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Survey: Driver pay will need to approach $100K to make significant impact on turnover

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Survey: Driver pay will need to approach $100K to make significant impact on turnover

TULSA, Okla. — Driver pay will have to approach $100,000 before compensation will have a significant impact on driver turnover.

So say the results of the Driver iQ, Q4 2018 Recruitment & Retention Survey, which also says that carriers are seeking more innovative packages to attract and retain drivers.

“Recruiting executives have mixed reviews on what they think turnover will do in first quarter of 2019 with one-third each expecting it to increase, decrease and remain the same,” said Lana Batts, co-president of Driver iQ. “However, 60 percent expect that future driver compensation will continue to increase.”

She called the revelation of the $100,000 mark as the significant factor in driver retention as “most unexpected.”

The Driver iQ survey was released on the same day that Walmart revealed it would try to hire 900 new drivers in 2019 with an average annual compensation of $87,500.

Batts further noted that “while 65 percent of the carriers now hire entry-level drivers (up from only 30 percent in 2012), only about a quarter are willing to grow their own drivers, i.e. operate their own entry-level training schools.

This is because operating a company-based training school requires an up-front hard dollar commitment, trained staff and dedicated facilities and equipment, she said, adding that unfortunately, once trained, drivers may leave the industry or move on to another carrier before the training company recoups their investment.

Among other details in the survey are the following:

  • There is still a disconnect (albeit small) between the number of carriers who support the concept of younger drivers (18-21) operating in interstate commerce (70 percent) and the number who would actually hire such a young driver (60 percent).
  • The best driver recruits who stay with a company after two years come from referrals and rehires, both sources that carriers can control.

Batts said the Q4 Trends in Truckload Recruitment and Retention Survey from Driver iQ is the latest in a planned series of quarterly surveys designed to better understand and measure recruiting and retention experiences and expectations in the truckload sector.

The results of the survey are coupled with observations of Driver iQ personnel engaged in the background screening industry. The survey represents the views of recruiting managers who operate over 75,000 trucks and the majority of the responses came from dry van carriers with over $100 million in gross operating revenues.

Driver iQ is the transportation division of Cisive, a global provider of human resources technology and background screening.

in HR technology and background screening. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the company provides comprehensive, reliable background screening and driver monitoring services designed specifically for the trucking industry.

For more information, visit www.DriveriQ.com.

 

 

The Trucker News Staff

The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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