As a business owner, you know that your company’s success hinges on the quality of your employees. The same is true for any fleet. Your drivers are responsible for transporting clients and other passengers to their destinations, so it’s critical that they have all the skills and Experience needed to be safe and professional drivers. But how do you find these ideal candidates? The answer is simple: hiring an experienced recruiting firm. Here are 31 tips on how to hire the best drivers for your fleet:
Start with a clear job description.
Knowing what you are looking for is the first step. Once you have defined your job, it’s time to write a clear and concise job description to attract candidates with the right skills and Experience.
A template can help you write an effective driver recruitment ad:
- Job title
- Job responsibilities (include minimum requirements)
- Skills & Experience Required (include minimum requirements)
Define your ideal Candidate.
Defining your ideal candidate is the first step to hiring the right people. Knowing what you want and need to find the right fit for your company is important.
- Skills: What skills does this person need? Do they have Experience driving a large vehicle, or have they never driven before? Is their license valid for all states?
- Personality: Is this applicant friendly, outgoing, and personable? If so, does he have a good attitude toward customers and coworkers (even when things get tough)? Does he enjoy working with others on teams as part of an efficient work environment–or would he rather work alone without much interaction from others beyond his immediate supervisor(s) at times when needed most during emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances such as traffic jams caused by accidents elsewhere along our route.”
Consider referrals
- Consider referrals. Referrals are a great way to find the right person for the job. They have a higher chance of staying with your company and are more likely than other candidates to be qualified. If you have a referral bonus program in place, this can be used as an incentive for employees to refer their friends or family members who may be interested in working with your fleet.
Check driving records
- Check driving records. You want to ensure the drivers you hire are responsible and safe, so checking their driving records is important. This will tell you if they have any violations or accidents on their record and how many speeding tickets they’ve received over time.
- Look for DUIs and other alcohol-related offenses on the applicant’s personal history report (PHR). The PHR is a comprehensive report that includes any criminal activity that may have occurred in the past seven years–and sometimes even further back than that!
Verify Experience
Verify the driver’s Experience.
The number of years of driving experience is an important factor when hiring a driver. It is also important to check if they have any special licenses or certifications, such as:
- Class A CDL (Commercial Driver’s License)
- Hazmat certification
Check references
It’s important to check references for all your candidates, especially when hiring drivers. You want to be sure that the person you hire is trustworthy and reliable, so ask everyone who has worked with them in the past if they were good employees. If a driver has had multiple jobs and, therefore, multiple references, ask each of those people what they thought about their former colleague.
You should also ask previous supervisors how well the driver did their job while working under them–and don’t just take their word for it! When talking with other employees who worked alongside this person (for example, coworkers), please find out how easy or difficult it was for everyone else when this particular person was around; this will give you an idea as to whether or not they would be a good fit within your company culture as well as on the roadways themselves.
Conduct a drug test.
As you know, there are strict laws regarding drug use in Dubai. Drug tests are a good idea for safety reasons. Drug test results must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour before a new employee begins work, and any positive results will result in immediate termination.
Drug tests should be done as soon as possible after you’ve decided which candidate to hire before you even extend an offer of employment. This will help them pass their required drug screening test on the first try!
Conduct a physical exam.
The physical exam should be done by a doctor and should include the following:
- A medical history, including previous injuries and illnesses, surgeries, and allergies. It’s also important to ask about medications being taken by the driver.
- Blood pressure and vision tests. If you have any doubts about whether or not your candidate has adequate vision to drive safely (for example, if they wear glasses), make sure they get an eye exam too! Drivers with high blood pressure are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, and other health problems than people who don’t have high blood pressure.
The doctor can also check for any medical conditions affecting driving safety, such as diabetes or epilepsy.
Require driver training
Hiring drivers is a vital part of your business. It’s not just about finding the right people but also ensuring they’re properly trained in customer service and safety. Driver training can be done in-house or through a third party. Still, you should ensure that it covers defensive driving techniques, customer service, and safety standards. Ongoing refresher courses will keep your fleet updated on best practices for driver training and any new laws or regulations affecting the industry at large.
Use online job boards.
Online job boards are a great place to start when you’re looking for drivers. Here’s why:
- Online job boards are easy to use and free.
- Online job boards allow you to post your jobs, search for candidates and interact with them in real-time through the platform.
Attend job fairs
Attending job fairs can be a good way to find talent. It is important to have a clear job description and a well-defined process for the job fair and to attract candidates with your company’s reputation and benefits.
Offer competitive pay and benefits.
- Be aware of the needs of the driver.
- Offer benefits that are relevant to the job and driver’s lifestyle.
- Offer benefits relevant to you and your drivers, such as access to training programs, support for family members, etc.
Provide ongoing training
- Train drivers on new technology.
- Train drivers on new company policies.
- Provide training on safety and environmental issues, such as reducing vehicle idling time, limiting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, etc., that are important to you and your business’s sustainability goals.
Offer advancement opportunities
Offering advancement opportunities is a great way to keep your drivers happy and help you stay competitive in the industry.
