The onus is on the trucking industry to find its next generation of truck drivers, says current TCA Chairman Shephard Dunn of Indiana-based Bestway Express, adding that carriers who are most responsive to change are the ones who will continue to grow in an ever-changing marketplace.
Welcoming attendees of the 2014 recruitment and retention conference put on by Conversion Interactive Agency in partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association, Dunn stressed that creative strategies are key to attracting new drivers to the industry, adding that “the strategy right now is that nobody’s dealing with it.”
As reported by Fleet Owner magazine, Dunn said that driver pay has a role, but it isn’t the only solution to winning the recruitment and retention game. He pointed to “plenty of carriers” who pay about the industry standard who are also having the same problems attracting drivers.
“There are no silver bullets, and no easy answers.”
The event, focused on the “New School” in recruiting and retention, offered carriers tips on accommodating new generation drivers”
- “Work more with customers on length of haul” to better fit driver’s home needs.
- Work with sales reps to identify more “driver-friendly freight,” from the aforementioned haul lengths to shippers and receivers where detention is not an issue.
- Any driver quality-of-life improvements “will pay dividends” through recruiting and retention efforts.