IT’S NOT (JUST) ABOUT THE MONEY
Here at NTI, we’re pretty big on driver wages. I mean, come on. Obvious statement of the year, right? It’s our job to help carriers offer competitive driver pay, in a sustainable, non-painful way for their company. We talk about it every day. In fact, it’s what gets us out of bed in the morning!
But as much as the size of the paycheck matters, we’ll be the first to tell you it’s not the only factor in keeping your drivers happy- far from it even. For all of our talk about driver wages, we want to make sure that these other crucial aspects of driver compensation don’t get neglected.
If you’re a carrier who’s looking to up your retention game, and want to make sure your drivers are getting the whole package, consider the following benefits that drivers love to see:
Additional Training
In and industry with a non-traditional career path thats often poorly articulated, consider helping your drivers up their game. Sure, you want your drivers in the seat, but additional skills can come in handy down the line and they’re recognized as your further investment! Typing classes, computer skills, customer service and HR training for potential trainers, all help your drivers visualize a long-term future at your company.
Benefits
We’re talking about the basics here, like health insurance or a 401(k). You like having those things as a part of your compensation, and your drivers do too. If we had to guess, we’d bet that you already offer this! What we often find is that there’s a gap between carriers offering additional benefits and drivers making use of them. So for this one, we recommend talking up what you’ve got. Call up your drivers, offer to help them enroll, give them an information packet, walk them through the impact on gross and net wages – there’s a difference! Be absolutely sure that they know what you offer and how to take advantage of it. That will go a long way.
Schedule Predictability
Nobody wants to be the jerk who had to miss a ballet recital or basketball game because they were working. Things happen-we’ve all been in that situation. But if you have some control over your driver’s schedule, we recommend, reducing schedule volatility as much as possible and gauging just how well you come through …. and then telling your drivers and prospects about your performance! Not everyone does this but being the one who does will give you a standout reputation with truckers.
Health and Wellness
Here’s a few fun facts: a study from the CDC found that long haul truckers are twice as likely as the rest of the population to be obese, three out of four drivers do not get the minimum recommended level of exercise, 26% of truckers have high blood pressure, and 14% have diabetes.
To that end, having a health and wellness offering can make a big difference in your truckers livelihood. Wingman groups, exercise suggestions, or smoking cessation programs are all ways of showing drivers that you care about them and their families. We all need coaching at some point and the value add for you and your people is insurmountable. Don’t limit the gauge to lower health plan costs – its SO MUCH BIGGER than that! Tie your wellness program to requalification for DOT Physicals and you’ll have the impetus and the win you’re looking for!
Engagement
Your drivers are part of the company and the culture, and need to stay connected with you and their peers. Include them in the company culture, by keeping them informed of wins, losses, opportunities, needs, goals – they want to know it all and they will out-perform your expectations! Host cookouts, use social media to create groups that allow them to keep in touch when they’re on the road, give feedback, ask questions and stay informed and implement tools for asking them how you can further support them.
Wondering how to implement these suggestions? That’s what we’re here for! Give us a call today.
