Top Tips for Truck Driver Recruitment in 2022

As we enter February 2022, peak season is far behind us, but high freight demand and supply chain crises haven’t magically disappeared as some had hoped. Truck driver recruitment and retention remains a hot topic across the nation, and one question has yet to be answered: How can you grow your driver headcount during the ongoing shortage?

In a recent Driver Recruiting Case Study Webinar led by Patrick McFarland, Director of Marketing at ITS Logistics, and Seth Becker, Vice President of Recruiting at Randall-Reilly, TMSA members were offered insights into the challenging driver recruiting market with best practices, informative real-world data, and case studies from successful driver recruiting campaigns.

Are you interested in their jaw-dropping data and efforts to successfully grow their driver headcount in this hardcore recruiting market? Shift your 2022 driver recruitment marketing into high gear with these top tips.

Target the Right Audience and Convert the Right Drivers.

When ITS Logistics decided to revamp its recruiting process, it completely stopped all recruitment efforts. While they had previously run several recruiting campaigns, the results weren’t well known. 

“We had to review and re-evaluate all lead sources,” said McFarland. “When we started our recruiting ads back up, we ran 30-day trials to see what was actually performing for us.”

Becker noted the importance of narrowing down your target audience before you can see results. Consider building your ideal audience based on data such as driver type, location, OTR experience, license class, type of haul, driver record, and online behavior.

Sometimes, you must think outside of the box. Continuing their data-driven recruitment marketing approach with a new experiment, ITS Logistics put ads in front of their drivers and let them vote for their favorites. Who knows your target audience better than your current drivers?  

Engage Effectively with Drivers.

According to Becker, 83% of drivers that Randall-Reilly polled said that they’ve quit a job based on a company’s orientation process. That means that a driver completed an application, talked to recruiting, and actually showed up to work at a company before realizing that they were in the wrong place.

Recruiters need to ask themselves what their recruiting and orientation processes look like and how they can engage better with drivers.

At ITS Logistics, they restructured not only their entire recruiting team, but also their driver pay program and their recruiting processes. 

“We had to dial in communication and make sure we were completely aligned on our new direction,” said McFarland. “Fixing our recruiting process was paramount, and our changes paid off.”

From completing a competitor analysis with Randall-Reilly to moving from a CPM pay program to flat rates, ITS Logistics learned how to best communicate with their current drivers and potential recruits. 

Authentically Appreciate Drivers.

In the webinar, Becker noted that “reputation is currency.” Companies can have the same pay and benefits, but some will face more challenges recruiting new drivers based on their reputation. The best way to improve your reputation is to appreciate your current drivers.

ITS Logistics does this in a few ways:

1. Take driver communication seriously – From driver newsletters to an open-door policy, ITS Logistics listens to driver feedback. Additionally, they host monthly Q&A’s where senior leadership answers every question asked. This way, drivers never have a chance to say that their concerns weren’t heard.
2. Pay for experience – If a driver has been driving for another company for ten years, they start them at their 10-year driver pay. As long as drivers have verifiable experience, ITS Logistics wants to show them that they appreciate their commitment to the industry. 
3. Veterans Trucking Program – To encourage veteran recruits, ITS Logistics pays for military experience. For example, if a driver has served for five years in the military, they will start them at their 5-year driver pay to demonstrate appreciation for their service.

Overall, our webinar speakers shared that successful recruitment marketing means alignment outside of the marketing or communications team. You have to put in the work and align your entire team with your recruiting goals. McFarland noted that the situation will only get more dire, so it’s important to address recruiting roadblocks now. 

TMSA members can watch a replay of the webinar here. And don’t forget to register for TMSA’s upcoming webinar with Conrad Winter, Logistics Content and Copy Writer, called Writing Killer Content in 1 Hour or Less on Thursday, February 10th at 1PM ET. You can view a full list of TMSA’s upcoming events here.

Michelle LeBlanc and Kenzie Copeland co-wrote this blog post. Michelle is a TMSA Marketing Committee Member and the Founder of drop & hook. Kenzie is a TMSA Member, and she is a Digital Marketing Specialist at drop & hook. drop & hook has more than a decade of experience in transportation marketing. We’re experts in building employer brands, creating trucking trends, engaging niche communities, and making email open rates climb.