Truth Be Told: Honesty keeps drivers behind the wheel, survey says
TORONTO — Want to hang on to your drivers?
Pay them well, don’t feed them bull, and treat them with as much respect as you’d want them to treat you.
Want to chase them away? Waste their time, pull the old bait’n’switch once in a while, and when it comes to back hauls, just keep them guessing.
This advice might sound intuitive or even trite, but it’s based on the preliminary results of a survey of Canadian truckers conducted by human resources consultants IScore Solutions. The CEO of IScore and ex-NHLer John Marshall presented the findings atthe 20th Annual Conference on Transportation Innovation and Cost Saving in Mississauga, Ont.
who want to drive trucks don’t drive.”
IScore, with more than 1,000 clients in the transportation and logistics industries around the world, undertook the survey, according to company President Reema Rafay, “to learn about the trucking industry’s inability to use all the licensed drivers out there.”
She said that IScore plans to compile the results of the survey 18 months from now and then work with carriers to design a set of standards and eventually compile a list of elite carriers that drivers will know, trust, and want to work for.
“We want to restore drivers’ faith in the companies,” she added.
Rafay says that the preliminary results show truckers are initially attracted by the independent lifestyle but find they get discouraged when given conflicting information from the fleets they end up working with. “We’re going to find out why people who want to drive trucks don’t drive.”
As Marshall told the audience at the logistics conference, drivers will want to be part of a winning organization. “Build a reputation for your organization and never let imposters be part of a team,” he said.
According to Marshall, the survey has also had one unexpected result. He found that if researchers go to the truckstops and actually talk to the drivers, they get better results. So, he said, if you want to get your message across to potential drivers, make sure they hear from people they trust — and that might not be your recruiters.
“Drivers will talk to people who want to know about them.” Marshall said.
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