Truck Driver Recruiting
The professional driver average age is approximately 50 years old, the government and insurance regulations and guidelines are tightening, and the future and recent generations entering the employment market do not seem to be interested in becoming professional drivers.
Characteristics for success are the traits a driver needs to possess in order to be successful in a particular job. The traits can be regulatory such as a number of moving violations in a given time, or they can be personalized based such as attention to detail or a willingness to drop and hook several times in a week without moving the freight to its final destination. Understanding the characteristics of success for a truck driving job are critical to not only the driver's success but to the success of the company.
For this article, I will refrain from reviewing government or insurance requirements as characteristics for success because they are generally factual and very easy to determine if a candidate is qualified for those reasons. Instead, I would like to look at the "soft skill" characteristics for success. Soft skills are the skills that are hard to measure and have to do with the personality and/or mental make-up of the candidate. Most soft skills can be realized by asking theoretical or behaviour based questions geared towards a specific desired qualification. An example of a behaviour-based question is, "Tell me about a time in which you had to deal with a customer who was extremely upset about damaged freight. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome of your actions?"
Some examples of truck driver "soft skill" characteristics for success include:
attention to detail
customer service
ability to adapt to change
good under pressure
easy on equipment
comfortable carrying cash/payments
propensity to set goals
safety awareness
not opposed to inclement weather conditions
willing to drive governed tractors at specific speeds
willingness to haul specific freight or deliver to specific customers.
The list can be endless. The point is to take a look at your company, the core customers you service, how the company is operated, and develop a list of intangibles that a driver will need to be successful. Once the characteristics for success are identified, then create the questions to elicit answers from the driver so a decision can be made by the recruiter.
A driver that meets the characteristics for success will be much happier, easier to work with, and more productive in his/her job.
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