12 Employee Recruiting And Retention Strategies From Our Boston Roundtable To Voyager/Venture Members. Thanks for allowing me to lead our roundtable discussions last week in Boston. It was fun and educational – hope you agree. One of the topics we discussed was finding and retaining good workers and I promised to summarize our discussion. We can all agree that despite a softening economy, the labor market is still very tight, and finding qualified and skilled drivers - as well as other good employees both in the office and the shop - remains a significant challenge in the trucking and logistics industry. During our roundtable discussion in Boston there were many great ideas shared by Venture/Voyager members on both attracting and retaining great people. Here are twelve. Be Very Flexible Employees - particularly younger employees - value flexibility probably more than any generation before them. Offering the ability to choose their own shifts, determine when they work and considering things like working from home (for office workers) are growing in popularity and should be strongly considered by all. Offer Continuous Feedback Some members mentioned the importance of letting their employees know when they're doing a good job and not waiting for annual performance reviews. Younger employees have grown up in a world of immediate gratification. Smart employers recognize this. Empower Employees To Compensate Related to the above, one member mentioned how their company encourages managers to offer additional bonuses, perks, etc. to employees performing well. We discussed the popularity of "gamification" platforms like Bonus.ly where employees and managers can reward each other points with gifts available to the ones who gathered the most points at the end of a period.
Have Internal Recruiters More than a few members said they have full time employees acting as recruiters and - coupled with bonuses and commissions for finding good candidates - this practice has been successful. The same companies emphasized how important it is to quickly follow up on candidate leads and tying this to their recruiters' compensation. Consider A Mentoring Program Despite the need for flexibility and work from home options, face-time is still critical for many workers, including younger workers. Many members agreed that providing the ability for younger drivers to be connected to - and mentored by - older drivers proved a very strong way to get those drivers up to speed faster. Assist With Education Some employers said they pay for their drivers’ licenses and certifications. We discussed how there are federal tax deductions available for reimbursing employees for training and education too. Re-Visit Branding An up-to-date website and (in my opinion) an active YouTube page with high quality videos that feature interviews with employees and management not only helps marketing a trucking firm's services but also provides additional branding benefits for attracting employees. One member is using a marketing company to do this with both customer and employee prospecting as its objectives. Keep Your Vehicles Up To Date A member said how they've found that many prospective candidates are attracted to new vehicles and this shouldn't be ignored. Keeping your fleet upgraded and current not only provides a safe ride for drivers but - depending on the bells and whistles that come with each vehicle - adds a potential recruiting benefit. People like cool stuff! Emphasize Safety Speaking of safety, the companies in the group that invested heavily in the safety of their vehicles and their facilities also found their recruiting programs benefitting. Today's employees now more than ever want to work in safe environments and are more drawn to companies that value their safety. Reward Loyalty
Some members offered additional bonuses and perks to employees the longer they've been with their company. They agreed that the cost of replacing a worker with a new worker far exceeds the value of keeping that employee happy and loyal. People like to be recognized for their years of service. Offer Good Benefits An obvious strategy but sometimes one that's overlooked. Hiring a consultant to do an independent review of your company's benefits can ensure that you're competitive - or even exceeding the competition. Have An Open Door Policy Big companies have bureaucracy, rules and red tape. Smaller firms provide a much more flexible environment and - what's considered very important for so many workers - easier access to the company's senior management and owners. A few members stressed that their open door policy has kept their relationship with their employees strong. *** One thing that stands out for me in this list: these strategies are not new. And they’re not brain surgery. Most of these practices are long-held and just require common sense. I'm betting I could provide this same list a decade from now and all would stand the test of time. The takeaway is that these practices work, and good long term businesses have been employing them for years. Hope this helps.
Gene Marks CPA President - The Marks Group gene@markgroup.net
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog