Seeing employees as more than ‘just a number’ is key to attracting, retaining quality drivers

Truck drivers are a vital link in the supply chain. In fact, it could well be said that they’re the backbone of America’s economy.

These men and women navigate tractor-trailers packed with cargo up and down the interstates, along the back roads and through crowded city streets at all hours of the day and night. And even when the rest of the world stops because of an emergency or disaster, truck drivers … well, they keep on trucking.

Each September, the industry celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. This year, it’s September 15-21. It’s a time when motor carriers, shippers, receivers and the general public honor these hardworking professionals.

While the average citizen might think a week is plenty of time to thank drivers for doing their jobs, others — such as truckload carriers — know that it takes a 365-day approach to make sure drivers feel appreciated.

Turnover rates in the trucking industry are an ongoing concern. A recent survey of truck drivers, conducted by Conversion Interactive Agency, found that 40% are looking for a new job, and it’s estimated that empty seats at motor carriers could double by 2031. A few of the reasons for drivers’ unrest include a lack of feeling appreciated, concerns over health and safety, and low pay.

Find a balance

Many carriers — especially the successful ones — recognize the importance of finding a balance between the company’s bottom line and creating an atmosphere that attracts (and keeps) qualified drivers.

Michelle Duggins, a driver for Boyle Transportation, jokes that early in her career she felt like “just a monkey holding the steering wheel.” That changed once she started driving as part of a team for Boyle, she says.

“I feel — and they make me feel — like they appreciate me all the time. It’s all about knowing that I did the job, I did the job well — and them knowing it as well,” she said. “It’s not just about one week out of the year. It’s about the recognition all the time of the fact that you’re out here doing a job.

“You’re putting your life on the line (out here on the road),” she continued. “And then, when you walk into the office, you get a smile from everybody and they’re like, ‘I’m so glad you’re here! Let us buy you lunch.’”

Laura Duryea, director of driver recruitment and professional growth at Boyle, and a former driver herself, knows the importance of making drivers feel valued every day of the year.

“Think about it,” she said. “A driver appreciation picnic is once a year. If you’re not extending that support and that hand up and those encouraging words (the rest of the year), then your drivers aren’t going care about doing a good job for your company.”

Not just a number

Graig Morin, president and co-founder of Brown Dog Carriers and Logistics, says he remembers feeling like “just another number” when he began his trucking career as a driver.

“My number was 301, and that absolutely drove me crazy,” he said. “And I said, ‘When I have my own company, I will not have a driver that is a number.’ Here, everyone has a name.”

Pat French, director of recruiting and retention at Modern Transportation, agrees.

“There’s a phrase that gets thrown around in the trucking industry: ‘We’ll treat you like family.’ Here, it really feels that way,” he said, adding that some companies have so many drivers that they’re assigned a number for easier tracking.

“Here, we have the luxury of asking for a name,” French said. “If a driver calls in, nobody asks for a driver number. We ask for their name.

“We need as an industry to treat the driver as a partner, not just an employee,” he continued. “You have to be there for them. And if you’re going to make a promise to a driver, you need to deliver on that promise. Do what you say, say what you mean.”

The most important thing, French says, is to always remember the vital role drivers play at a motor carrier.

“The corporate and office staff don’t generate any revenue,” he said. “The revenue’s generated by the drivers. If we don’t have any drivers, we don’t have a company.”

Provide support

Duryea says it’s also vital that motor carriers give drivers the support they need.

“When drivers are able to do their job effectively, it affects your business in the end, because you have happy drivers,” she said.

“If you don’t have high turnover and you retain drivers, then those drivers become more experienced. They get to know your customers and can provide a better customer service experience for your customers,” she said. “It’s all interconnected.”

Company culture

For David Pike, director of recruiting for NFI, culture is the name of the game — and culture is all about human interaction, something he says is sometimes all too easy to forget.

“People leave companies because of people. Not because of home time, not because of anything else. They leave because of people,” he said.

Because of this, he says, NFI works to provide drivers with the resources they need to succeed both professionally and personally.

“It all starts with human engagement from our management teams across all business units and platforms,” he said. “You have to engage your people, you have to engage them frequently, and it has to be genuine.”

Often, when management asks drivers what they want, the first answer is “more money.” However, Pike notes, money is no substitute for company culture that places personal value on each employee — and that begins at the top, in the “corner office,” so to speak.

Pike says the NFI team has a mantra, one he attributes to Bob Knowles, the company’s president of transportation.

“Culture beats out strategy every time,” he said. “This is something we all believe in. As a people leader, our boss has allowed us to embrace this concept.”

Drivers, Morin said, just want to feel respected, and Brown Dog’s way of doing that is by getting to know each employee.

“You’ve got to learn who each driver is — what they like and what they don’t like,” he said. “Some drivers like Oreos, some like chocolate chip cookies. Some drivers don’t mind working in the city, some hate working in the city.”

Open communication

Like French, Duryea and Pike, Morin believes that maintaining open lines of communication is vital to driver satisfaction and productivity.

“Our door is open. If we’re here, drivers know they can come in and chat, even if it’s just to say hi,” Morin said. “I’m trying to build a company that, as a driver, I would want to work for. I spent 20 years driving a truck for other people — and some of it was great and some not so great.”

The most important thing, according to many retention specialists, is to be aware of drivers’ needs and wants. Drivers need more than just a day or week filled with parties, prizes, gifts and free food.

“I don’t care how many cookouts you have, if you don’t hop on the phone and spend time learning about your drivers — asking about their families and what’s going on — and then doing things to help support their values, you’re missing the mark,” Pike concluded.

Co-written by John Worthen and Linda Garner-Bunch

This story originally appeared in the September/October 2024 edition of Truckload Authority, the official magazine of the Truckload Carriers Association.

John Worthen

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.