Overstock on drivers?

I think they largely are just trying to not "fall behind" and find themselves with a bunch of high-dollar equipment with no operators. I don't think most are thinking about real current needs so much as "future hopeful needs" Plus, every company hires drivers who just don't fit in there, and it takes several months for the drivers to figure it out, then leave them ... call-ins on drivers and incidents right off the bat cull a bunch out to.

So, one has to be aggressive all the time just to try and keep from falling behind. It's too hard and too slow to hire as a reaction to increasing freight availability/rates. By the time you start to get all your seats filled and get everybody busy, then freight slows down or accounts are lost. So you just hire and hope your sales people can keep up and the bottom doesn't fall out.

 

My company offers a sign on bonus of 3k. They pay really well and treat people well, however after talking to a couple of managers the general consensus is sign on does not work because no matter how much money you offer, it falls on the individual to have the work ethic to stick with it. Sadly work ethic is what many lack

 

My problem with sign on is, for some reason I see it as a desperate or marketing ploy, turns me off when i see one... dont know why.....

 

Folks that's been in this industry knows those sign on bonuses are just gimmicks to lure the drivers into their web of lies.The new drivers unfortunately falls for everything their ads and websites says.Almost every company needs drivers but is the pay and miles really worth it,only the driver knows that once he starts driving for them.If companies has to do a large amount of advertising to find the drivers then they're not that good I would say.

 

Which would your rather have $3000 or and extra .03 cents a mile? Most of the time it is the same thing but it looks so much more impressive as a dollar amount.

 

Hard to attract young people into a business of low pay , lousy benefits and just about no retirement so gota throw out a carrott I guess .

 

From the business owner perspective, the sign-on makes sense, and you must advertise. Let's be honest, your drivers are not going to be very good at encouraging more competition to come in a drive down fleet averages. There is too much demand for hirable drivers and too many choices so you have to try and keep your name out there for them to consider by any means available within financial reason.

A sign-on is enticing, it's only all paid if the driver sticks around. And if the driver sticks around that long, you know the driver, and the driver knows you, and that's the best you can hope for, and proceed from there.

If Company A offers a $3000 sign on bonus, and company B across the street does not, and the mileage pay and the expectations is more or less the same, who do you think is going to receive the most applications?

Most younger generation set today is only thinking about this year, and maybe the next year. I doubt more then maybe 2 in 10 comes into trucking at a younger age looking for a long-term career to retire from. I'd have to beat some sense into them if they did. But it's a great way [for some] to see the country and get out of other lower-paying dead end jobs. But it's not for everybody ... the driving skills aspect, and/or the OTR lifestyle aspect