Opinion: Change the Trucking Culture to Attract and Retain New Talent

Editor’s Note: Lidia Yan is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder at NEXT, where she oversees the company's vision and growth strategies. Prior to NEXT Trucking, Lidia was a marketing executive at a top 10 ecommerce retailer.

It's well known the trucking industry faces a growing challenge to attract and retain drivers. The shortage is an issue that demands attention with traditional efforts to counter the trend such as stepped up recruitment and offers of subsidized or paid training. Yet it's also crucial for the trucking industry to expand the initiatives to include new ways to engage new workers by improving the work environment and culture.

To that end, I suggest that trucking borrow lessons from high-tech industries and focus on engagement and the workplace experience to attract and retain talent. This vibrant new trucking culture could appeal to younger drivers and make working life better for existing drivers. These efforts might even stem turnover and improve the business climate.

Indeed, studies show managers' efforts to clarify work expectations and to provide tools and technology to increase performance leads to a more productive workforce.

We know the driver shortage is real. Despite some statements to the contrary, the American Trucking Association, as well as our experience show that the shortage of qualified drivers nationwide is growing. By the ATA's own estimates, the shortage could reach 175,000 by 2026.

“Motor carriers cannot simply hire anyone to do the job,” explains American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello. “There are many barriers to entry for new drivers: age requirements, CDL testing standards, strict drug and alcohol testing regimes and, perhaps most importantly for many fleets safe and clean driving records … Carriers repeatedly say it isn't that they don't have enough applicants for their open positions – they do. What they do not have is enough applicants who meet the demanding qualifications to be hired.”

Finding qualified applicants will continue to get more difficult unless we as an industry change our approach to the challenge.

We already see some signs of the broader industry looking to attract tech-savvy younger workers. Companies such as Tesla, Volvo and Daimer are designing sleek, modern trucks that should appeal to the younger generation accustomed to high-tech, with an added appeal to environmental consciousness. Still, it appears wide adoption of these e-trucks are at least a couple years off. And who knows when or if self-driving trucks will hit highways.

Even with those new technologies, the trucking industry needs proactive changes to turn things around on the labor front. We need to take proactively expand the pool of drivers, which currently is 94 percent male and aging.

Here are a few of my recommendations for improving the pool of certified truck drivers:

Attract new talent

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of a commercial truck driver is estimated to be 55 years old. In addition, the number of female drivers is low—ranging between 4.5% and 6% over a 15 year period, the ATA reports. To replace this talent, the industry will need to find drivers from new talent pools, including women and other minority groups not traditionally thought of as truck drivers. The industry needs to evolve to become more inclusive of a new era of younger, more diverse drivers.

Change what it means to be a truck driver

The days, and sometimes weeks, on the road far away from home is no longer appealing to truck drivers. With the rise of the gig economy, drivers now expect their jobs to match their modern lifestyle—why drive a big rig when you can make more money on your own terms driving for Uber or Lyft? To solve this issue, the industry needs to find new ways to provide truckers with a better work-life balance.

Keep drivers in the job - bring down the turnover rate

The turnover rate for large carriers is 87%, making retaining current drivers one of the biggest obstacles to overcoming the nationwide driver shortage. Let's leverage modern technology to address drivers' biggest pain points, such as a lack of visibility into work schedules and inconsistent pay. We can give drivers the tools they need to ensure more efficient daily routes, reduce personal “deadhead” expenses and maximize paid time on the road.

Initiatives like these will improve work life and the work-life balance for drivers. They should pay immediate and long-term returns as we move toward filling driver positions across the country.

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