If you have employees with potential for management or other leadership roles, consider offering them training to develop their skills further. This will give them more opportunities within your company and allow you to keep driving costs low by promoting from within.
Consider diversity and inclusion.
Diversity and inclusion are important aspects of any business but are especially important for fleet managers. You can hire the best drivers in the world, but it will only matter how good their driving skills are if they fit into your company culture or customers’ needs.
Diversity refers to differences in race, ethnicity/national origin/culture/language (including English proficiency), gender identity/expression, and sexual orientation, among others. Inclusion refers to an environment where all employees feel valued regardless of those differences – one where everyone feels comfortable bringing their whole selves to work each day without fear of being treated differently based on who they are as people or having anyone else treat them differently because of those identities either overtly or covertly through microaggressions like stereotyping etcetera.
Conduct a driving test.
When you conduct a driving test, consider the following:
- Conduct the driving test in a safe area with various road types and conditions. This will give you an idea of how well your drivers handle different situations.
- Check for distractions by looking for cell phones, food or drink containers, navigation systems, and maps (if applicable). Drivers should be focused on the task at hand – driving safely! If distractions occur during their test drive, they may still need to be ready for work!
- Ensure your driver is aware of safety issues around them by checking mirrors frequently while changing lanes or turning corners; checking blind spots when changing lanes or merging into traffic flow; ensuring pedestrians cross safely at intersections before proceeding with right turns, etcetera…
Use social media
Social media is a great way to find drivers, advertise jobs, and screen candidates. You can also use it to communicate with your drivers and train them on the go.
Here’s how:
- Use social media for advertising job openings in your fleet. If you’re looking for new employees, post an ad on Facebook or LinkedIn that says, “Drivers wanted!” Or if you have a specific position in mind for the driver (like one who has Experience driving trucks), make sure that information is included in the description so people can easily find what they’re looking for when searching through posts related to your brand or business type on various platforms like Instagram or Twitter too!
Offer flexible scheduling
When you’re hiring drivers, it’s important to offer them flexible scheduling. Whether they need to work a few hours in the morning and then take off for a few hours or they want to go home at 3 pm because their kids are sick, offering flexible scheduling can help keep your drivers happy and loyal.
This policy’s benefits go beyond ensuring that your employees have what they need; it also helps with morale. Drivers who feel they have control over their schedules will be more productive than those who don’t, which means less turnover in general!
Provide a positive work environment.
As a fleet manager, you want to create a positive and productive environment. A positive work environment is where people feel good about their job, are valued and appreciated by their employers, and feel like they are part of a team.
This can be difficult for some companies because of the nature of the work or industry that they’re in. For example, suppose you manage a company that transports hazardous materials such as chemicals or explosive materials. In that case, this could present some challenges when trying to create a positive work environment because it involves safety issues around transportation which could lead to employees feeling less than comfortable.
Offer incentives
- Offer incentives. Incentives are a great way to encourage your drivers to perform well on the job. You can offer bonuses for completing a certain number of rides per week or month, good customer ratings, good driving record and attendance records, and safe driving practices.
- Please communicate with your drivers regularly through text messages or phone calls, so they know what’s expected of them at all times–and so you have an opportunity to address any issues as soon as possible.
Use employee referrals
Employee referrals are a great way to find good drivers. You can incentivize your employees to refer people by offering them a bonus or asking them for help finding new hires. If you do the latter, be sure that you have a way of tracking which referrals are successful and which ones aren’t so that you can learn from each effort.
Employees know what kind of person will fit into your company culture best, so they’re often able to spot potential candidates who would be an asset at their job–and also less likely than other applicants to get fired after two weeks on the job because they were too lazy or incompetent. If an employee recommends someone who ends up being hired as part of the fleet team (or elsewhere within the organization), then both parties benefit: The referrer gets rewarded financially or otherwise; meanwhile, everyone else has access to another resource–and perhaps even a friend!
Use targeted advertising
You can use a variety of methods to find the right drivers. Here are some suggestions:
- Use social media and online job boards. Posting ads on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will help you reach a wider audience than traditional classifieds or job fairs.
- Run targeted ads in newspapers, magazines, and trade journals that cater to your market segment.
- Consider outsourcing the recruiting process by hiring an agency or consultant specializing in sourcing candidates for trucking companies like yours (and knowing exactly where to look). These third-party recruiters may charge fees ranging from $25 per applicant screened upfront plus ongoing monthly retainers based on volume commitments–but if they can provide qualified drivers at less cost than what you’d spend doing it yourself, then it could be worth it!
- Host an open house event where potential employees can meet company representatives face-to-face while learning more about available opportunities within your organization.”
Use video interviews
Video interviews are a great way to get to know candidates more personally. They can be done over the phone or via webcam, allowing you to learn more about potential employees’ personalities and qualifications. This is especially useful when hiring remote workers who may not have interacted with you before being hired.
Use personality assessments
Personality assessments are important tools for selecting an employee. They help you determine if a candidate is a good fit for the job and can also be used to find out if they have the right skills and abilities.
Personality assessments can be used along with other employment screening methods, such as background checks, drug tests, reference checks, or skill tests (for example, driving tests).
