How NOT To Recruit Owner Operator Drivers (Part 2)

April 4, 2013

Truck Driver in Semi TruckSix More Tips From Three More Experts

If there’s one thing I heard at MATS this year, it’s that recruiting Owner Operators is tough as it’s ever been. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, as I noted in my first post on the topic, the total number of Owner Operators in the market is (by some estimates) 1/3 what it was just before the recession began in 2008.

Which is why, more than ever, it’s important to avoid the mistakes that can make or break an Owner Operator’s decision to join your company. And why I received enough responses to one simple question (“What are the common mistakes you’ve either made yourself, or seen others make?”) to fill two posts.

Which leads to our second six tips:

CAROL GIBSON CareersInGear.com

1)  Don’t ask for Social Security Numbers online. In this age of Identity Theft, Gibson notes, people are constantly being warned not to give-out their Social Security numbers—particularly online. “Asking for that information on your job app will automatically run-off a significant percentage of prospects.”

2)  Don’t make your only application a long one. Owner Operators know they’re in great demand. And, Gibson notes, they’re typically pressed for time. “Think about it: If a driver’s looking to make a switch, how likely is he to take the time to fill-out a 10 to 15 page app (much less several), when he can answer a few key questions in a short form?” The point is to facilitate contact, because what you really want to do is get a driver on the phone.

JAMIE ADCOCK Target Media Partners

3)  Don’t focus on pre-qualifying drivers. Too many recruiters, Adcock notes, are pressured to fill seats—rather than focusing on driver-prospect needs. “Retention is just as important to your numbers as recruiting. So by focusing on making quality hires, you’re ultimately building quantity.”

4)  Don’t overlook “the little things”. Again, Owner Operators are busy. So anything you can do to make it easier to switch from their current company—from helping fill-out their paperwork to buying their plates—increases your chances of success. And, it goes without saying, doing the so-called “little things” (like offering annual hire-date recognition and rewards) can make all the difference in retention.

ERIN WHALEY Hare Communications

5)  Don’t rush the hiring process. The hiring Life Cycle for an Owner Operator is a relationship-building process that usually takes weeks, even months. Good recruiters understand that, and avoid pushing drivers to make on-the-spot decisions during initial conversations. That tactic scares-off a lot more Owner Operators than it attracts.

6)  Don’t make vague promises. Owner Operators are reflexively skeptical of companies—because nearly every driver will tell you he’s been burned in the past. So be upfront with the details—starting with your advertising. Make your ads and job postings specific—particularly where pay, home time and miles are concerned. And don’t be afraid to admit, during conversation, that your company isn’t perfect. Nobody is. The best Owner Operators know that. They’ll respect you for being honest. And earning a driver’s respect is the first big step toward a successful hire.


FOR FURTHER READING:

How NOT To Recruit Owner Operator Drivers (Part 1)

Five Steps For Recruiting Owner Operator Truck Drivers

Better Branding Maximizes Truck Driver Recruiting Effectiveness

4 Ways Oakley Maximizes Driver Recruiting And Retention

Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Communications, Digital Marketing, Driver Retention, Media Advertising, Owner Operators, Recruiters | Permalink
Posted by francishare

Three Lessons From MATS For Truck Driver Recruiting

January 24, 2013

Image courtesy truckingshow.com

Recruiting is still about establishing relationships, and the most effective recruiting combines new solutions with old truths.

My yearly experience at MATS always confirms something I’ve said about the trucking business for about two decades now: There’s no industry or profession where people are more consistently, and genuinely, friendly. Which leads to my first, and most important, point:

1. Being Friendly Is Not Enough.
I know that sounds obvious to folks who’ve seen longtime drivers switch companies for what amounts to a few extra bucks a week. But my point is this: When you’re competing against organizations whose people are every bit as friendly and persuasive as yours, your brand is all you have to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Let’s put it this way: If I’m being perfectly honest, there really is little difference between Coke and Pepsi. So why would the typical self-respecting Southerner (like myself) take a bullet before serving Pepsi at a party? Because it’s not Coke. That’s the power of branding. And from the look of most booth displays and marketing materials I see at MATS, very few trucking companies fully understand the power that a well-defined brand (and brand message) can have in recruiting.

2. Technology Is Not Always The Answer.
There’s a reason the leading publishing companies have embraced online marketing as an extension of their traditional print magazines: It works. And its effectiveness is only going to grow as time passes. The same goes for social media—which, if some pundits are to believed, could ultimately become the single most powerful medium for effective recruiting.

Yes, PPC search-marketing, job boards, click-through banners and social media can be extremely effective tactics for attracting good candidates. But those tactics rarely ever close a deal for you. That takes person-to-person contact. Somebody on the phone speaking the same language as a driver—and asking for the sale.

Again, that seems like a pretty obvious point. So how do you explain recruiting departments who deal with incoming calls by directing drivers to their online application forms. “Why in the world,” a longtime veteran once asked me, “would you send someone to a website, when you have them on the phone?”

