucking fleets. With the industry facing increased competition, a shrinking talent pool, and the pressure to stay compliant with evolving regulations, finding ways to streamline the recruitment process is essential.
With the right tools in place, small fleets can level the playing field, hire top talent faster, and keep more trucks on the road—without sacrificing the personalized touch that drivers appreciate. Whether it’s through digital applications, automated compliance, or a strategic marketing approach, DriverReach empowers fleets to stay ahead of the curve in today’s competitive trucking environment.
Are you ready to transform your recruiting process and hire the best drivers faster? Reach out to DriverReach and discover how our modern, trucking-specific software can help your fleet thrive.