It’s important to have a reliable, professional, and hard-working fleet of drivers to hand. You need drivers who are experienced, capable and willing to deliver an exceptional service. This isn’t always a guarantee in the distribution industry, especially if you rush into hiring the first person who applies to work for you. Here’s how to ensure that your company has the best of the best:
- Update Your Recruitment Process - When it comes to hiring the best drivers, you should ensure your recruitment process is great. Some companies underestimate the importance of nurturing potential employees, which means paying attention to who they are and what they can bring to the table. You need to show that you care about your drivers, so take the time to get to know candidates and provide as much information as they need about working for you. Instead of giving them a lot of paperwork, take them through a clear and simple onboarding process. Go beyond the standard recruiting process and show candidates that you are a company worth working for.
- Offer Incentives to Attract and Retain Talent - If you want to hire the best drivers, you need to focus on attracting and retaining top talent. This means providing as much information as possible about the role, and offering more than other companies are offering. For example, offer incentives to attract candidates. This could include gym memberships or vouchers, or even fuel cards to help drivers cut costs. You could even offer incentives aimed at improving drivers’ comfort levels when they’re on the road by offering music subscriptions, comfortable seating and hands-free devices. A lot of businesses focus on improving drivers’ wellbeing by offering extra annual leave or flexible work schedules. Not only do incentives attract candidates, but they encourage existing employees to remain loyal to their role.
- Use a Driver Recruitment Agency - To ensure you can hire the best drivers, work with a specialist recruitment agency. Rather than trying to manage the recruitment process yourself, you can receive support and guidance from an experienced team. This includes everything from pre-employment checks and assessing candidates’ driving records, to checking for drug and alcohol use. Working with a driver recruitment agency gives you access to bespoke recruitment services.
Going forward, companies will need to go above and beyond what candidates expect from the recruitment process. It’s not enough to simply provide a brief outline of a role and hope for the best, drivers have the choice of employers, and so you need to stand out for the right reasons.
Why You Should Choose Abacus
At Abacus, we have a lot of experience with recruiting drivers, and we have the resources needed to match you to professional, reliable drivers. We conduct regular three-month DR10 and licence points checks to ensure that your insurance covers your drivers. With over 30 years’ experience and a reputation for providing a tailored recruitment service - for both temporary and permanent staff - we are able to match you with drivers that tick every box.
If you are interested in hearing how we can support your hiring needs, get in touch today.