Keeping your drivers and hiring new ones

With the economy on the upswing, it's a hirer's market. Americans need jobs, new companies have jobs, and for the HR department of a thriving fleet, finding willing job seekers should be a matter of picking from the stack of applications. Curiously, despite high pay and low education requirements, fleets are struggling to attract new drivers and working harder than ever to keep the ones they have. Brenda Cronon, in her Wall Street Journal piece, "Help Wanted: Jobs in Trucking Go Unfilled," highlights some of the more immediate examples of available, good paying jobs with no applicants. From U.S. Xpress Inc. sending recruiters to fill 100 available driver positions to Copeland Trucking turning away business because of unfilled openings, fleet recruitment has migrated from its normally high turnover rate to being a national dilemma. “To keep drivers from being poached," she writes, "operators are fattening health benefits, investing in new trucks and offering more flexible schedules that minimize time away from home." Protecting your talent: EpicVue and driver retention. One of the primary reasons Cronon gives for difficulty filling job postings is driver homesickness. "Exit interviews with drivers at Tennant Truck Lines reveal the pull of home outweighs earnings for many." With thousands of new jobs appearing daily, job seekers are less likely to choose employment that disconnects them from their family and friends. EpicVue empowers fleets looking to find and keep good drivers. Strict federal requirements have made getting home harder than ever, and with increasing mandatory down time, drivers spend more hours in their cab isolated from the world at large. By delivering live TV to truck cabins, drivers can enjoy a rich culture of television programs at the same time as their loved ones. The ability to provide drivers access to live sports, news and shows makes fleet employment more attractive for applicants and veterans alike. To read Cronon's full article, click here.