Yes, in a bad economy with driver turnover at historical lows; driver retention is as important, or possibly more important, than when freight levels are strong and good drivers are hard to find.
Driver retention performance is a direct result of driver loyalty. The more loyal drivers are to your company, the more likely they are to stay with your employ.
Keeping the loyalty/retention relationship in mind, think about driver perceptions at your company today during these challenging times. Many are likely laid off; perhaps many more are working at less than full productivity (translation: lower wages) due to depressed freight volumes.
Trucking during a recession requires making hard decisions like layoffs. Without question the loss of wages, either in full or part, damages employee loyalty to the organization. So what can an organization do to partially negate the damage? Here are some suggestions:
- Keep in touch with laid off drivers. Use monthly home mailings from the top (CEO or President level) and weekly calls from Driver Managers to let drivers know you care, how business is going and when (if you know) they might be able to come back to work.
- Communicate with your drivers regarding other actions taken as a result of the recession. Non-driver staff reductions, equipment sales, etc - let them know that the situation is serious and that the pain is shared.
- Rotate drivers in and out of layoff if work rules permit. A month on- month off rotation will provide at least some income to junior drivers.
- Offer work opportunities at other terminals to laid off drivers in the system. Even if the opportunity is not a personally viable one (NJ based driver offered work in OK), drivers will appreciate the offer.
- Encourage laid off drivers to visit the terminal periodically. You don't want them to lose the sense of family you have taken so long to build.
When the economy improves, the driver shortage will return and eventually worsen. Truckers fortunate enough to survive the recession will be looking forward to the opportunity of higher freight levels and rates brought on by tight capacity. That will be a tough opportunity to capture if once loyal drivers start looking elsewhere for their employment.
---------------------------
--Joe White - -TruckExec Publisher/ CEO CostDown Consulting
Comments