Turnover has been and continues to be a widespread problem and topic of conversation in our industry. We all know turnover is costly and inefficient and damages company culture, not to mention the bottom line. But the good news is that it’s within our power to change it.
Since 2015, my company has been asking drivers two simple questions: “How are you doing right now?" and "Why do you feel that way?”
These prompts have yielded hundreds of thousands of comments from nearly 75,000 drivers across the United States, and we’re constantly analyzing trends among their responses, as well as working alongside carriers to address the issues driver feedback uncovers.
Pay is a hot topic in the industry, but what we commonly see isn’t that drivers are dissatisfied with their rate of pay. They’re normally just confused about payment systems, schedules and other procedural components of a compensation program. This means that drivers leaving a company because of pay could very likely be retained if they had an outlet for questions and concerns, which conveniently leads me to…
By nature of the job, drivers are on the road far more often than they’re in an office. This not only makes it more difficult for drivers to know where to go with problems and questions, but also diminishes the likelihood of some workers speaking up.
Many drivers come with the emotional baggage of being disrespected or treated as just a number at previous places of employment. If a driver doesn’t have the chance to share feedback anonymously, he or she may find it easier to hop to a new carrier than to muster the courage to deliver constructive criticism.
If a worker isn’t sufficiently trained, there’s a good chance he or she will wind up dissatisfied. Think about it: If you were constantly running into roadblocks or challenges in your job and you weren’t sure how to remedy them, how long would you stick around? With jobs so readily available, drivers will often seek greener pastures at another place of employment.
