Imagine spending your day at work driving an eighteen-wheel truck hauling a big load. You spend eleven hours a day driving a huge vehicle. You are alone most of time. You barely sleep. Your pay is unstable as the company pays by the mile when you are driving a full truck, but your income fluctuates based on how full your truck is on each run. Sleep deprivation is a fact of life. You are exhausted from long days and you mostly survive on fast food. You are away from home most of the time. Not to mention the danger of road accidents. Are you interested?

Not many are. As a result, the trucking industry in the United States, as well as around the world, including Germany, France, and Sweden, are reporting serious shortages, with the turnover rate at large truckload carriers in the United States hitting 100% in mid-2012. Turnover of 100% or more means a trucking company replacing the entire driver pool within one year (although it does not mean that every person is replaced—one job may be filled twice within one year whereas another person stays more than one year). This is a very costly way to do business. The estimated cost of replacing one driver is $3,000-$8,000, which is only the direct cost of turnover. There is also the haul that is not delivered, the delivery that is not scheduled, or pulling another driver from another truck, all of which costs the company money.

Finding good workers who will stay is difficult, because there are other, safer, cleaner, easier jobs truckers can perform. For example, they could work as a short-haul driver, which would mean that they get home every day. Many truck drivers who just enter the profession are realizing that they are not cut out for this job and are leaving. As a result, the best trucking companies are realizing that attracting and retaining long-haul truck drivers requires careful effort and deliberate planning.

Pay is a serious issue. Drivers often are dissatisfied when their pay fluctuates from week to week, even though things may even out by the end of the year. Pottle’s Transportation pays drivers $150 in addition to paying for the hotel room when drivers cannot make it to their home due to circumstances beyond their control. They also introduced a concept called the “hidden paycheck” in which they provide documentation of how much money the company pays for them, including benefits and extras. This information is typically surprising to drivers, and the company believes that this is a retention tool (their turnover rate is only 14% compared to the industry average of 97%, according to the American Trucking Association). The company also includes information about how their accidents or cargo claims cost the company, which provides more transparency.

There are innovative approaches on the part of many companies. Gordon Trucking reports that they give drivers a choice in what type of a truck they would want to drive (refrigerated or dry box) and allows drivers to tell them what they want. Con-Way Truckload started creating positions where drivers can drive for two weeks, and then take two weeks off. Giving employees choice in how and when they do their jobs may be a useful strategy in dealing with turnover problems.

Anderson Trucking Service is another company that takes driver retention seriously. The company sent four randomly selected drivers from their million mile club on an all-expenses paid fishing trip where they went out fishing with the company CEO. The company also makes sure that all employees are home for Christmas, have weekly lunches with management to talk about what the company can do better, and that any employee who is driving through company headquarters in Minnesota is treated to a catered lunch. By treating drivers with dignity and respect as well as by showing their commitment to employees, the company reports one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry.

Finally, a deciding factor for these lonely workers is the interpersonal relationships at work. Even though truck drivers are solo workers, their relations with dispatchers can be the reason for whether they stay or leave. Dispatchers are not supervisors of truck drivers—their job is to manage the schedule of the driver and troubleshoot any issues. They can be the “therapist,” helping the driver work through issues, or they can be the unreasonable person who instigates the stress the driver is under. When dispatchers treat drivers with compassion and as human beings as opposed to numbers, they may become the reason why the driver becomes attached to the company.

Answer the following:

Case Discussion Questions

1. Given that a truck driver shortage is expected around the world, how can trucking companies attract employees who will fit best and stay the longest in the company? Is it possible to increase retention by hiring the right person?

2. Pay, working conditions, and home time appear to be key in the retention of truck drivers. What innovative techniques from other industries might apply to the trucking industry?

3. While the life of a truck driver is not for everyone, there are thousands of drivers who find the job satisfying and perform well on the job. What do you think explains this?

4. Safety is a major concern. Poor job performance in this instance can mean the difference between life and death. Given this, whose responsibility is it to keep truck drivers feeling good about their jobs and doing well? Why?