Check insurance coverage
Insurance coverage must be adequate to cover the vehicle and the driver.
The insurance company must be reputable and licensed to operate in your state.
It should have a good reputation for customer service, especially if you have any issues with your policy or claims process.
Check driving history
- Check the driver’s driving history.
- Review the driver’s license and see if they have any accidents or violations on their record. If so, ask yourself what could have caused those accidents, and how you can prevent them from happening again in the future.
- Check to see if your potential employees have had any traffic tickets or moving violations in the past year (or two). If so, find out why these occurred so you can address them before they become more serious problems for your business.
- Finally, if there are no red flags on their records yet, but you still want some reassurance about who will be driving your fleet vehicles around town–or even just home from work each day–consider requesting a copy of their DMV report as well!
Consider technology skills
While it’s important to have drivers with the right skills, ensuring they have the right attitude is also crucial. Don’t just hire anyone who comes along–look for someone who will fit in with your team and work hard to make sure that happens.
You should assess whether or not someone has good technology skills before offering them a job because those skills can affect their ability to do their job well. Good examples of technical skills include:
- Understanding how GPS systems work and how they differ from other types of navigation systems
- Having basic knowledge about how computers work
- Knowing how smartphones work (e.g., being able to send text messages)
Set expectations
You’re halfway there. You’ve hired your first driver and set him up with a truck. Now what?
It’s time to set expectations. The best way to do this is by creating a written employee handbook that clearly outlines everything from pay rates and benefits packages to company policies on drug testing, uniforms, and time off requests. You can also use this opportunity to define some basic rules for drivers new to the industry–like how they should handle customer complaints or concerns about safety issues at their work sites (or anywhere else).
To help get you started on writing up some guidelines for both you and your employees:
Conduct a background check.
When hiring a new driver, you must conduct a background check. This can be done through various resources such as the internet or with your local DMV office.
The following information should be checked:
- Criminal History – Make sure that they have never been convicted of any crimes before and do not have any pending charges against them. You should also check their sex offender registry status if allowed by law in your area (some states don’t allow this). If they have had any convictions or charges against them, ask why it happened so that you can better understand what type of person they are now and whether or not they would make good company for your other drivers who may not know them well yet!
- Driving History – This includes checking whether or not there are any accidents on record with either personal vehicles owned by this person or commercial vehicles used for work purposes (like trucks). If so, try looking into why those occurred as well; perhaps something happened due to weather conditions outside being too bad for safe driving conditions, but it could happen again next time around. Or there could be another unrelated reason like someone else was driving then. Either way, make sure all bases are covered before making a final decision based on the data provided alone. No single piece necessarily represents the entire picture when put together.”
Provide feedback
Providing feedback is an important part of any driver’s performance evaluation. You should be able to give positive feedback on the following:
- Whether hiring a new driver or reviewing the performance of an existing one, you must provide positive reinforcement when appropriate. Attitude and behavior. Work quality and customer service skills (if applicable). If a driver shows up with a positive attitude and works hard, let them know! On the other hand, if they show up late or take shortcuts in their work quality or safety procedures–or even worse–engage in unprofessional conduct with customers or coworkers, let them know that too.
- Your drivers should strive for excellence when behind the wheel of their trucks; however, even experienced professionals sometimes need to remember some of these basics, like checking tire pressure before heading out on an assignment or keeping their cab clean enough. Hence, only bother passengers who may ride along during rush hour traffic jams. Providing regular feedback on this type of thing throughout each shift cycle will help ensure everyone remains focused on delivering top-notch results from start to finish every single day and night!
Be patient
- Be patient with the process. It’s a long one, and you’ll have to be patient if you want your company to succeed.
- Be patient with your drivers. They’re not machines; they’re people who need time to adjust and grow into their roles as drivers for your fleet.
- Be patient with passengers–it may take some time before they learn how best to use the app, so be sure that everyone understands how things work before giving negative reviews or complaints about any issues they’ve encountered while using it (the same goes for drivers).
- Be patient with yourself–don’t get discouraged if things aren’t working out right away! Try new things until something sticks; nobody expects everything in life to come easily or immediately succeed on its first try!
Take care of your drivers; they are responsible for the safety of your passengers.
As a fleet manager, you are responsible for ensuring that your drivers are well-trained, paid, and managed.
Your passengers’ safety depends on it.
There are many risks to passengers if your drivers aren’t properly trained or managed:
- Drivers who need to be better trained may be able to handle emergencies safely or effectively. This is bad for the driver and any passengers who get into an accident with them (or even ride in their car).
- If drivers need to be paid more for their services, including gas and maintenance costs, you’ll have trouble finding good people willing to take those jobs at those rates. You’ll also likely end up with some bad apples among them because they can’t afford other opportunities elsewhere that might pay better wages but require less driving time during each shift/day/weekend, etc.
Conclusion
Hiring the right drivers is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your business succeeds. It’s also challenging, but it doesn’t have to be! By following these tips and putting in some extra effort, you can ensure your fleet is filled with skilled drivers who will help keep passengers safe on their journeys.