If I were to kick down the door of just about any truck driver recruitment department in the country right now, I'd probably spot the same 5 mistakes they're all making.
Now, I’m no truck driver recruiter - Just a guy that writes about, and works with recruitment in the trucking industry. Does that make me qualified to deliver advice to real, in-the-trenches recruiters out there? I say it does, especially if doing so delivers lucid and actionable perspectives to truck driver recruiters and company owners.
So let’s put on our imagination hats, and take a stroll down fantasy lane, wherein I’m the Gordon Ramsay of truck driver recruiting, and your recruiting department is the Kitchen Nightmare. Sound like fun? It does to me.
And I'm not just here to point out how metaphorically soggy your recruitment burger is - I’m here to inspire you with 5 things you can start doing right away to get better hiring results.
In a nutshell, I want to help you decrease your cost per hire and fill any trucks you have sitting empty, and I intend to do that by going over 5 key things you can start doing right away to get better hiring results. Let’s get into it!
[disclaimer: the titles to these points are in tune with the theme of me being Gordon Ramsay and yelling at you. Don’t take it personally.]
1. You call THAT a job advertisement?
Of all the ads you’ve been subjected to throughout your life, how many do you think were “free”? That ad on TV selling you insurance, and that funny trucker themed coffee mug that keeps popping up on your Facebook feed, you think those ads were free?
To get attention, you need to be willing to spend some dough - that’s true for recruitment just like it’s true for advertisers.
In fact, the latest and greatest way of thinking about recruitment is very similar to how people think about marketing - so similar, that it’s referred to as recruitment marketing. Go figure.
“I spent some money once… and I didn’t get no results!” I’ve heard some of you say. Well, even though not all investments pay off, the truth is that many do, but it's all about your approach and expectations.
At our company, we specialize in helping trucking companies fill their trucks with effective job advertising tools. Check out this article to find out just how we do that.
In order for your job ad to be successful it needs to tick the following boxes:
- It needs to reach the right people
- It needs to provide you with good value for money
- It needs to grab attention
- It needs to convert drivers
Not every company has the tools or resources to afford their own marketing department or have the budget to try risky or experimental strategy. As a result, some companies may turn to ad agencies in hopes of getting the word out there, only to come out disappointed and poorer (most of the time). You don't have to do that!
With breakthroughs in recruitment advertising such as programmatic advertising, you can achieve better targeting and precision with your job ads than you ever could in the past. At YouCruit, it's the first thing we recommend when we onboard a new company that is looking to quickly fill their trucks.
The conversion our customers have experienced has been great, and they've been able to drop their cost per hire significantly by simply getting more efficient with how and where they advertise.
Really, what it all comes down to is the ability to reach and convert drivers on platforms they frequent outside of looking for work, such as on social media and all over the internet. When you target these so called "passive jobseekers", your job gets given their full attention and you see better results overall.
2. Get off that saturated platform!
One of the very common mistakes that trucking companies make is that they upload their job vacancies to the same two job boards as everyone else and expect to get phenomenal results.
Well, things that are free usually come with a catch. The less you spend, and the less effort you put into getting your jobs seen, the worse your results will be.
I don't mean to be blunt, but the amount of carriers falling into the same trap is frustrating to watch. Let me ask you - if you were tasked with demolishing a brick wall would you pick a wrecking ball or a watermelon to do the job? Ah, but of course.
That's just the jobs posted in one day, in one city. How are you going to stand out?
The problem with these job boards isn't just that it's notoriously hard to stand out, as illustrated in this penguin-themed post, but also the fact that your "yield" or the quality of your driver applicants will generally be quite low.
There's no way to filter out the riff raff, in other words. And that will cost you a lot in manpower and time to sort out. Speaking of time...
3. Get your sh*t together! Stop wasting time!
Look, there are many, many reasons to be inefficient in your hiring process. Some of them hit you without you even knowing it, whereas others are just concessions you have to make because you see them as an inevitability.
