5 Key Takeaways From the 2014 Company Driver Connectivity Report

For most fleets, the bulk of your driver employees are probably made up of company drivers and not owner-operators. Not only are there more company drivers, but they are also much easier to recruit than their truck owning counterparts.
Just knowing you need to recruit company drivers is not enough. Research can provide you with relevant information for building more effective campaigns that generate the applications you need and lower your cost-per-hire. To better help you build your campaigns, we research the way these drivers are using the internet and technology and compiled this information into the Company Driver Connectivity Report.

To help you improve your company driver recruiting campaigns, we have compiled a list of the 5 key takeaways from the new 2014 Company Driver Connectivity Study.

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1. Job listings are extremely important to company drivers.

Company drivers have reported job listings as one of the most important resources provided on the internet. Finding jobs only follows behind researching products and services and connecting with family online, so you understand the importance company drivers place in being able to find jobs.
This is also indicative of the greater driver shortage crisis affecting the entire trucking industry. Drivers are much more likely to search for new jobs whenever they feel unappreciated or think they can be paid more with another fleet.

You’re in a position to be highly successful, but you need to utilize comprehensive campaigns with multiple connections to generate the applications you need.

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2. Print magazines are not the most preferred source of information for company drivers.

Actually, it’s through radio or satellite radio. Print magazines are tied at second alongside email newsletters. Social media follows as the next most important resource.
Don’t take this as a reason to cut print out of your driver recruiting campaigns. Instead you should see this as a way to connect and engage your audience through multiple channels. You now know that company drivers are utilizing a number of different channels to stay connected and to receive information important to them.

Because you understand what channels are most important to company drivers, you can build better campaigns that take advantage of the ways this audience is staying connected.

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3. Company drivers are more likely to find jobs online.

Over 70% of company drivers are finding jobs online. That far outranks print as a job finding resource, which is only listed as the preferred by around 15% of company drivers. Company drivers also list job searching as the most important service provided on trucking industry websites. It beats out other services such as weather, mapping, and routing.
This and #2 go hand-in-hand, but there is a subtle difference. While you know the channels that drivers value for information, you can now nail down the channels they are using to find jobs. Now you begin to pinpoint channels which actually generate applications, and better funnel drivers to these channels throughout your campaign.

Once you understand the best converting channels for recruiting company drivers, you can better design your campaigns to get the right application for your recruiting department.

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4. Search engines are an important component for targeting company drivers online.

Search engines are listed as the most important channel company drivers turn to when they are searching for new jobs. Specifically, 67.5% of drivers cite search engines as their go-to place for job searching.
Your SEO and SEM are important pieces of your company driver recruiting campaigns. They allow you to position yourself prominently in the search results around specific keywords. Ultimately, it improves the likelihood these drivers will see your fleet when they are actively searching for new positions.

Utilizing marketing techniques that will get your recruiting efforts in front of drivers where they look for jobs is important for a successful campaign.

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5. Company drivers use a lot of different devices.

As our world has grown more connected, so too have company drivers. According to the connectivity report, they are using a number of different devices to access the internet. Over 50% of company drivers responded they do use laptops and handheld devices. Another 22.3% responded they also use tablets for the same purpose.
As a recruiter, you need to take this into account on your campaigns. As the drivers you need to hire begin to use a number of different devices to access the internet, it’s important that you are adapting your campaigns to better target them online. On both banner display and SEM, you can create digital advertising that is highly targeted towards towards a driver’s mobile device.

Your recruiting doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and you need to update your targeting to take advantage of developing driver trends.

There are a lot of things about your campaigns that you have to learn through trial and error. But by utilizing research, you can take a lot of the guesswork out of your recruiting and develop quality campaigns that generate the applications you need.

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