Company Evaluation Checklist--Input Requested

I am in the process of exploring trucking as a second career and have been doing research in that regard. As I explore various companies and aspects of the industry, the information is somewhat difficult to keep up with. To help organize my research I am creating a spreadsheet that will help me to evaluate and compare companies, etc. I suspect this could be helpful to others also. (@Chinatown may already have such a list. If so, please share.)

For those of you who have already been down this road, what are the "essential" things that a potential new driver should consider when evaluating potential employers? Below are a few things I've considered, but I felt that some of you would have helpful suggestions I may not be considering. For certain things, such as driver facing cameras, I am not so much interested in the subjective debate on whether it is "good" or not. This is intended to simply be an information gathering tool.

Here is what I have thus far. This has been updated based on feedback in posts that follow. Please feel free to make additional suggestions. I will upload the spreadsheet file, but I will allow some time for additional feedback first.

(Not in order of priority.)

Considerations:

Does the company hire inexperienced drivers?

If not, minimum experience required?​

Hiring area?
Hometime?​

Divisions and Options:

Flatbed?
Dry Van?
Tanker?
Reefer?
Specialized?
Inter-modal?
Drop & hook?
Live load/unload?
Team, Solo, or both?
Company driver?
Owner Operator?
Lease Operator?​

Additional Requirements:

Hazmat?
Passport?
TWIC?
​

Physical Requirements:

BMI?
Blood Pressure?
CPAP/Sleep study?
Physical agility test?
Minimum weight to be lifted?
Drug test? (urine, hair, etc.)
​

Personal and Driving Requirements:

Minimum age?
Moving violations allowed?
Accidents allowed?
Safety violations allowed?
DUI, careless/reckless driving?
Work history?
Integrity interview?
Criminal history?
Felonies allowed?
​

Territory Options:

OTR?
Regional?
Local?
Average length of haul?
New York, Northeast?
Western US?
California?​

Training:

Training offered?
Length of training?
Training pay?
Team training or trainer in the jump seat?
Is CDL training available?

If so, is a contract required?
How long is contract?
Cost if employment is terminated prematurely?​

Is CDL school reimbursement available?

If so, max reimbursement?
Weekly or monthly reimbursement?
Is a contract required?
If yes, how long is contract?​

Is refresher training offered?​

Compensation:

Cents Per Mile?

Does CPM include Per Diem?

Does Per Diem include administrative fee?​

Is percentage pay an option?

Percentage (if applicable)?​

Pay frequency?
Check or direct deposit?
Detention pay?
Tarp pay?
Breakdown pay?
Layover pay?
Other accessory pay?
Minimum pay per load?
Toll policy?

If tolls paid out-of-pocket, how long until reimbursed?​

Benefits:

401K?
Health Insurance?
Dental Insurance?
Vision Insurance?
Life Insurance?
Disability Insurance?
Paid vacation time?
Paid holidays?
Other benefits?​

Equipment & Systems:

Paper or electronic logs?
Qualcomm?
Do they use EZ Pass, Pre Pass or other similar systems?

If so, is driver charged?​

Slip seating or assigned equipment?
Average age of equipment?
Type of transmission (auto, 10-speed, etc.)?
Governed speed?
Can truck be taken home?
Nearest terminal location?
Alternate Power Unit (APU)?
Inverter?
Idling policy?
Refrigerator?
TV?
Front facing camera?
Driver facing camera?
Satellite radio?​

Rider Policy:

Length of service required?
Minimum age of rider?
Relationship requirement?
Pet policy?​

Additional Considerations or Concerns:

Time allowed before truck must be cleaned out in order to be reassigned (during time off)?
Forced dispatch?​

 

@IronWeasel80 this is exactly the type of feedback I am looking for. Thanks for your help.

(Original list has been updated with these suggestions.)

 

Good points. Thanks for your help. Can you please clarify the above in bold? I am not sure exactly what you mean.

As far as the spreadsheet, my intention is to build a skeleton as opposed to gathering the specific information for all of the companies. I will use it personally to gather and compare information on the companies I am evaluating. I just felt that a tool that consolidates relevant questions or considerations would be helpful to me and perhaps also to those of us exploring the industry or to those considering a company change. I assume that many of the questions regarding specific companies can be answered by using the search function here. However, since things change some of the information will change with time. (That is a challenge I am having as I research here. Some of the information appears to be quite outdated.) I am open to suggestions on how this can be more helpful.

 

Edit: For simplicity, the initial post was edited to include updated information.​