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It is not a secret that every industry is still feeling the aftershock of Covid-19, the pandemic had a huge impact on the workforce. It is important to note that despite the pandemic there are many factors that still lead employees to seek employment elsewhere, and the transportation industry is no stranger to a high turnover rate. Although a career in transportation can be fulfilling, the nature of the job can be very demanding. This can lead to high turnover according to the America Trucking Association, the turnover rate for large truckload carriers is now at 94%, compared to 74% in 2017. Following the Motor Carrier Act, Government control of the transportation industry was reduced. Now more than 40 years later we have seen growth in operating carriers which has led to fierce competition for qualified drivers leading to high turnover.
Although you cannot control the external forces that threaten your workforce, there are ways to help combat them. Let’s explore a few ways that your HCM software can help increase retention in the transportation industry.
Recruiting and Onboarding
When searching for top talent it is important to apply the 80/20 Talent Rule, you spend 80% of your resources (time, money, resources, etc.) on the top 20% of your qualified applicants. This starts with identifying who your top talent is. There are approximately 2 million jobs open in 2021, and according to research done by Zippia, there are currently about 1.3 million CDL class drivers, this can be a heavy load of applications to sort through. Applicant tracking software, ATS, like JazzHR can help you filter through countless applications to find talent qualified for your organization. Upon identifying talent to interview you can keep track of notes gathered during the interview, have easy access to resumes, and more using ATS software. When the interviewee accepts the job offer, the next critical step is the onboarding process.
The first impression is critical being that 86 percent of new hires felt that their decision to stay with a company is made within the first 6 months of employment. The onboarding process should create a welcoming experience for new hires entering your company. System customization with your company colors and logos, customized workflows that align with the new hire position, or even welcoming videos or personalized notes can be a great touch to help new hires feel a sense of community within the company.
In addition to first impressions, good onboarding software for the transportation industry should allow employees to complete their onboarding process from any location and any device, so the process is made seamless and easy for new hires. Now that your new driver is ready to hit the road, easy communication channels are essential.
Increased Communication
Communicating with workers in the warehouse, and drivers on the road can be difficult. With the assistance of an employee self-service portal, you can effectively communicate with your workers and limit the need to interact with HR. An employee self-service portal supports functions such as:
- Making important changes to personal information
- Accessing important documents and pay history
- Viewing schedules and submitting PTO
- Tracking expenses
- Managing benefits and retirement contributions in one location
- Receiving important announcements for HR actions that need attention
Although employee self-service limits the number of questions for your HR team, it is important to keep open communication regarding job satisfaction. The transportation industry comes with long hours, time away from family, and a tough work-life balance that can lead workers to burnout. Tracking your conversations with your workers can help you understand their feelings and help you to come up with a remedy to problems before they decide to resign. Open communication can also help celebrate wins. For workers on the road, especially truck drivers with longer hauls, sometimes their hard work can be overlooked since they are not directly in front of their manager. This is even more of a reason to celebrate wins, so drivers know you recognize their hard work even if you don’t get to interact with them daily. Raising employee morale is a great way to help employees feel appreciated and empowered to do their best work.
Opportunities for Growth
Most workers seek opportunities to grow in their careers and a clear growth path for advancement is fundamental. In fact, 63% of workers said they would quit their job if there were a lack of advancement opportunities. Performance management software can help managers have open discussions with workers to help workers understand where they are excelling at their job and areas of opportunities to focus on for advancement. Easily set and keep track of goals and develop a career plan that is designed to get the employee to where they would like to be in their career. Keeping track of employees’ performance and conversations over time can help justify your decision to promote an employee to a new position.
Learning management software is also a great avenue to foster employee growth. Offering training tailored to an employee’s career path can help employees continuously grow. Training does not have to be specific to the employee’s role or the role they aspire to be in. Offering training that builds leadership skills, business knowledge, networking, and more can help build a more well-rounded employee. Workers appreciate organizations that are invested in their growth. Software providers such as LearnUpon can help to invest in that growth.
Benefits and Wage
The transportation industry presents a unique set of safety challenges, truck drivers can drive up to 14-hour consecutive hours, and up to 60-70 hours for 7-8 consecutive days. This labor can cause fatigue, long periods of sitting can lead to health-related issues, and long hours on the road can lead to loneliness or other mental health concerns. Offering a competitive benefits package can help you stand apart from the competition. Health, dental, and vision are the most common benefits that employers offer, but for the transportation industry gym memberships, nutrition programs, mental health assistance, and health screenings can help keep your drivers not only happy but healthy both physically and mentally. Your HCM software should allow workers to easily view and manage their benefits and open enrollment process, so they can make the best decision for their health and their wallet.
Like many industries following the fallout of the pandemic, the demand for skilled workers has been on the rise. Workers understand that they are an asset during the labor shortage, and they are demanding more from their employers since there are ample opportunities for them in the market. Walmart is a great example; they are currently offering a competitive wage for drivers of about $110,000 from the prior salary of $87,500. Competitive wages are a great way to attract talent, but to retain skilled workers it is important to focus on opportunities for growth. The opportunity for semi-annual or annual raises can help you to retain your workforce, there is no need to shop for employment elsewhere when your current employer continues to allow you to grow.
Conclusion
Recruiting and retaining talent has become increasingly more difficult in today’s labor shortage. Luckily you do have to handle these challenges alone, there are ways to combat the shortage with a strong HCM partner like Greenshades, by your side.
To learn more about Greenshades Payroll & HR Platform, contact sales@greenshades.com or visit go.greenshades.com.
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