By David McLean
TRUCK DRIVER & EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION
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his past year, Forestry Mutual had the privilege of speaking at the annual CLA, VLA, and TFA Conferences. The main topic of the presentation was the importance of making good hiring decisions when it comes to drivers as well as some ideas on how to keep those drivers. It’s no secret in the Logging Industry that one of the biggest challenges is finding and keeping safe and dependable drivers. Once you’re fortunate to hire a good driver – how do you keep them? Well, like most things, there probably isn’t just one good answer – it’s most likely a combination of things.
Let’s take a look at a few: The most common answer to retaining drivers is money. Money is what we usually hear or say first when talking about how to keep a good driver. And yes, competitive pay is very important. Unfortunately, in our industry, it’s a huge challenge to pay drivers at the same rate as some of the other competing industries. But is pay the only thing that keeps a driver on your payroll? I will tell you that while pay is important, it is certainly not the “silver bullet” to keeping a good driver. In fact, surprisingly, it may not be the most important factor at all.
Drivers are like anyone else – they are all unique and individual people who have unique and individual needs. Some drivers may say they only care about the money, but I will challenge that driver and can almost guarantee you that is NOT the only factor in retaining that driver. Yes, all of us must make ends meet, but just paying someone well won’t keep them around. Some drivers may need flexibility in working hours or working days. They may have someone at home that requires special care or some other special need. They need the flexibility to take care of that loved one on a specific day, in the evenings, at lunch every day, etc. In this instance, while money is important, the top priority for that driver is the ability to meet the schedule he or she needs.
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FMIC 1ST QUARTER 2024
What about the working environment? Is that important? You bet! It’s great to have a job where you’re able to make your payments each month. But if you come to work every day, get treated like a second-class citizen – shouted at, threatened, can never satisfy the boss, etc. – how long before you start looking elsewhere? Very few people will work under those conditions for very long. Great pay or not, they will start looking for greener pastures.
And how about that thing called Safety? Let’s say you’re a professional driver – the kind an owner would love to have. Meaning you’re dependable, safety is the top priority for you, you’re easy to work with, and you treat the owner’s truck as if it were your own. Now if you’re that type of driver would it matter to you if you drove a run-down hunk of junk truck that wasn’t safe or dependable versus driving a piece of equipment that was well-maintained and you felt it was safe to drive? You bet it would matter! An owner could pay you all you wanted but if you felt unsafe getting in that rig every day or you felt the owner never repaired anything that you brought to his or her attention, how long would you stick around? All of these factors I just mentioned are keys to keeping a safe and dependable driver. Today, I want us to focus on just one of those factors, and that’s the working environment. Specifically, I want us to review Recognition.
I have had the good fortune to work for an organization that understands the importance of recognition. I saw firsthand the impact that recognition and one-on-one interaction can have on keeping good employees. I have seen, more than once, an employee who wanted – and actually needed – more money. The employee struggled. The employee looked for other jobs. But the employee really didn’t want to leave. I saw their internal struggle and their desire to stay. In fact, I saw numerous times where the employee was able to adjust either his/her budget at home or
