Question about finding quality people

I dunno... my wraps ugly from one 6 year old incident and I have an extremely hard time finding a good steady job in the industry. Crazy part is I've learned that I can run and I like to run hard. But no one will seem to take my word which is understandable with insurance issues and all. My point is, when I have to walk away from a potential long term job because of some dumb #### I did when I was young it's really a lose/lose for everyone. I miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime, employers miss out on a great dependable hard-working employee without even giving it a chance. Just my 2 cents

 

What is paying well?

 

I cannot help you in answer to your question regarding amenities and driver comfort, because I think you have it covered pretty well. This coming from a guy with a local gig, home every night and has never been OTR.

Considering your list of issues; it all comes down to the driver being LAZY IMO. Every one of those issues require effort on the part of the driver to get things done and it is for their own benefit, as well as your company to see that they are done. You may want to review your interview process and the questions you ask during that process, along having a list of acceptable and/or unacceptable answers.

Do these drivers treat their own vehicles as they do your rigs? Have/do you ask/ed them how they would feel if their vehicles were treated with such disrespect?

Pride, respect, accountability, responsibility, are attributes that once were common in America, but now, sadly, seem to be rare. Take those four attributes and form some questions for your interviews that will extract answers to reveal how the prospective employee may behave, and I think, perhaps, you may be more successful next time you hire an individual.

Good luck to you!

 

For me being gone from home for weeks at a time is un called for. There are a lot of company's where they run you for 7 days out then home for a couple.

 

Do you have an extensive interview process when looking for drivers?

Do you perform background checks and try to communicate with the potential candidate's previous employers?

Is your "onboarding process" thorough enough to outline the job and it's benefits/rewards/downsides/etc?

Do you conduct road tests that include a pre trip inspection?

I think those are all questions you should be asking yourself. If you can answer "yes" to all of them, I would venture to say that your pay/benefits aren't up to industry par. I'd also recommend printing up a company/driver handbook that outlines everything you expect from your employees. Being a little player in a big market can be difficult, for sure. Best of luck to you.

 

Unfortunately that's the caliber of people, not just drivers, out there today. Have you considered doing like a monthly bonus system? If a guy doesn't miss any days, get his trips in on time, no tickets/infractions and keep his truck relatively clean inside and out, he gets a little extra at the end of the month. Where I work, we are required to perform a more in-depth truck inspection with our service manager each month and guys really catch it if the trucks aren't being looked after. I do a good pre-trip and keep my truck pretty clean so I've never had a problem.

 

Are you a 1099 outfit?

 

The only item's I see missing so far are good seat covers, seats get a lot of abuse.. the would be a mattress cover of some sort.. subscribed


Edit:
I suppose a driver could furnish their own

 

I have a few questions...

Do you make your expectations crystal clear when you interview?

Do you consistently hold drivers accountable? If so, how?

Do you consider yourself "forced dispatch"?