100%+ Turnover Rates - What do the Numbers really say?

I would say that the training industry has much to do with that. I would say that a good driver can do well wherever they go so I don't let turnover rates bother me.

There is only 3 of the original drivers that were there when I hired on where I am at and most of the rest got fired for not showing up for work. Many went off to greener pastures only to want their job back after a few months.

The job is what you make of it.

 

What to watch are the drivers that have been there for a LONG time. When they start to leave. Start to look for a new job. When at my second job when the #2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 drivers all quit in a 2 week peroid I knew it was time to get the heck out of Dodge. I was 16th at the time. So forget about the newbies look out for the Longtermers When they are leaving the ship is sinking.

 

I beg to differ. Turn over rate is a very good indicator of how a company treats it's drivers.

Let's not confuse turn over rate vs actual number of employees.

If a company only has 300 drivers and they hire 900 drivers this past year. That turn over rate IS 300%. They effectively replaced their entire driver pool 3 times.

This isn't seasonal work.

So what if a company only has 50 gravy accounts ? Does this mean the other 250 drivers can go pound sand ?? No ! It means you have to work harder to keep them moving. That is the job of that company, to take care of all it's drivers. Not just the ones they perceive to be the most valuable....at any given time.

If the company turn over rate is over 100% in a down economy. That's an immediate red flag for me. Because those people didn't just move on to greener pastures....remember I speaking of a down economy...where jobs are tight everywhere.

If they had to fire that many. What does that say of the company's ability to choose it's drivers ??

If they laid them off and idled their equipment, that's another story.

But please don't try to feed me or anyone else this line of horse#### about the numbers not being relevant.

 

If a company has 10 positions, and they need to hire 10 people per year to keep those 10 positions filled, they have a 100% turnover rate. It doesn't matter if ALL 10 positions were turned over, or if 1 position was turned over 10 times. Even if they have 5 positions that have "senior" drivers who have been with them for a number of years, but have to fill each of the other 5 positions 3 or 4 times per year due to people quitting (perhaps runs are based on seniority and there may not be steady work for the low guys on the totem pole...or any number of other reasons), they would have a turnover rate between 150% and 200%....hiring 15-20 people per year to keep their 10 positions filled.

Bottom line, each position isn't looked at individually, but rather the company as a whole. How many positions are available vs. how many people they have to hire each year in order to keep those positions filled.

 

Oh ? Profits come whether they have drivers or not...imagine that.

A trucking company offers a service, that is all they offer. In order to provide that service, they must have employees.

You remain profitable by providing said service, at a profitable margin. Not by low balling the people you hire to assist you.

Swift can easily pull a load from coast to coast, with a profit margin of less than 1/2 cent per mile. And make money every day. Lots of money.

No, it makes them a smart company. That's what I would do. I've never ridden a dead horse. Is it profitable ??

Most companies will tell you their turnover rate. SRT gave those numbers upfront, and they were extremely high.

Most major companies 400+ trucks publish a monthly or quarterly news letter. Announcing driver anniversaries...hard to hide those numbers, period.

No they aren't worth taking as gospel. But they are a fact of life. You treat people like ####, they leave.

NO COMPANY ever lost an employee for treating that employee right or paying that employee a good wage. Unless they were so stupid they couldn't figure out a spreadsheet with cost vs profit projections.

Arrow is a prime example of financial stupidity/ ignorance/arrogance, and a complete lack of respect for your fellow human being.

Of course, some of that stupidity falls on our shoulders. Just look at the post on this thread, speaking about how great Arrow is/was. there are others as welll.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/arrow/16716-info-on-arrow.html

 

Emphasis mine...

We're not talking about most companies or any industry.

The company I work for has an about average turnover, as far as trucking companies go. Out of 660 drivers, there are 156 that have been here ONE year or more.

I'm not sure why the turn over rate is what it is. I'm extremely happy with my money, time off, and the people I work with. But I often hear of other drivers NOT making any money here. How that happens, I'm not sure. But there is a reason.

in answer to your last question. Companies can't trim the positions long enough to effect the rates. otherwise they wind up closing the doors.