3. Recruiters Need To Be Recruiting.
After all, recruiting is what recruiters do best. So why are so many recruiters spending large chunks of their valuable time creating and managing their ad campaigns? “It costs less.” A claim to which I would responded, “Yep, and it costs less to buy fabric and sew your own suits. But if you’re looking for a job on Wall Street, that ain’t gonna cut it .”

Not only that, when you consider the percentage of a recruiter’s salary that’s lost on those activities, some companies are actually spending more to produce pathetic creative work (and make terribly-inefficient media investments) than they’d pay to have professionals do it right.

To summarize:

  • Define what makes you different. Clearly, compellingly and professionally.
  • Never forget what’s really important.
  • Focus on what you do best.
  • Spend wisely.

And yes, keep being friendly. Outside of keeping our nation’s economy rolling, it’s the one thing no industry does better.


For Further Reading:

Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Branding, Digital Marketing, Driver Recruitment, Trade Shows | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by francishare

Integrated Recruiting: If You Knew It, You’d Do It

May 11, 2012

In an excellent piece for BusinessWeek magazine, Steve McKee explains why it’s so important for all your recruiting efforts to work together.

While McKee’s original column addresses the broader issue of marketing, his points are directly applicable to driver recruiting. Here are the key points I pulled from his piece—adapted to your specific needs as a recruiter:

New marketing channels pop up every day, from apps to publicity stunts and beyond. Audiences (and attention spans) are becoming increasingly fragmented. That reduces the chance any message has of getting through.

How do you overcome fragmentation? Integration. That means communicating a consistent identity from message to message, and medium to medium. More importantly, it means consistently delivering on that identity.

Everything you do to attract, convert and retain drivers should be integrated—including your human resource practices, your training programs, even your compensation and employee evaluation metrics.

So why don’t more companies implement integration strategies? They don’t start with a strategic messaging foundation, and they don’t have the patience to see it through.

Companies that maintain healthy growth over time tend to have more durable messaging strategies and longer-lasting campaigns, while those that struggle tend to change direction more frequently.

That’s exactly what’s happening in the cola wars. Coke has remained focused and consistent for years, and is winning market share, while Pepsi recently fell to an embarrassing No. 3  in the market behind Coke and Diet Coke. That’s why Pepsi is now reexamining everything about its brand.

What’s the first step?
Take a close look at all of your company’s messages to prospective and existing drivers. Compare those messages with what your drivers experience once they sign-on with you. If it doesn’t all connect for you in some meaningful fashion, it won’t for your prospective and existing drivers, either.

If your messaging strategy is weak (or off the mark), you may need to do what Pepsi is doing, and reexamine everything.

It may be that your problem is more a matter of execution: You’re simply not doing what you’re promising.

Or it could be that you haven’t pulled the trigger because you haven’t seen a flawless plan for integrating all your recruiting and retention efforts.

Here’s the good news: There’s no such thing as a perfect integration plan. Over the long haul, the companies who have the real recruiting advantage simply do it better than their competitors.

Steve McKee is the author of When Growth Stalls: How It Happens, Why You’re Stuck, and What to Do About It.

Click Here to read his original article in its entirety.

Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Benefits, Branding, Communications, Company Drivers, Digital Marketing, Dispatchers, Driver Incentives, Driver Pay, Driver Recruitment, Driver Retention, Media Advertising, Recruiters, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by francishare

Truck Driver Recruiting: Four Online Interviewing Methods

December 23, 2011


Screening and interviewing candidates online can be an efficient, cost effective alternative to initial phone interviews—especially with younger drivers.

That said, a strong word of caution: As long as demand for drivers is stronger than supply, you have to position online screening as a positive interview option; a convenient way to initiate the “get to know you” process quickly. And one they are more than welcome to decline, if it causes them any discomfort.

Columnist Ty Abernethy describes the four most common methods of online interviewing in an article for RecruitingBlogs.com.

Written Answers
This form can include a short answer or even an essay response. In almost every industry, and trucking is no exception, you have to have some degree of writing and communication skills. This is the best way to find those out. And you can gain insightful information on the candidate that isn’t found necessarily on a resume.

Multiple Choice
Sometimes all you need from a candidate are a few key facts to determine whether you bring them in to interview or not. Creating multiple choice questions can be a quick solution. And each correct response ranks the candidate higher in your dashboard. So if you are screening lots of candidates, the most qualified will rise to the top of the list.

Voice Response
If you’re just doing preliminary screenings and simply want to find out a few key things about candidates, this could be your best bet. They answer questions using audio responses that are recorded straight to their computer mics.

Video Response
Recorded video interviews are a great way of interviewing and screening candidates. Candidates answer your questions via webcam from home. This saves everyone involved in the process time, and makes it much easier for you to interview more candidates.

