Modern driver recruiters are often focused on one thing: getting drivers in trucks. But what's more important than this singular goal? Keeping drivers in trucks. Retention is one of the most critical parts of the recruiting experience and, ultimately, to the overall success of an organization.
At first glance, you may be wondering why driver retention falls under the recruiting team's responsibility. After all, aren't these drivers already hired? While the answer is yes, recruiting teams are often the single source of truth and engagement between drivers and carriers. Recruiters are responsible for the entire driver lifecycle, from that first point of interest to well beyond when they get on the road for the first time. Recruiters often act as representatives for drivers within a larger organization and push for driver requests and ideas.
Here are a few things your recruiting team needs to know about measuring and boosting driver retention:
1. The best retention strategies start well before a driver gets on the road.The connection a driver has with an organization starts the minute they reach out for more information. The second there is a conversation going on, the stage has been set. As your team works to build out the best retention strategies for your organization, make sure that every part of the recruiting process is considered.
2. Measuring driver retention goes beyond just counting your current drivers.Driver retention is more than just the number of drivers on the road. Additional metrics to take into account include active vs. inactive drivers, the number of drivers who would (or have) give a testimonial for your team, the number of drivers who would refer a friend to your team, and the number of drivers who have left and come back to your organization. These can all help build a bigger picture of your retention efforts combined.
3. If you don't know why drivers are leaving – ask them!Sometimes, it can be challenging for recruiters to build a holistic picture of driver retention because they aren't sure what drivers are looking for. If your drivers are leaving and you don't know why, ask them! Reach out to drivers, start candid conversations, and ask for their feedback and input. After all, as the ones on the road every day, they probably have some great ideas for improving things.
4. Set clear retention goals and work from there.Like any goal, driver retention can be hard to achieve if you don't know what you're working towards. Before your team gets too far down the road with strategic planning, ensure your retention goals are well documented and vocalized for the entire team to understand.
5. Driver retention should be a company-wide goal.While driver retention may start with recruiters, it should be a company-wide goal. With everyone from c-level executives to accounting to drivers themselves dedicated to driver retention, every decision made will, in the end, help influence this end goal. This is also a great way to get your organization all working on the same page.
Boost driver retention with DriverReach
With DriverReach, your company can leverage modern driver recruiting technology to meet your ever-changing retention goals. You can learn more and get started here.
New driver recruiting opportunities shouldn’t end just because a driver applicant is lost to a competitor. The industry is too fast-paced – and too connected – for these leads to be gone forever. Imagine a world where all of your lead engagement data is available in one place and where you can easily communicate with viable leads with the click of a button. This type of outreach strategy is available with DriverReach, the modern driver recruiting management solution.
You can learn more about DriverReach here.
