How do you find good driver's?

I been at same company 22 years and look at jobs often enough. Usually companies are not willing to negotiate my terms. WTF is wrong with a 4 day work week? Most employers only work 3 days a week, just takes them 6 days to do it.
Money and home time is paramount in attracting drivers who will stick around.

 

The thing that keeps me working where I do, is a manager who empowers me to do my job, rather than one that demands my blind compliance. Because my boss makes an honest effort to shield me from office politics and corporate bs, he gets my cooperation, instead of merely my obedience. Because he backs me up when I make a judgement call, I make judgement calls, instead of phone calls. I don't always make the right call, but by allowing me to do my best, he continues to get my best from me - and my best improves, with practice. And when my best becomes really good, I'm still not going to want to work for somebody else.

It's not that I don't call for help when I feel that I need it, but because he treats me like the captain of my ship, I don't feel as though I have to prove that I am - but when the occasion calls for it, his attitude makes me want to rise to the occasion.

If he ever leaves the company that I work for, I will likely follow him to wherever he goes, next. My carrier isn't a terrible one, but they aren't anything to get super excited about, either - but I have had dammed few bosses that made me want to give them my best for any great length of time.

Who runs the show, and how they do it, matters. Good drivers matter, yes, but if you have bad driver managers, it takes a lot more money to keep good drivers. If you have stellar management, you don't have to buy loyalty. And managers take their lead from those above them - if you suck at management, then the managers you hire will learn to suck at it, too. Also, computers make terrible managers. No one wants to be a number in a database, and no one wants to give their best to someone or something that can't even call them by name. Few things make you feel less important or appreciated, than being remembered only by your number, if at all - and people who feel unappreciated, are unlikely to give you their best.

One simple way to determine how good you are as a manager, is think about your opinion of the people who work for you. If you think that they are all babies, or idiots, or incompetent, or unmotivated... if you think that the people around you, suck, then it probably starts with you. You hired them, and you treat them according to what you think of them; people who feel poorly treated aren't likely to give you their best for very long. So if you hate your people, you're probably doing something wrong. This is not about telling people how valuable they are; almost every carrier and manager mouths the words, but their real attitude is apparent in their actions. If you have to tell people that they are valuable, then you probably already know that you aren't reflecting that with your actions. It's not impossible, but it is really unlikely that you are the only person with any sense - and if you think that you are, then everyone around you is probably just reacting to your arrogance.

When the people who work for you, want to give you their best, even the worst drivers, improve. And continue to improve. That guy who is always late for stupid reasons? He's not giving you his best. Why not? If you can get him to *want* to do better, he will. If you have to bribe or threaten him to do better, then you still aren't getting his best, and any improvement will likely be short-lived and inadequate. Get that loyalty, however, and you can make good drivers out of bad ones. Good drivers aren't hard to find - they are hard to make, and keep. Buying them from your competitors is a bad investment, if you demotivate them, once you get them. Even if they stay, it's a lot easier to turn a good driver into a bad one, than the other way around.

So... how do you get good drivers? You make them, with good managers that your drivers *want* to work for. As a side benefit, if you do that, good drivers at other carriers will hear about you, and when their carriers or bosses start to treat them poorly, they will want to come and talk to you. You won't have to look for them; your biggest problem will be finding enough work to keep them busy.