Putting a driver in my truck

you really have to find a driver that will treat the truck as if it was there own. plan on a increase in your repair bills. the wrong driver can turn your very clean older truck into a pile of junk in a very short time.

 

Thats a tough one Han'
Ill be the first one to tell you,you will never find a perfect candidate.No one will ever run things exactly like you do.Take me for example.Ive driven for 15 years with a CDL and I was a delivery driver(class c) for years before that.Ive driven for many companies from SWIFT,JB Hunt,Greatwide logistics,Bunzl USA,UPS Dedicated services(non union) ,CPC logistics and at the moment Central Transport.The longest I ever stayed at a company was 5 years.(mostly due to pay and merit increases).(10 years local in(5) Los angeles and(5) Las vegas.The rest OTR and Short line.

You have to have a plan before you even put someone in that truck as to....What if I get another truck and theres no one to drive my first one. hard times on you will mean hard times on whomever you employ.That will be the hiree's first concern.Second will be Home time.(I dont care how hard of a road warrior someones says they can be,the road does get old after awhile).
So in my own experience as a company driver Ill list the concerns:
1.Good pay(and steady pay)
2.Good roadside assistance
3.Good runs.
4.How do they(you) treat me
5."trust" will I have any leeway on how I run my rig(under your tootalidge)
6.communication
7.Will I be paying my own taxes/social security/medicare/etc from a gross paycheck?

those are my main concerns if I was to work under you(and I believe most responsible drivers that aren't yahoo's)

Your other worry would be that you give the guy you hire enough to learn,He just might quit on you and becaome an O/O from the experience with you.

I would screen well,find someone that has enough gumption to think on his feet with the tools you give him,because when you communicate,you dont want calls every hour asking you what do I do?

P.s. Im in vegas what is your offer?

 

Good luck with your new endeavor. This should be a real learning experience for you. Hopefully a good one. Without being to cynical, I'd suggest you be fair but not overboard. I started out trying to be the best employer a driver ever had, especially when it came to pay. It nearly sank us. and after giving so much financially to the drivers, when we had to tighten belts a bit, there was no reciprocity. They didn't want to help us get through the market downturn because they didn't have to. They were getting paid for miles not driven and didn't want to give that up. Maintenance, ha! Not their problem. They just drove. If a bolt was coming loose, they would let it rattle until it dropped out and then want to be paid for taking the truck to a shop for it.

Some are better than others. There are some great guys out there but ultimately, they are with you for the paycheck. If they can do better somewhere else for whatever reasons, they will go. It seems to be the nature of company drivers. Like one person said, if they are that great, they are already an o/o or soon will be. I agree with the post about a well maintained truck can become a POS in the hands of a company driver and I also agree, if they are that good, sell them the truck and let them operate under your authority. If they don't have any skin in the game, expect to lose your skin in it.

Oh well, I came off cynical anyway. Good luck to you. I would rather pay a higher percentage to an o/o than put another company driver in the seat of a truck I own because one bad driver in a small operation can financially kill it. And in the end, 'gosh, sorry about that' won't pay for the blown motor, ruined insurance or trashed CSA score.

 

I'd echo what tomkatrose just said. My circumstances were a lot better, but at the end of the day that driver has no financial stake in your business success when it relates to many things that are within his/her control.

If you're gonna put someone in your equipment, you need to recruit and plan a long game toward them becoming an o/o. Basically you're looking for another "you," less the truck and money to run it. Percentage based pay to provide profit incentive, along with self management competency are a must. That will make for a very short list of candidates, but they are out there.

I won't get in the 1099 vs W2 debate beyond this: There's merits to both. Personally I am a W2 employer just to minimize risk to me. If you do go the 1099 route, having a self-dispatching driver is a huge plus. Introducing them to a competent accountant to help them exploit the benefits of 1099 employment makes for a good start.

You're small enough to have more of a partnership relationship with your driver. If you don't do that, you may as well sell the truck.

Since you're in Cali, you also have the privilege of an extra layer or three of employment law to contend with, so beware.