Among those with CDL driver jobs that new drivers are likely to quit within the first 90 days on the job. Looking deeper into this dramatic fact, CCJ magazine conducted a survey of 423 fleet management subscribers seeking a solution to high turnover at trucking companies.
Typically, smaller carriers experience lower turnover than larger companies. However, CCJ wrote, “the results show early driver turnover remains a significant area of concern.”
About 18% of surveyed fleets lose between 25-50% of new drivers in the first 90 days.
61% say they experience less than 25% turnover in the first 90 days, and 19% generally lack turnover in that period.
To reduce early driver turnover, fleets focus on managing job expectations and helping drivers adapt to a new culture. Forty percent of fleet managers say mismatched job expectations is the main reason drivers quit, followed by 27% who say early turnover is primarily a result of new drivers not fitting into their culture.
More than 45% of respondents said they changed their onboarding process last year.
The strategies that made the biggest difference include: managing expectations, new pay programs and incentives, and new training technology, to name a few.
Businesses of all types use customer relationship management (CRM) systems for sales and marketing campaigns. Moreover, some fleets use software to manage driver communications, especially during the onboarding period.
EBE Technologies adds a driver relationship management system (DRMS).
This serves as another option for its SHIPS lifecycle platform. The platform features different modules designed to automate workflow in driver recruiting, safety, compliance, payroll, scorecards and more.
Fleets can use its new DRMS to set up automated communication plans for various “touch points” with drivers during the onboarding period, says Cindy Nelson, vice president of business development for EBE. For example, automatic notifications can be sent to HR, maintenance, payroll, and other departments. Therefore, this holds them accountable for contacting drivers and meeting their needs.
A number of other strategies, training techniques, and technologies also improve the onboarding experience of drivers.
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