The “churning” phenomenon–drivers leaving one carrier and hiring onto another–makes it hard to judge whether there’s an actual shortage of truck drivers today. Churning is prevalent in the most recently hired 10 to 20 per cent of most fleets’ driver roster, and it’s an expensive, time-consuming problem for employers. Those newer 10 per cent of drivers are the ones most prone to mishaps on the job, for example. A year’s service with the same carrier would reduce that risk considerably.

Linda Gauthier, executive director of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) in Ottawa, has watched these trends for some time. She says when a driver is asked by the carrier to leave within 90 days of hiring on, it indicates something wrong with the screening process. When a driver is laid off within the first two years, it suggests the driver isn’t meeting the carrier’s needs. And if the driver quits within that two-year span, there’s probably something missing in the carrier’s ability to assess what makes the driver satisfied and happy.

“The first 90 days of employment are crucial,” she says. “Past that point, the first two years become crucial. Over 70 per cent of drivers who separate from a carrier leave or are laid off within two years.”

Furthermore, a survey on the driver supply just released by CTHRC concludes that the driver initiates 70 per cent of all separations. This suggests that, more often than not, it’s the carrier that fails to satisfy the driver.

Perhaps that’s because enough of the right questions weren’t asked up front.
Drivers’ expectations about their job vary wildly, and if the recruiting and hiring process isn’t conducted effectively, a lot of their questions may go unanswered or unasked. Les Ferris, manager of driver recruiting and development for Big Freight Systems in Steinbach, Man., thinks the industry’s turnover problem could be reduced if drivers asked more questions about the carrier’s operation, and did a better job of defining their own expectations during the interview.

“There can be a lot of finger-pointing during an exit interview,” says Ferris. “It’s not always clear who is right, but I think if drivers were honest with themselves about what they want from the job, they’d make better decisions about the carriers they choose to work for.”

Ferris says that geography is often an issue, with home-time suffering because drivers don’t live close to the carrier’s service lanes. It’s understandable that a driver is angry when he can’t get home, but if home is somewhere the carrier services infrequently, there’s going to be a problem.

Money is also an issue with unhappy drivers–sometimes because their financial needs are beyond what the carrier can provide, sometimes because of overzealous recruiters. You may promise a driver all the miles he can handle, but can you deliver? There are limits imposed by hours of service rules, and more practical physical limits to what a driver can accomplish safely. A 10,000- to 12,000-mile month is reasonable, but 14,000 to 15,000–while possible–is likely illegal. Anything beyond that would be a serious physical challenge. So if a driver is promised unrealistic mileage, he should be asking how that might be possible. If he doesn’t, he’s being set up to fail, Ferris says.

On the financial front, carriers should be prepared to answer questions about what other drivers in the fleet are earning. From a recruiter’s point of view, the top earners are usually mentioned first. The middle-earners may provide a more realistic projection of a driver’s potential.

Schneider National Carriers in Aberfoyle, Ont., hands all prospective drivers a pay and benefit summary during the early stages of the recruiting process. It outlines exactly what they can expect to earn in the first six months, the first year, and each year after that up to 20 years. The sheet lists the possible bonuses and shows average and maximum earnings. As a prospective driver, there’s little doubt where you stand after reading it.

Ferris says he does a pretty thorough job of trying to determine a new driver’s financial needs because he can’t afford to hire a driver that he can’t keep happy. “I’ve run across a few drivers who don’t do a good job of managing their money, or who have had some bad luck along the way, such as a divorce with an expensive settlement, and I’ve turned them away,” he says. “They just wouldn’t have made enough here.”

Big Freight’s pay scale provides a reasonable income for a driver who is willing to do reasonable work, and the company’s best-paid drivers do rather well. But as they say, it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep.

Sometimes, Ferris says, drivers just aren’t suited to the lifestyle. “The 10-day duty cycles, the cost of life on the road, stuff going on at home-there are all kinds of things we can’t control,” he points out. “We expect the new driver to be honest with us about what he wants and expects from the job, because the cost to everyone when they quit is just too high.”

Sooner or later, employment records will catch up to a driver. In a small community like Steinbach, or the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario, the dispatchers and recruiting people talk. All the references in the world can’t cover the tracks of a guy who’s worked for 10 carriers in five years.

If you’re on the other side of the recruiting desk–you’re an owner-operator or a truck driver–why wait ’til you’re so desperate in a job that you absolutely must be working again by this time tomorrow? That doesn’t leave you time to research a carrier. And it certainly doesn’t leave much latitude in selecting the carrier that’s right for you.
The job market has changed over the past five years. Virtually every carrier in the country is hiring or at least interviewing. Why limit your prospects to the first carrier that says yes? If you begin your job search in advance of your anticipated need, you’ll have time to make the right decision.

Andy Roberts, director of Mountain Transport Institute in Castlegar, B.C., says drivers should present themselves to carriers with all their credentials, qualifications, and experience. Then they can say, “Here’s what I can do for you, what are you going to do for me?”

“Drivers don’t seem to realize that it’s a driver’s market right now, and it likely will be for some time to come,” Roberts says. “They’re not playing their cards right. They think the best chance they have for gain is by threatening to quit. In fact, the best chance they have is during the employment interview.”

And who is going to say no to a good driver with a bit of experience? If you’ve got what a carrier is looking for, you’re golden, Roberts says. Why blow the opportunity by not being honest with yourself first in terms of what you need and want? Why leap into the first vacant seat?

“It’s not a time to be arrogant or ignorant,” he says. “It’s a time when the value of the real pros stands out. Let your professionalism speak for you. You can have the job you want, if you know what you’re looking for and know how to get it.”