The industry faces a shortage of truck drivers, meaning now more than ever, carriers should present themselves as attractive employment spaces to attract young people into the industry.

To achieve attracting millennials into your company, you may consider using the right channels. Data shows that traditional channels most carriers have used to advertise for opportunities have been industry publications.

Read: Using Job Boards To Find Local Truck Drivers

But times are changing, job boards have moved online, and social networking for recruitment has increased by over 13 percent. Furthermore, more carriers have moved from platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to channels such as Instagram. Instagram for instance, enables carriers advertising for employment opportunities with relevant and visually appealing images to support the job advert.

To attract millennials, consider –

1. Create a workplace culture that supports work-life balance.
2. Embrace social media to publicize employment opportunities
3. Use mobile for job applications
4. Write job descriptions to be suitable to millennials level of experience
5. Design a friendly interview process
6. Understand driver expectations and ensure that you meet them

Read: Top 6 Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring Truck Drivers

1.    Create a Workplace Culture That Supports Work-Life Balance

Driver shortage in the trucking industry is mostly a result of the work culture. Most carriers require their drivers to be on the road for long hours, with very little time off. Also, carriers have a reputation of having a fleet of vehicles not designed for comfort.

Trucking also means that there is minimal supervision and very limited chances to socialize with colleagues. For these reasons, most young people do not find truck driving as an attractive employment opportunity, especially with the rise of digital opportunities with companies such as Uber or Lyft.

Therefore, to attract young people, carriers create a working culture that allows for work-life balance. Meaning that there is strict observance of off time and innovation to offer flexible working hours. Find ways of ensuring that truckers are always connected to their families and friends by, for instance, providing WIFI and be proactive in encouraging socializing among employees.

2.    Embrace Social Media for Advertising Employment Opportunities

Millennials are on social media and if you want them working with your company, you may need to post your job opportunities in such spaces. When posting employment opportunities, use images and vibrant language, all of which millennials find appealing.

3.    Use Mobile for Job Applications

You need a mobile-friendly application process to attract young drivers. In the initial stages of your application process, require as little information as possible. Then as the driver progresses through the interview process, you can now start asking for supporting documentation.

Your main objective in the initial stages is to have information from a pool of applicants showing interest in working for your carrier.

4.    Write Job Descriptions to Suitable Millennials Level of Experience

Review your job description and determine to what extent it locks out potentially qualified millennials. How many years of experience do you require? What benefits are you offering? What are the benefits of working with your carrier? Ensure that this information and much more is given in the job description.

5.    Design a Friendly Interview Process

Lastly, design a friendly interview process. As you’re interviewing your drivers, note that they are also interviewing your company. They’re able to get a sense of what is the culture in your companies, is there respect and honor between the employees from across the ranks? Do you proactively ask for feedback?

Present your unique selling points as an employer, to the individuals you’re interviewing. Make sure that the interviewees walk away with a meaningful and positive perception of your company.

6.      Understand Driver Expectation and Ensuring That You Meet Them

Millennials at work do not stay in jobs that do not meet their initial expectations. Carriers should invest time and resources in investigating the level of driver satisfaction or dissatisfaction by asking their drivers –

• Is the job you’re doing was truthfully describe to them during the interview and onboarding process
• Are you being compensated in the way you told during the recruitment process? Are you getting the employee benefits you were told you would get?
• To what extent do you feel connected to the company and your colleagues?
• Do you have any unmet expectations about the company?

Understanding driver expectations should be done during the interview process and part of your retention strategy. During the interview, you investigate if there is any mismatch between driver expectation versus the reality of working for your company. If there are there, communicate the reality and invite the driver to recount how your business works in order to gauge their understanding of your work culture.

Over the course of the employment, you check on the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction to understand the driver’s attitude towards the company and their jobs. All through, you may become aware of an issue that you can address and maintain drivers in your company.

Contact DriveMatch and schedule a FREE consultation on your driver retention goals.

Tips to Review Your Recruitment Process  

If you have a recruitment process/ system you’ve been using for years, that’s the first indication its due for a review. In the review write out the whole recruitment process then ask yourself the following questions –

• What do you intend to achieve with every aspect of your process? Do you meet your objectives with every stage and action?
• How well does your recruitment process position you to attract millennials?
• Is what you’re doing easy, valuable, and cost-effective?
• What about your process do you think you should remove? What can you maintain? What should you add?

It is always advisable to ask some of the above questions at the tail end of interviews. For others, the best way to go about revamping your recruitment process is brainstorming with your team on practical aspects of the process, and also impressions they get from interviewees.

Intentional reflection provides your team with the opportunity to stay current, aware, and responsive to the needs and expectations of their existing and potential employees.

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