Most trucking companies overwhelmingly use the same recruiting strategies that they did 25 years ago, according to a recent poll, performed by Unicru at the American Trucking Association’s HR and Safety Conference.

Newspaper advertising at 28 percent and employee referrals at 21 percent top the list as the most commonly used recruiting sources.

“Although the labor market has changed significantly, the strategies and tactics for finding drivers have not,” said Adam Mertz, senior manager of transportation workforce solutions at Unicru. “At a time when drivers are leaving the profession for other fields, the industry needs to look to adopt new tools and techniques to retain current drivers and increase the rate at which it attracts new drivers.”

Turnover among US truck drivers is at a near all-time high of 116 percent and the industry is in need of 82,000 new hires every year through 2010.

As of 2004, according to the US Department of Labor, 25 percent of drivers came from a minority group and the average driver age continues to escalate. However, despite the inferences one might make from these trends, the Internet’s role is growing in how truck drivers seek and apply for work — a trend many trucking organizations fail to take advantage of, says Unicru.

In its poll, Unicru found that only nine percent of responding companies listed the company Web site as a ‘most commonly used recruiting source.’

In addition to an online career site, other recommendations for maximizing recruiting strategies in the new century include:
— Leverage technology to find and hire the best people before the competition.
— Incorporate screening and hiring process automation to improve safety performance, reduce turnover, ensure consistency to DOT hiring guidelines, and increase recruiter and hiring manager productivity.
— Measure recruiting results – both the quantity and quality of applicants.
— Focus on recruiting sources that are sustainable and help build brand image.