companies with small orientation classes?

What difference does class size make?

 

Starter companies all have large classes since so many people just don't make it.
If you're experienced, you may move onto another company that takes experienced drivers only, and that will usually have small classes. Often a class of one!

 

This is not a terribly important question. There are many more important questions to ask.

 

They may start out with 20-30 people but by the time day 1 is over the class is usually down to about 5-7. Smaller companies = smaller orientation classes.

 

Orientation for me started with about 12 people at Troutdale, filtered down to about 7 on the third day.

That's been the pattern I've seen at most Swift terminals, with the exception being Phoenix.

 

What is this orientation you speak of?






















Ok like most said big company= big orientation, a simple clue(if you can get the truth out of them) is to ask what is your yearly turnover. Anyone north of about 30% is gonna have larger classes.

And size isn't always an indicator. I worked for Barr-Nunn we had 15 in a class at Charlotte. Their turnover was absurdly high(remember that part of getting the truth out of them?)).
They only had about 400 trucks at the time. Three classes at three locations means they had over 10% of their fleet coming in at any given point. By the way at the time they were also running two classes a week............

Yeah their turnover was slightely higher than the answer I got.

 

As a GENERAL THOUGHT:
I would be more concerned about class size during driver training. Not company orientation. That doesn't matter a bit...
When I went to CDL School back in 89, we had 6 people in class.
That was about as many as you would want given the teacher-to-student-to-truck ratio.

...And yea, classes start out large but thin quickly.... POOF GONE!