Driver shortage, who’s fault is it?

I recently acquired my Fleet Driver Training Certification, and completed a co-op at a reputable driving school to train drivers. As an experienced driver of 15 years and a qualified driver trainer, I believe we have more of a qualified trucking company shortage than we do a qualified driver shortage.

The driving schools (good ones), will teach the minimum and beyond, with what little time and funds are available to them for each student. After experiencing the full curriculum of the AZ driver training course I felt the drivers had enough training to pass their test but still fell short on safe driving practices, work place safety, and other applicable skills required to maintain safety and compliance. As you say ” Training must be excellent and ongoing.”

There seems to be no shortage of general and regulatory compliance or safety information to drivers by the schools and trucking companies ( safety meetings).Where I have experienced what I think is a deficiency is trucking company driver’s hiring orientation and on going training ( policies).

I have worked for many companies in search for the one most compatible for me. All the companies I worked for seem to have some common areas of deficiency that I believe would create better driver retention.

Applicant interviews should be more of a,.. what does the driver want and need to make him a happy employee? In turn the driver should be shown how the company operates and what is expected of him. This takes some time and thought on the recruiting personnel but would reduce the ” I wasn’t told that!” after the driver is hired. Anything less than a 1 hour interview to me is a one way information session.

Upon hiring the new driver, he should be assigned with a local driver for 1 to two weeks for assessment from a driver trainer. Just because he has done the work before, doesn’t mean he is up to industry or company standards.This may eliminate driver turnover as the driver gets to see how things really work with the company and has the trainer to get him up to speed on paper work and company policies. Assessment can also be made of driver/ company compatibility before the company invests time and money into the driver, and only have him leave months later.

After the driver is hired, the company should have a post hiring interview/ assessment before the probation period is up. The recruiting/safety personnel should discuss driver concerns, deficiencies, needs for improvement, praised for exceptional work and driver/ company compatibility. It is here the company can assess their own driver recruitment and training program from the performance and information they acquire from the new driver up to this point.

Ongoing training to me is highly deficient in today’s trucking industry at the company level. The company should have driver trainers available to deal with drivers on a one to one basis. These trainers should be populated in the company on a 1-trainer for every 20-30 drivers. This trainer should be an experienced driver in all company policies, safety and regulations. These driver trainers could inform the company of training issues to be addressed at company meetings  and request adjustments to meet drivers needs based on re-occurring issues from the drivers. The driver trainer should be able to give one on one instruction in driver education ( H.O.S. and regulations), in-cab instruction( safe driving practices) and yard work instruction( Pre-trip, vehicle maintenance, loading and load security).

This ongoing training would reduce crashes, roadside violations and driver stress.

Driver meetings have always made me think that companies have them only to comply with insurance company policies rather than benefit drivers. My experience is that these meetings review safety issues and promises of improvements that diminish minutes after the meeting is over. This is where driver trainers can benefit the companies. If there are driver issues to be corrected on a massive basis, a general instruction of the issues and regulations can be given at the meeting, and the driver trainer can work with individual drivers on that issue as needed after the meeting.

These driver meetings should be attended by drivers, safety personnel, mechanics and dispatchers so that issues concerning all departments that interact with drivers can interact.

Most companies try their best to accommodate the drivers.  I feel they fall short because they truly don’t know the issues facing drivers on a day to day basis. Perhaps this is due to a lack of communication between the company and driver. I feel that qualified driver trainers could help reduce driver turnover and increase company profits if done properly.

The big question is, are companies going to move forward to accommodate drivers with the ongoing training they need to reduce roadside violations, crash statistics and improve wage structures to justify the time they put into their job. Many drivers feel their input to driver issues go unheard, and therefore give up trying to improve their job performance feeling the company does not appreciate it. With the new CSA in the U.S., international Canadian carriers are going to find their profit margins slide due to higher driver roadside infractions now that it is more than O.O.S. and crash statistics affecting their MS150.

If companies don’t start working on improving their driver training and wage compensation we may have a trucking company shortage.

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