These reasons can include:
- Having to process and screen unqualified drivers
- Chasing unresponsive drivers via phone and email
- Poor candidate management practices
- Disorganized hiring process
- Poor recruiter ability
The sad part is, all of these things prove to be very costly in the long run! I wrote previously about the things successful carriers do to make sure drivers show up to orientation, and seriosly recommend you read it if you are interested in increasing the overall efficiency of your recruitment process.
I'll summarize the points above and give you a clear example of what you can do to cut out unnecessary busywork:
- Target passive jobseekers via good advertising (as mentioned in point 1)
- Always be clear and honest about your job offer
- Have an easy and smooth application process
- Be quick to call any interested and qualified driver (like, really quick!)
- Only interact with pre-screened and pre-qualified leads
Speaking of pre-screened leads, that brings me to my next point...
4. I wouldn't hire that guy in a million years! Would you?
Nobody likes dealing with unqualified drivers, especially if you only find out they're unqualified after spending a lot of time chasing them down over the phone or via email.
The problem, historically, has been that companies offering pre-screening services or screened drivers in exchange for money have resorted to dirty tricks to maximize their short term profits. As a result, many carriers are still sceptical about such offers. That's where Lanefinder comes into play.
I'm going to rip a segment straight from that interview and summarize just what carriers love about Lanefinder:
- Candidates are pre-screened and qualified - Lanefinder gathers as much information from the drivers as possible to ensure applications are detailed and relevant. All drivers coming in through Lanefinder are pre-screened and qualified based on the specific hiring requirements of each individual company. That’s why we’re in partnership with YouCruit. Companies set up their hiring requirements and hiring areas there, and we automatically get those details in our system. That way there's no hassle, and nothing needs to get set up twice.
- Candidates are interested in your job - I’ve spoken to enough drivers to know that everyone has their specific needs and preferences. What works for one driver won’t work for another, and a lot of the time the main factors that influence a driver’s decision making aren’t as simple as some carriers may think. When you add all those factors together, the driver’s “perfect job” becomes highly specific. If the driver can look at a job and know that all the boxes are ticked, then you’re gold. As a trucking company, you'll spend less time convincing and explaining, and more time hiring.
- There's no "paying and praying" - Another thing our customers love is that Lanefinder is nothing like the pay and pray model you see on job boards, where you pay for an ad and pray it's going to bring results. Payment occurs only when there's a match with a qualified driver that wants what you have to offer. Unlocking a driver application and giving him or her a call for goes for as little as $10 per screened and qualified application. We only want our customers to pay for results.
- Candidates are always within your hiring area - Another great thing about Lanefinder drivers is that they’ll always be from within your exact hiring area. When you set up your hiring areas on the map within YouCruit, Lanefinder gets all that data, and we only show your jobs to drivers located within the zones you designate. That generally means fewer rejections and less phone time with drivers that you wouldn't be able to hire anyway.
Read the full interview and get the full insight about Lanefinder here.
5. Put your company on the map with a competitive offer!
This is a tough one to implement, but one that's very important. In order to get better hiring results, you need to focus on being a better company. What a scoop, I know! You can thank me later.
But seriously, even though it's far easier said than done, it's something you cannot afford to not think about.
In order to see good hiring results, you need to make sure your job is competitively positioned within your area and within your specialty. If your competitors are offering better, drivers will get better.
And if you're unable to offer as much as your competitors, then consider loosening up the old hiring requirements, so some of the less experienced drivers get their chance.
To help you get a good idea of what the competition is offering in your area, you can simply download the Lanefinder app and enter your zip code to compare!
We've also published a truck driver preference report that will help you understand the needs and preferences of drivers in order to construct your job offer in a way that is likely to attract them.
Conclusion
That's all, folks. Hope you got something good out of it. I'm done grilling ya, and I'm ready to finally stop being Gordon Ramsay. That was exhausting, can't image how it is to actually be that guy on a daily basis.
As always, if you have any specific questions that you would like answered, or would like a free consultation to help you recruit truck drivers more efficiently, please reach out to sales@youcruit.com with your query, and we'll do our best to help you.