Why is it so hard to find good drivers?

Try finding a good company that pays good with good benefits to drive for as a professional driver ?

you will find that your problem is much smaller

 

Ahem brother.

 

The problem is not just within the Trucking Industry, It stretches across all forms of employment and across the world. I believe the problem like most we suffer with to day started in the 60's. A problem created by society and the way it treated those returning from Nam. Plus the fact that liberals started to emerge with their politically correctness and indoctrinating their will on school kids. As time has past the escalation of liberalism has increased and now it is so bad the question is why should they work when they can go for unemployment or other benefits. And if a personal relationship is acceptable to be nothing more than a usage then their ethics and standard will reflect in other things they do, including working for you. And of course they expect to earn more than the Boss/owner who has sacrificed and worked his #$@^ off to achieve something of benefit to the work force and society. However just because a person went to Truck School and has a CDL doesn't mean they are the right person for you. In theory the best candidate would be a single person however in reality most singles like to be home every night or at the bar. On the other hand a Married person needs the money they can earn in the Trucking Industry, Perhaps that's why its getting more attractive to Married couples to work as teams.
There should also be an element of self worth and projected image from both the prospective employer and employee. The employer who looks like a bag of S*&% will attract a a bag of S*&%. At the same time turning up for an interview in torn jeans and tattoos all over their half naked body with piercings creating speech problems is an off putter. When you think of the clients you service and how they will judge your work ethics and standards professionalism becomes a 2 edged sword constantly being sharpened to improve your network of operations.
In the realms of teaching, Preparation and Planning are the most important things of any subject, If they are conducted correctly everything else should run smoothly. When you interview have you advertised in a professional manner and provided basic information to attract the candidate to apply? This means preparing a syllabus for the Interview and a question and answer format, it should be rehearsed and memorized, at the interview don't read it but have it with you as a reference guide. Take notes and don't make hasty decisions before getting the facts and checking references. The good prospect will expect you to verify his answers and be prepared to wait for a reply, if there no then they were the wrong person. You don't want a driver hired at Interview and drives up the road gets P*&% off and throws the keys away.

So now answer these questions, knowing that the only real question a candidate wants answered is how much will they earn and how often will they be home. Especially with the new laws, where its easy for a driver to be square wheeled for a day and a half.

1. Are you paying the same rate as your competitors? If not chances are you wont get a driver of the caliber you want.
2. Is your equipment well maintained and fairly new, do you have a good breakdown system and back up should a problem arise. Will you pay a standard dollar amount per hour of verified breakdown.
3.. What benefits if any do you offer? Although Obamacare is said to provide the care for everyone, the company provided system is much better and readily accepted across the US. But how about 401k's, paid vacation, college support and re-reimbursement or scholarships. plus others my memory banks fail to reveal at this time.
4. Do you provide all equipment required to do the task required? I have met many drivers who get real P#@$ off quickly when they have to start and buy equipment to do the job with out reimbursement.
5. Remember word of mouth travels faster than your truck and if you have a disgruntled driver others tend to believe the negativeness rather than question the origins and reasons behind the complaints. However multiple complaints is a different situation and normally created because of the way drivers have been treated by managers or the Boss.
5. OK you built up your business by taking calculated risks, using credit cards to get you going and you feel you have worked hard and deserve the respect you want. No problem but that was your choice other wise your prospective employee would be going solo and taking the same risks as you have. It may be aggravating but if you bite the bullet and treat a driver the way you expect to be treated your half way there. Now all you have to do is groom them to the standards you want them to achieve, remember the driver is representing you so image is important.

I don't doubt you are an honorable and honest employer or that you try to provide for your drivers what you would want for yourself. But we all make mistakes sometimes to be regretted later because of eagerness to fill a position.
I have been where you are, and overall there is no magic answer other than using due diligence and not being in a rush.
I wish I, was younger and in a position to accept a job offer with you, I miss the diesel flowing through my veins and the open road.
Just to give you an insight, I learned to drive in the British Army and amongst other things taught Soldiers to drive all types of Military vehicles. On discharge, I went for Trucking jobs and was told numerous times we don't need people to drive tanks. So I spent a couple of years with an agency (Overdrive) getting as much experience as I could. I learned General Haulage on Flats where Sheeting and Roping had to be done an all types of Cargo, I did Multi drops with Containers and Vans, I have done Bulk Tipping, Car Transporting, Tanker work and other hazardous materials. (which is a 3 day course in the UK) Iv'e done International work across Europe and as far a Ry-had in Saudi, where customs paper work filled out wrong meant you didn't move until it was put right sometimes for days because a courier had to be used to go back to the company in the UK and resolve the problem. Again I approached companies and received the statement your too experienced for what we need, I even had a Transport Manager tell me if he hired me I would be sitting where he was within a month, Hence I didn't get the job. So I ended up getting my CPC (Certificate of Professional Compliance a 3 week course) going independent, which was an all together different learning curve. But one I preferred and enjoyed tremendously. I met my wife on a Cross Channel Ferry and moved to the US. Again applying for Jobs I was treated as a green horn and speaking differently had people try to take advantage of me time and time again. After evaluating and looking at all options, I took applied for a Driving Instructor Position with Sear's. After 2 years I decided to go solo and started my own Driving School teaching theoretical and practical subjects related to driving. I taught 4 different types of traffic school and when CDL was introduced was the first legal CDL Instructor of all licenses and endorsements in Arizona having had to write my own curriculum and have it approved by DMV. But yet again MVD in their wisdom, decided that all CDL Schools had to have their own CDL Vehicles for the classes they were teaching. Sadly at that time I stopped the trucking side of teaching and continued to provide the best safety classes I could to those who were most impressionable and keen to learn the right way to operate a motor vehicle. We were also a 3rd party MVD title and Registration company and one of only two in AZ who also issued Drivers Licenses, the other being Western Truck School. At our height we operated in Phoenix and Tucson and Employed 26 people, some of which were State certified Title and License processors. I have since sold my business and enjoy retirement traveling around the US with a 5th Wheel and 1 ton. Do I have regrets? None, I learned a lot and employing people was one of the hardest things I ever did, the 2nd hardest was having to fire them. I think the best thing you have going for you is the candidate must provide 10 years of work history, and using that can point you in the right direction to prosperity.
I wish you luck in your en-devour and search.

