Thanksgiving with no turkey?  It’s true; disrupted supply chains and a driver shortage mean some will have to prepare a different meal this year.  And, the U.S. isn’t the only country facing this holiday meal issue. According to Fortune Hong Kong’s large expat community, that celebrates both American and Canadian Thanksgiving, has been experiencing a turkey shortage since early October. In addition to the turkey, the rest of the meal will be affected as well, as prices for goods continue to rise. It will be a costly feast for everyone. In fact, according to the New York Times, this Thanksgiving holiday could end up being be the most expensive in history due to inflation and supply chain food costs.  One of the biggest contributing factors, a driver shortage, isn’t new. This issue has been growing for years.  In response, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) met last month with transportation organizations to discuss solutions.  Additionally, the White House Task Force on Supply Chain Disruptions has also signaled the importance of increasing the number of drivers by choosing truck driver retention and recruitment as important areas to focus on. In response, the trucking industry is taking steps to improve methods of attracting job candidates. Here are 7 recruiting strategies trucking companies are now using:

• Targeting Younger Candidates -The number of candidates interested in truck driving drops significantly after the age of 22. This is often due to starting a family or different career paths already being established. As such, companies are now starting to target younger people.
• Recruiting More Women – An increasing number of companies are focusing on this long overlooked pool of candidates.
• Hiring Military Veterans – This group is becoming more attractive to companies due to traits like being motivated, self-starting and disciplined.
• Offering Competitive Pay And Benefits – Increasing compensation and benefits in addition to offering bonuses.
• Updating Ads – Companies that stand out from their competition, by including specifics about what they have to offer, are often more successful at recruiting drivers. Including images or videos is also valuable. Studies show these have higher response rates.
• Improving Reviews – Applicants will understandably avoid applying for a company with poor ratings. Asking drivers for positive reviews, responding to negative ones and looking for ways to improve company culture within. This helps retain quality drivers as well as project a positive company image.
• Utilizing Social Media – This is a cheap and fast way to reach a target audience.

As trucking companies begin to broaden their recruiting efforts, it’s also a good time for them to review their background check programs. Are the searches and verifications applicable to the job and are they thorough? Are driving records and drug screens being done? It’s also important to determine if the background checks are being conducted in their entirety. Unfortunately, in an attempt to hire and retain employees, some businesses have eased hiring and employment rules they had in place in order to mitigate risk. An urgent need to fill positions should never mean foregoing the quality of worker you hire. Improving recruiting efforts should ideally attract a higher number of quality applicants which would reduce the number of concerns companies associate with less-than-ideal job applicants.

Typical searches on a background check should always include a social security trace, criminal history and sex offender searches as well as employment and education verifications. Any training certificates should also be confirmed. Additionally, drug screenings are an important component of pre-employment backgrounding in the trucking industry and companies should confirm these are being done.

Improved recruiting methods, and having a solid background check program in place, will help companies attract and retain higher quality drivers. It will also ensure that supply chain disruptions due to trucker shortages become less of an issue in the future. More turkeys and lower prices on goods are definitely something we would all be thankful for.

When your business needs assistance with employment screening, criminal checks, FCRA compliance, drug screening, education and employment verification, driving records (MVR), credit checks or social security number validation, contact the Swailes Background Team to get quickly signed up.