Swift drivers, sound off

BigShrek, I gotta believe there is a multitude of things Swift can do that won't shrink the bottom line, at least, not for long. One thing that comes to mind is where it all begins. "It" meaning Swift recruiting practices. We need to be attractive enough as a company that we can be choosier in the hiring process. There's no question that Swift has to keep drivers' seats occupied. There are too many customers depending on us, and, the "swift engine", as it operates today, has to be fueled by whatever means necessary. If we have to connive and cajole to get recruits....we've got a problem, an honesty problem.

Secondly, and along the same lines, information offered by recruiters needs to be consistent and accurate across the board. We're all capable of selective hearing and hear what we want to hear sometimes but there are far too many reports, within in this form, of "carrot-dangling" and out and out fabrication.

What's the solution? Someone at the top has got to step up. That "someone" has also got to have the fortitude, wisdom and vision to see what the end result of an honest approach to recruiting can be.

Taking a hard line like this is sure to have an immediate, though reversible, effect on the bottom line. Then again, maybe it won't. I believe that the quality drivers that make the cut will suck up the miles like a sponge. They'll also promote a positive image of Swift. Good people work hard, drive hard and care about themselves and their equipment. They don't trash terminals, leave empties in need of sweeping, piss on the floor by urinals, etc., etc., etc. (Swift drivers making problems for other Swift drivers, right?) How many of the issues that drivers have could be solved or simply disappear if the vast majority of Swift drivers had to "make the cut", a REAL cut, and had to work to make the cut.



Oldnew...out! (for now)

P.S. I'm not even sure I'd hire me!

 

Who can fit this square peg:

http://www.ktvl.com/articles/rohde-1199297-make-haul.html

"I really like working for this company," Rohde said. "But if that's what they got to do to survive, they got to do it."

Rohde worked for Swift Transportation Company. He said one of the reasons why they let him go is the increasing price of diesel fuel. Once prices started soaring through the roof, Rohde said the company couldn't afford to keep their highest paid drivers and had to lay many off.

Into this round hole:

 

Shrek, here's an idea I've been thinking about for a while now. We already have a ranking system in place. The Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond and 1/2/3/4/5-Star ratings are a great idea. However, the reward for improving your ranking was kind of watered down by offering it to Gold /3-Star drivers, in my opinion. Why should I deliver 5-Star service if 3-star will net me the same rewards? (Choice out of three loads)

Here's my idea: A penny per mile bonus for each level, paid quarterly. Bronze/Silver and 1/2-Star gets base rate,then add a penny per mile for each next level up. Nothing speaks to a driver louder than his or her pocket book. I believe the benefit would definitely outweigh the cost in this circumstance. We are already rated on productivity, service and safety. Want more money? Improve your service and safety record. Want even more? Produce more miles.

Goal for each solo driver in a DM's fleet is 2,500 miles/week. I guess they figure that's about average. That means just as many drivers turn fewer miles as more than that number. I'm going to take a group of 150 drivers. Let's just say the average mileage from below the cutoff is 2,200. 50 drivers are averaging 2,200 miles/week. 50 are averaging 2,500 and 50 are averaging 2,800. If we could bring the number of miles produced by the lower group up by even 100 miles each, that's 5,000 additional miles....or two fewer drivers needed to produce the same number of miles. Two fewer trucks to maintain, two fewer risks each week.....or, looked at another way, higher earnings for that fleet. And, since these drivers are being safer about it, less money outlay for collision repairs. Improved service means happier customers. Happier customers means higher freight rates...because we can sell quality in addition to raw quantity. Higher freight rates equal higher profits.

And, you will be encouraging better behavior in all rated areas. It's a reward directly connected to performance. No reason such a thing could not be extended to L/Os and O/Os as well. It's a bonus for a job well done, not compensation for simply doing a job.

 

I liked the message that I got today from Rick # Memphis Terminal. I'm guessing here, but I think Rick is the terminal manager.

Anyway, Rick's message was to all drivers and dealt with truck fires. He did a good job explaining how truck fires start and how to prevent them. I'm gonna go back and re-read the message later tonight.

I've said several times here that the QC is, in my opinion, an excellent tool for continuing the training of new drivers, particularly if the training message is presented exclusive of an accusatory tone.

 

wow, to much red tape, try this, miles are easyer in the midwest, harder on the east coast. starting pay .30 cents per mile, at 6 months .32 cents per mile then maybe 1 cent per year there after for max at .40 cents perhaps, 1 week vacation after 60 days, 2 weeks after 1 year and better equipment, look at some smaller companys with less than 1 thousand trucks, turnover has to stay low, they can not aford a high turn over rate, good pay,good equipment, and most are installing APU

 

I should keep my mouth shut, but what I am saying is something that is universal, or should be.

One of the main reasons US companies got/get pounded by foreign companies in the quality department as well as adaptation on the fly is the concept in Japan, for example, known as Kaizan (ironically essentially created by an American post WW2 named W. Edward Deming and embraced 110% by the Japanese).

If an employee is doing something, be it action or idea, that saves the company money, a) implement the idea, and b) reward the employee with something substantial.

Every employer pays lip service to the concept of teamwork or some such platitude, but few do a ###### thing about it. Who really gives a rat if they get a gold pin and get their name in a company newsletter?

A carrot and stick mentality works well. The ones that are perennial idiots need to be bloody well fired (where they can appear on this forum and spout off about how "the company done me wrong!") and the ones who actually help out are rewarded.

The overall cost of doing business would go down for Swift or any other company in myriad little ways. One less scratch or stain here, one less gallon diesel used there, one less busted printer here and one less mechanical call back for a job done poorly, multiplied by 17,000 trucks over the course of a year would add up to a ton of money. Plus the effect on morale and the hard to quantify effects. Every one wants to play for a winner but not every one wants to do their part to BE a winner.

Get rid of the layers of bureaucracy and the separatist mentality that I bet exist between maintenance/management/drivers/office staff and get an actual mindset of "If I help her, she helps him and we all make more money and have more job security."

Many people roll their eyes and say it is all "Polly Anna-esque". But it isn't and those companies that make it work become powerhouses. Some of the IT industry has led the way in making a work friendly environment that entices employees to succeed.

The opposite, the socialist-union-communist mentality of doing only what you should and no more and being rewarded by how long you have been there yields nothing but crap. Sadly that mentality exists too frequently even in non union work places.

Truckers need to realize that the guy with the PhD in economics from Wharton or U of M ###### well does know what he is talking about much of the time and is not some evil Scrooge. Conversely that same PhD needs to ###### well listen to the 25 year veteran driver who is the trucking equivalent of a Sgt Major. Or the 15 year secretary.

In fact, it is entirely possible that the 1 year employee janitor has an idea that if the COO would listen to (and even know about) could potentially save the company many thousands of dollars in some fashion or another. If the janitor has a forum, thinks he will be listened to and then get something out of it for him besides an employee of the month plaque, they will act.

Is it feasible? Yes. Is it practical? Yes. Does it work? More than most people can imagine. Is it utilized by 99% of companies? No

CRRASHH!...ouch. That was me falling off of my soap box.
.

 

Oooooouuuuuuucccchhhh!

That was me....breaking your fall!

 

This is exactly what we need to get away from. Longivity in a job only means the employee hasn't done anything to get fired for. I take pride in my job, have never received a service failure, have a great safety record....and there are four-year drivers with accidents and late deliveries who b**** about everything. You're saying that driver deserves the same reward I'm getting simply because he hasn't done anything bad enough to get fired for??

You may be happier working for UPS, ABF or YRC. Those are union outfits.