Just Remember Technology’s Limits
Again, multimedia interviewing should be treated as an addition (not a replacement) to traditional, one-on-one interview techniques.

Many of your more tech-savvy drivers will likely appreciate the option—since it also enables them to get to know you quickly and conveniently, without the emotional investment of an in-person or phone interview. Which means it’s also easier for those drivers to decline a job opportunity—so if your multimedia screening turns-up particularly positive results, be prepared to take the next step with those candidates promptly.

For Further Reading:

Truck Driver Recruiting: Lots Of Changes In The Online World

Truck Driver Recruiting: It’s Not Just What You Say, But How You Say it.

Video Interviewing. Tailor Made For Truck Driver Recruiting

Leave a Comment » | Communications, Digital Marketing, Driver Recruitment, Schedules | Permalink
Posted by francishare

Seriously, You’re Recruiting Truck Drivers With THAT Website?

March 6, 2011

It’s the 21st century. Your website should reflect that. Enough said.

Well, not quite enough said. Because a lot of companies in this industry (and not just Mom and Pops) still figure they can get by just fine with websites that look like they were designed by Grampa Ned down at the retirement home in the mid-70’s.

So What’s The Big Deal?
We’ve all heard it before, and it’s still true: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And in this second decade of the 21st Century, your website often represents the first real impression drivers get of your company. Let’s look at the situation from the perspective of you, the recruiter: How likely would you be to hire a prospective driver who shows-up for an interview dirty, unshaven, and wearing a lime green leisure suit?

At the same time, Search Engine Optimization techniques have advanced to the point where some companies have been able to reduce advertising budgets by hundreds of thousands annually.

Simply stated, a company website isn’t an expense. It’s an investment. And when done right, it’s one that can pay huge dividends.

Where To Begin?
Let’s be honest: If your website is badly outdated, you probably haven’t given a lot of thought to your brand messaging strategy. And as we’ve also noted in this forum, a compelling brand strategy is the most cost-effective weapon you can have in your driver-recruiting arsenal.

Keep It Consistent
Once you’ve developed your brand strategy, make sure every aspect, and every page, of your website reflects it—from the design and navigation to the copy.

Use The Technology
These days, the best web technology is fairly easy to learn. For instance, if you know Microsoft Word, in a couple of hours you can master a good Content Management System—which will enable you to add, edit and remove everything from job listings to company news, without needing outside help.

Don’t Skimp
You’ll need to hire professional experts for your initial creative, design and programming work. You do the same for a lot of other professional services, right? The same goes for your Social Media strategy—which we’ve discussed multiple times in this space. Yes, the cost will be higher than doing it yourself. But in the long run, when you consider how much money you now spend on recruitment wearing the online equivalent of a lime-green leisure suit, it’ll be more than worth it.

Additional article of interest:

1 Comment | Digital Marketing, Driver Recruitment | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by francishare

Six Tips For Optimizing Your Website’s Truck Driver Recruiting Job Posts

February 10, 2011

Making your own website easier to find can help reduce your driver recruiting ad budget, and may eventually enable you to eliminate your paid online Job Board listings altogether.

The Internet is now the leading source of job search and employment placement. That said, recruitment advertising itself is undergoing a shift no less radical: The democratization of the Internet through search capability and social sharing. In other words, a lot of trucking companies are attracting candidates to job listings posted on their own websites.  And the easier your own job listings are to find, the less you have to invest in outside vendors for paid online job postings.

All of which is why a forward-thinking online recruiting strategy gives you the opportunity to gain a real competitive edge on what is becoming an increasingly important part of the future of driver recruiting.

In a lengthy article, Recruiter.com offers an in-depth analysis of how we’ve come to this point. Here’s my summary of their six helpful tips for for how to search-optimize job posts on your website:

  1. Drive traffic to your site: There are many search engines for jobs that can drive prospective candidates directly to your site—including Indeed, SimplyHired, and Juju—in addition to Google, Yahoo and Bing.
  2. Verbiage: Job descriptions should be fleshed out and descriptive, with lots of keyword-rich phrases, but still clear and focused. Include Daily Action descriptions in your posts.
  3. Technical Optimization: Companies often over-think search engine optimization. The most important thing to know is that simple, regular text with user-friendly descriptions should be used in every element of your job post.
  4. Sell your Company: Once you get a candidate to your site, the real work begins. Your site, and your job descriptions, should consistently support your company brand. Do your strive for excellence, do you want to foster creativity, or perhaps put family first? Drive this message home throughout your website.
  5. Keep it simple: Make it as and easy as possible to apply to your organization. How about a big red button in the middle of the page?
  6. Make it sharing-friendly: It’s quite easy to add various ways for people who find job postings to share them—whether through email, Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.

Click Here to read the article, ‘Optimizing Your Job Posts’, in its entirety.


Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Digital Marketing, Driver Recruitment, SEO, Twitter | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by francishare

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