In last week’s blog, my panel of three expert drivers spoke out on the topic of driver shortages and compensation. In this week’s blog, we will explore the topics of recruiting, training and student drivers.
Let’s talk about recruiting. What are your thoughts?
“Just last week I read a recruiting ad that claimed that team drivers could make $100,000”, commented Desiree Wood. ‘Could’ is the operative word I suppose but in reality the context of the ad was to mislead. The ad was for a lease program which depicted 2 people at a carrier known for extremely low pay to drivers but their recruiting ads tell a different story. The ad does not say what costs will be paid back to the carrier from the gross “could make” amount, if the lease payment is based on both people . . . (driving) . . . or other hidden charges. This is a carrier that should be training candidates to become qualified drivers but instead they are selling trucks to people who know very little about what the trucking industry is really all about.
Drivers are bombarded with less than accurate information and this lack of respect is a contributor to industry burnout among qualified candidates hoping to make truck driving a career. There are many qualified men and women in the trucking industry already that remain at poor paying carriers until they burn out simply because they cannot trust carriers to deliver the pay or benefits they advertise. . .
It is stressful to be away from family support, work long unpaid hours in extreme weather conditions and have to share difficult living situations while having to adjust to odd sleep schedules. When candidates are recruited into truck driving, frequently they are unaware of all of these factors, nor (are they aware) . . . that they will be expected to drive 11 hours per day on top of the unpaid labor they have performed. Truth in Logistics would help define qualified candidates but this common sense approach takes aim at the inner commission structures in the recruiting and student trucker industry.
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