How to Hire a Truck Driver

Table of Contents

Why is it so hard to Hire Truckers?
How to Hire a Trucker
Leverage Job Boards and Job Aggregator sites
How to Retain Truck Drivers

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It has never been more difficult to attract and hire truckers than it is now. Even pre-pandemic, there were more trucking opportunities available than there were truckers available to fill the opportunities. According to the American Trucking Associations, there were more than 60,000 truck driver openings prior to the pandemic. The pandemic, of course, did not help. At the start of the pandemic, truck driving schools were shut down for a while which further delayed new drivers from getting certified. During the pandemic, the demand for truckers increased as more people were ordering goods online, upgrading existing homes, and building new homes (demand for lumber and home goods soared).

Why is it so hard to Hire Truckers?

The trucking industry has traditionally had long hours, low pay, and difficult working conditions. As a result, many drivers have left the industry and are moving to jobs that offer higher pay, better working conditions, and better benefits. So the problem is not so much a shortage of available truckers, the problem is trucker retention.

How to Hire a Trucker

Define the role. Long haul or short haul, what are the hours, what are the benefits, what experience is necessary. Design a job posting that you can leverage on social media and industry sites as well as your network. Social media is a very effective way to find and attract candidates.

Retaining truck drivers is one of the biggest issues facing trucking and logistic companies for all of the reasons stated at the start of this article. But there are a number of steps that employers can take to try and retain their drivers.Click To Tweet

Social media platforms get billions of visitors a month and will certainly help in advertising your opportunity. Focus your campaign using specific hashtags to narrow your target audience. Recruiting truck drivers via social media is a powerful way to generate interest and results.

Leverage Job Boards and Job Aggregator sites

We’ve mentioned in previous posts the benefits of leveraging job search sites for job search and have reviewed some sites as employment platforms. Job boards are very efficient tools when it comes to attracting and hiring for your specific role. Plus, leveraging a job board saves time and resources by harnessing the power of a job search board’s technology and popularity. Using a job aggregation site, you can post jobs with specific requirements that best fit the job roles as defined by you.

ZipRecruiter.com is a very good example of an online employment marketplace that matches job seekers with companies that are looking to hire. Companies place their jobs on ZipRecruiter and then ZipRecruiter sends these job opportunities to over one hundred of the most popular job search sites and social networks. This is a big advantage for those looking to fill specific roles (such as truck drivers) because the platform broadcasts job opportunities to a very large audience of potential job seekers. Job seekers who have posted their resumes on ZipRecruiter are typically actively looking for new opportunities. There are a number of pricing options for employers, depending on their needs.

How to Retain Truck Drivers

Higher Pay – Offer competitive starting salaries and ensure pay increase are in line with the market. Salary is the number one reason that truck drivers leave.
Set the Right Expectations – Make sure that the job you “sold” is the job they got in terms of hours and benefits.
Good Benefits – Health benefits are an important factor in attracting and retaining truck drivers.
Work/Life Balance – There are many factors that can lead to longer days (or longer hauls) than originally planned. Respect your drivers’ work/life balance as a priority.
Respect and Caring – Respect your drivers and ensure they know that you care about them. Ask about job satisfaction, offer additional training where possible and performance bonuses as well.