When people find out about the success we’ve had recruiting drivers, they always ask, “Where are the best places to advertise for truck drivers?”
I disappoint them because there is no ‘silver bullet.’ If it were as easy as putting all your money in Craigslist or Indeed, no one would have 20 trucks against the fence. Asking where to advertise before you look at your driver brand and recruiting process is like Wayne Gretzky playing a game without warming up or reviewing the scouting report. There is no need to spend more money or shift where you advertise until your ‘Driver Brand Statement’ and ‘Recruiting Process’ are airtight.
How to evaluate your Driver Brand Statement
Start with the post-it note test to evaluate the effectiveness of your current message.
- Write down three reasons drivers join and stay with your company (one reason per Post-It Note).
- Conduct stay interviews with your drivers to evaluate why they love working for you. Synthesize the top three reasons into statements small enough for one Post-It note (again, one reason per Post-it Note).
Do you and your drivers give the same reasons? It’s common that there will be some differences. Use the reasons and words from your drivers – you recruit drivers, not office executives, so use their language.
Differentiate your Driver Brand Statement
The next time you’re at a Pilot Flying J truck stop, go to the driver racks by the men’s room and see if any of the ads stand out. Every time I stop to fill up my coffee on the road, those ads all say the same thing. At their worst, they all use the same stock image driver with a different logo above him.
Put your competition’s top three reasons drivers join and stay with their company on Post-It Notes. Stick those on a wall next to your competitor’s reasons. What claims can you make that no one else can?
If your competition can claim the package you offer, go back to the drawing board to find something else more unique – maybe you need to get creative and completely revamp your job offering.
Make it easy to apply
Quality drivers know they hold the cards in the recruiting game. They can go down the street if the application process is too difficult or time-consuming. When is the last time you’ve looked at your ads and application process from the viewpoint of a prospective driver? Go look right now if it’s been more than 30 days. After your short and compelling hook, is there a clear call to action for a next step? 90% of drivers in 2017 applied for jobs on our Applicant Tracking System using a smartphone. Is your website and online application mobile friendly? 94% of our prospective drivers call our recruiters or fill out a request form to receive a call before filling out an application. Can prospective drivers press a button to call your recruiter or do they have to punch in numbers after writing it down on a napkin? Is there a short landing page for name and phone number to make starting the process a low-risk commitment? Any modern Applicant Tracking System designed for hiring professional drivers will solve these problems for you.
How to evaluate which sources work today
The two key sources we measure are:
- Cost per hire by source (by location if you have multiple locations) = advertising + recruiters & safety salaries + background screens & employment verifications + travel & expenses
- Conversion rate by source (by location if you have multiple locations) = number of hires divided by the number of leads generated
Establish your baseline by tracking these two metrics each month. Start with your lowest cost per hire and highest converting sources. More leads are not always better if the quality is not worth your time.
Implement your new Driver Brand Statement and measure how many more leads your new unique message produces. You’re leaving ‘meat on the bone’ for each advertising source – finish what you already have on your plate before going back for seconds. Monitor the progress on a monthly basis. Make sure you’re set up to track these metrics for any new advertising source you try – live and die with them.
