It is no secret that to hire truck drivers, your company needs to be running a driver recruiting campaign. Some carriers opt to run their own campaign while others hire an agency to do so.
Either way, you will be told by many different people what is necessary to have a successful campaign. But what are the most important elements? Is it images? Copywriting? Company brand? Something else?
Here are the 4 elements that make or break your driver recruiting campaign:
- Hiring Area
- Endorsements / Other Requirements
- Your Job Offer
- The Sources You Decide to Use
Hiring Area
Your company’s hiring area is the geographic area you are capable of hiring truck drivers from.
For example, a carrier specializing in last-mile freight will have a hiring area of the city they are located in. However, a carrier with OTR routes may be able to hire drivers from all 48 states.
Hiring area has a major impact on your campaign because it determines the size of the pool of drivers you advertise to. The smaller the area, the last drivers will see your job listings and vice-versa.
Finding ways to increase your company’s hiring area will directly correlate with more leads coming from your driver recruiting campaign.
Endorsements / Other Requirements
Outside of hiring area, the biggest restrictor of driver pool is endorsements and other requirements. The more requirements you have for drivers you want to hire, the fewer drivers you will be able to target.
You can’t ignore or get rid of requirements for certain positions. However, if you can set up a process that enables you to work with drivers to earn their endorsements after they have been hired, then you will receive more driver leads.
Bottom line, it is important to know both requirements and hiring area restrict driver pool. If you need to be super strict in one area, work to see if you can be more flexible in the other. Either that or recognize you will need to pay more for slower lead flow.
Your Job Offer
Truck drivers are in the highest demand they ever have been. No shocker there. This means that they are fielding offers all day long from carriers across the country.
If your job offer isn’t competitive, drivers will not even think twice about your listing.
The number one thing drivers are looking for in an offer is pay. They look at CPM, sign-on bonuses, and any other payment your company is offering.
Even though the drivers care most about pay, that does not mean money is the only way to have a great offer. Emphasizing things like home time, strong company culture, and new equipment can all attract different drivers.
The Driver Lead Sources You Use
It can feel overwhelming looking at all of the different lead sources available to carriers. There are big-name sources like Indeed and ZipRecruiter along with driver-specific sources like TruckersReport and CDLLife.
All lead sources are not created equally. Depending on the type of driver you are needing and your company’s recruiting capabilities, different lead sources will be best for you.
Some lead sources provide more driver information but offer a slower lead flow. Other sources enable you to filter based on driver endorsements.
You need to establish your campaign goals first and then use that information to determine which sources will serve you best.
Driver recruiting campaigns are a challenging process with many different moving parts. These 4 elements are the ones that will make or break your campaign. Want to make sure your campaign is run properly? Reach out to the professionals at Meramec Solutions!
