Two Things Driver Recruiters NEVER Get Back: Time and First Impressions

The adage that ‘you never get a second chance to make a good first impression’ has never been more true than in the world of recruiting. Across any industry, recruiters are the ones who go out looking for the right people to fit their company culture and job description. So why throw that all away with a poor first impression?

Or, arguably worse, many recruiters spend their day going back through after a good first impression is spoiled by inefficient processes or extended wait times. Driver recruiters can get a lot back: their jobs, their friends, and even drivers who ghosted them when the chance allows. But the two things that driver recruiters can never get back are those great first impressions (or not so great, depending on your situation) and the precious time it takes to fix these things once broken.

Optimize your recruiting experience by putting the driver first

Because you can never redo a first impression and never get back the time lost working to make up for said impression, it’s imperative to optimize the driver recruiting experience by prioritizing both the driver and your team’s time. 

Here are a few ways your team can do that:

• Improving speed-to-hire. The clock is ticking from the first engagement a driver has with your team to the first time they are out on the road. Tracking every applicant outreach, where they are in the process, and any next steps can keep them in line and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

• Including exciting channels for engagement. Email can be a tricky channel to expect to stand out from the crowd when reaching out to driver applicants. But with social media ads, posts on forums, and even video call interviews, drivers can stay engaged throughout the process. 

• Building efficient processes. While drivers only experience what small bits of outreach you share, they are increasingly impacted by internal efficiencies and effectiveness. If an internal recruiting team can’t answer simple questions, follow up when expected, or misses critical information that delays the process, the driver is negatively impacted.

• Creating a memorable applicant experience. Treating people with kindness and being open and welcoming shouldn’t have to be said, but here we are. Take care to remember names that people tell you, places they recommend, and even their hobbies and interests, because the more you can treat drivers like real people, not just trucks to be filled on the road, the more they’re going to feel drawn to and comfortable with your organization.

Want to learn more?

At DriverReach, we’re doing everything we can to help driver recruiters discover the new world of driver recruiting, where time and first impressions aren’t something lost or squandered away at every driver interaction. Instead, the DriverReach platform makes it easy to engage drivers, track the recruiting process, and focus on retention. You can learn more about DriverReach here.

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