Pilgrim 007

 

One of the finest things in my life was set down in a truck. My Truck. The part of making a living is harder. If that don't work, try something else. That's how it's done.

 

I applied for a position as a car hauler a few years back. Coming out of dry van, I needed a fair amount of training, since car hauling is a specialized skill. I showed up for the interview bright and early, did my absolute best to sell myself to the owner as a dedicated worker who was willing to learn everything he had to teach...and was passed over for a guy who happily admitted he was lucky to pass the whiz quiz, but had six months prior experience hauling cars.

That was the last time I attempted to join the ranks of car haulers.

 

#1 NOT ENOUGH MONEY. You want a guy to be away from home all week? You're gonna have to pay a LIVING WAGE, which is close to $100k nowadays. If you cannot afford it, change your product or accept hiring short-term people with no commitment to your firm. You get what you pay for.

#2 NO RESPECT. You want a guy to sit UNPAID because you have no work for him? Uh-uh. Nobody enjoys being bored and away from home. Pay him. And not some cheap $100 a day, either. And do not expect any per-mile driver to be touchy-feely about getting stuck or driving in cities. Get real.

#3 LIES. Companies advertise "sign-on bonus" like they really need good people, but then bait-and-switch the driver into a retention bonus, paid after a year on the job. Or you pull the "safety and performance bonus" bologne, which nobody fully earns unless they are permanently wedged up management and dispatch's rear end.

Not enough money, no respect, and lies. Sounds like you've got work to do on the inside before expecting long-term people to take heed.

 

I can only give you my take on this , after having worked for a company for over 30 years...I have a decent idea of what kept me from looking any where else for employment.......Good employees want and expect/demand good total compensation. If an employer wants a driver that is safe , experienced , and has the right attitude and the skills wanted , then a really good package MUST be available..... That equates to not just a wage , but ins. benefits , pay for vacations , personal time, sick time , good retirement vehicles/401k plans/profit-sharing all these things. If a man keeps himself above the fray , clean-cut, accident/incident free , no problems with alcohol/drugs , a clean employment record , he has then earned the right to expect these things in return for his very considerable effort in getting and maintaining that record....It doesn't happen over-night and not without sacrifice , just like the time and effort and sacrifices that a business owner has put into his business to be successful.

You want good drivers....... offer a great total package....it may cost somewhat more than you're paying now...but you'll gain far much more on the other end with out the headaches and problems of fly-by-night folks. Sometimes people over profit..is actually more profitable in the long run.....You might even be surprised by the fact that you won't have to run ad's ...once the word gets out you won't have too...the really good jobs out here never do .......Just and OLD retired fellas take on your post.

 

Ziggy, please do not take this personally but I will give you my insight to your problem. If I have you confused with another company I apologize in advance but I am pretty sure I know who you are. I agree with most of what has been posted already especially with Tony. I grew up in the northeast and picked up cars at your repo facility for three years (07-2010). I think you have an image problem and it is two-fold. First, your primary business is repo which attracts a type of person who has watched all the bad tv shows and thinks that is normal. This can also drive away a quality driver that does not want to be associated with your primary industry.

The second problem, and this is where I am not trying to directly attack you, is the attitude people are greeted with at your reception counter. Unless things have changed since 2010 you treat the other transporters that come in just like the debtor that you repoed the car from. There is no reason to make a fellow transporter wait 45 minutes or more to release a vehicle, auto transport in upstate NY is a small community and we all talk to each other. Rose (I think that was her name, nice older lady) used to take my paperwork right away and then I could hear a male voice tell the lot boy to make me wait. I was never anything but nice and professional and it was not just me that was routinely delayed. If you want a better reputation for you transport division you should treat other transporters the same way you wish to be treated.

On more than one occasion you tried to hire me away from the carrier I worked for by trying to offer better equipment and pay but the culture of your organization turned me off. You do have nice equipment and offered fair compensation but the over all feel I got from your office and your drivers when we were side by side at Newburgh or Clifton Park was a big turn off. You have a lot to offer but in my opinion need to reflect on the image you put out in the transport community and work to improve that if you want to attract quality career minded drivers.

Again, I am not attacking you personally and chose not to name which company I think you are and if I have you confused with someone else I apologize and will delete this post at your request.

 

The only thing I hate more than a wrecker/tow company is a repo company. The above post explains alot of it.

 

This problem started long long before the 60's and wasn't a political issue nor will ever be.

I find it is difficult to find people with a level of respect of my equipment that I have - a big issue with me. I know this has been an old issue, years ago my uncle told me stories about his trucking company in the 30's and what he had to go through to keep things running and the stuff people did to his equipment.