Often, when a truck driver is contacted by a recruiter for a trucking company, the offer can sound too good to be true. Yet, the present environment, where qualified and experienced truck drivers are hard to come by it isn’t hard to imagine that the endeavors trucking companies are embarking on to capture qualified candidates can sometimes sound like total fantasy.

To attract and retain qualified and enthusiastic truck drivers, trucking companies today need to sound almost too good to be true. In every conversation and/or interaction with the company, trucking organizations need to refer to their people as “professional truck drivers.” Potential recruits will hear if you refer to your people as “drivers” or “CDL holders.” This incredibly impersonal way of referring to your people could easily send potential new operators looking for a company that speaks like it appreciates them more.

Does your trucking company sound like it places value on the team and treat the truck drivers on their payroll like professional colleagues? This is especially true for potential truck drivers or employees who have worked in safety before. These employees will want to know that the company they are joining will support their efforts to create a personalized safety program, because those are the most effective programs.

Creating a Personalized Program

To create a safety management program that truly sticks, a fleet safety manager must first recognize that everyone is human, and each person has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The key to creating an effective safety program is to identify the individual strengths and weaknesses of each employee and then using those personality aspects to create an advantage for each employee.

It takes highly committed leadership and innovative thinking to create and maintain an all-encompassing safety environment. It is an approach that must pervade throughout the entire organization. They key thing to remember is that your organization should not have to ‘sell’ their safety and operator recognition program to attract top talent. It should be obvious as a part of what they do without any selling required.

Everyone within the organization, from top-level leadership on down to front-line truck drivers, must live the safety philosophy every day. The company should exist not just for a profit motive, but to be an advocate for their people that they employ and their families.

Technologically-Based Initiatives

If there is one way to prove to current and potential employees that you care about their safety, it is the amount of resources you place in safety programs they count on. Whether it be through a web-based safety program or otherwise, there are specific technologies you can use in your recruiting efforts to attract top talent.

The secret to success in business isn’t very much of a secret. It comes down to getting people, processes and equipment aligned in such a way that there is no question in regards to the benefit of the program you are putting into place.

From video-based programs to customized web-based training sessions, effective motor carriers invest in safety programs that will not only help to attract new truck drivers but remind current truck drivers that the company they call home is invested in their development.

Are you personalizing your truck driver safety program to those within your organization? Remember, not every employee responds to the same training or safety stimuli. Invest in comprehensive programs and ensure those responsible for training your people understands the unique needs of each employee, and you will be set up for success!