The people shortage in the trucking industry is no surprise to anyone. In part, it is the result of a national shortage of skilled labor and the lack of programs to attract job seekers to our industry as drivers and technicians.
The lack of skilled technicians is resulting in increased downtime and inefficiencies. It also leads to dissatisfaction among your current staff as they are tasked with doing more work.
There are several ways to deal with the problem and Paul Nowicki, director of sales and operations, and Arthur Lon, senior account manager, at TransTech, shared their thoughts on the subject of hiring and retaining technicians at a recent NationaLease meeting.
- Invest in an internal recruiting team
- Offer better wages and benefits to cut down on turnover
- Partner with someone who has a training and development program, or create your own
- Work with an external staffing company
Regardless of which option you choose, there are things you can do to improve your hiring process. Reduce the amount of time it takes you to respond to candidates. In your recruiting efforts focus on what jobseekers are looking for. According to Nowicki and Lon, that includes a career path and set performance based wage increases and a competitive benefits package. Also make the needed investments in technology that allow you to streamline the application process.
Another tip is to make sure you have a social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Twitter and Instagram. And make sure you update your social sites regularly.
Spend some time writing a job description that actually will attract people. In evaluating the job description ask yourself if you would apply for the job after reading the description. If the answer is no, rewrite it.
Employees today are placing a great deal of emphasis on training and development. Make sure you share development plans and training opportunities with potential employees. With a plan in hand, not only will you attract more qualified candidates, but you will also retain more of the ones you do hire.
