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Retention Takes Center Stage
Hiring quality drivers is only the beginning. Keeping them is the ongoing challenge…
2019 is going to be a year of major investment in the efforts to retain professional drivers. Many companies plan to start offering more sign-on bonuses, increasing wages, and being overall more driver-focused. Ensuring a professional driver’s daily routine is more efficient and stress-free is a major factor that can contribute to driver retention. The industry is also expecting to see an increase in recruiting targeting women, minorities, and younger generations this year. With generation Z and young millennials likely to increase in the industry in 2019, stronger communications and more transparency will be crucial to cater to the expectations of these younger generations. Source: Fleet Owner
Re-distributing more funds to recruitment and retention could be a fleet’s saving grace. We also recommend updating driver on-boarding processes and management techniques to help attract and retain quality new-hires.
Drivers will start seeing companies increase wages, offer bonuses, have clearer communication and state-of-the-art trucking technology with upgraded ELD/HOS integration, hassle-free navigation, weigh-station bypass (powered by Drivewyze), fuel perks, and more!
Request a demo now for your total mobile fleet solution.
Someone wise once said, “The only thing that’s constant is change.“
And that’s a good thing for the transportation industry! In recent years we’ve seen leaps and bounds in technology advances. With everyone basically carrying around smartphones – plus the use of sophisticated ELD devices, mobile apps, and various other artificial intelligence – it’s safe to say this trend is here to stay.
Some traditionalist-types might argue that the industry is changing too much too fast, but let’s take a moment to outline the invaluable benefits new tech is bringing fleets:
Apps like Transflo Mobile+ are offering total fleet solutions for professional drivers and fleet owners alike, with savings on everything from document scanning to weigh station bypass. The Transflo brand has been known for years as the go-to document scanning service in the trucking industry. With various updates and partnerships in recent years, Transflo has become much more than scanning!
Transflo now also offers features like truck-centric GPS navigation, weigh station bypass, telematics, fuel perks, integrated ELD/HOS, and yes, we’re still the best scanning service around with in-cab document scanning and sending.
Tamille Bates from Unity Transport, LLC said that with Transflo’s ELD integration and telematics, “we save money because we are able to better manage driver hours.”
Why does this matter?
With the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining quality professional drivers, the amount of money that fleets save using Transflo products and services can be allocated to tackling the ongoing driver shortage epidemic.
Request a demo now and see how much you’ll save with Transflo’s full suite.
When drivers are happier, drivers stick around!
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has a ranking of the top 10 issues commercial truck drivers reported in 2018, and the top three were: HOS/ELD, parking and driver distraction.
Transflo’s complete trucking solution addresses all of these and more with the mobile app, Transflo Mobile+. Our seamless integration between the app and ELD make staying compliant a breeze, and additional features like GPS fleet navigation and voice command address common issues in the industry.
ATRI also reports the top 10 issues carriers mentioned in 2018 and the top two were driver shortage and driver retention. Simple logic tells us that if carriers fix drivers’ top issues then they should be able to fix their own driver retention concerns.
Win-win!
Compliance, safety and accountability are hot topics in the trucking world and Transflo has your back! With our Command Center and ELD integration you’ll know what’s going on with your drivers AT ALL TIMES.
Pull it up on your phone or tablet from anywhere to check driving speeds, locations, HOS compliance and more. We’ll even notify you about abnormal activity, so you always stay compliant and your fleet stays safe!
We’ve been hearing talk about electric vehicles for years now, and don’t expect that to slow down any time soon.
The development of electric vehicles (including trucks) will continue to make big strides in 2019. However, due to company replacement cycles we’re not likely to see any major vehicle replacements taking place until at least a few more years from now.
Never-the-less, some providers plan to have electric systems actually on the streets in 2019.
Some of these trucks will, “first provide some lane-keeping ability for drivers by nudging the wheel gently to correct for lane drifting. They will also have variable torque control provided by electric motors embedded in the traditional hydraulic steering pumps to make steering at maneuvering speed a lot easier while maintaining the stiffness drivers like at highway speeds.” Source: Trucking Info
Nokola Motors is set to launch its fully electric hydrogen-powered semi-truck in April of this year in Scottsdale, Arizona. Two years ago they unveiled a prototype of the truck which received a lot of hype. So, the reveal of their road-ready version should be quite an event
Penske plans to set up support for 19 more battery electric trucks including nine eM2s models and 10 e-Cascadias models that will begin service on the West Coast in 2019.
Volvo is planning to have customer-ready product ready by 2020.
BYD, Thor, and Tesla are all continuing to heavily test electric products in 2019 as well.
As far as self-backing trucks go…we likely won’t see that this year. Honestly, we’re not far off though!
There is now legalization of both recreational and medicinal use of cannabis in various U.S. states and Canada. This creates a list of challenges and questions within the trucking industry…
Federal laws currently prohibit trucking companies from transporting cannabis products. Furthermore, drivers are not permitted to operate a vehicle under the influence of cannabis. Currently in the U.S., law-enforcement do not currently have a way to field-test professional drivers for impairment caused by marijuana, like they do for alcohol…a driver would have to be taken somewhere for an actual blood test.
Canada, however, has approved a portable device being used by some law enforcement. The device tests oral fluids for traces of THC (the active ingredient of cannabis). Only a select few law enforcement officials actually have one of these devices as they’re still being tested for accuracy and consistency.
The legalization of marijuana also affects the ongoing challenges of recruitment and retention in the industry. One anonymous Colorado company made a point to inform individuals inquiring about jobs to NOT apply if they have consumed any amount of cannabis within a certain period of time. Despite these warnings, the company is still getting a 60-percent failure rate on its pre-employment substance testing.
The year 2018 will likely always be remembered as the year that the ELD mandate sent everyone into a frenzy. And it looks like we’re in for a “round 2” in 2019. That’s because of the AOBRD phase-out. Automatic Onboard Recording Devices (AOBRD) are still being used by tens of thousands of professional drivers instead of ELDs…but not for long.
AOBRDs are like ELDs in that they record information about the vehicle they’re installed in, but the AOBRD devices are now considered outdated technology. This is mostly because ELDs are capable of recording far more data that can be integrated with mobile app software, telematics and Command Center.
“ELDs are more advanced than AOBRDs and are required to automate the capture of RODS data automatically at each duty status change, every 60 minutes while the vehicle is in motion, at engine power-on and off events, and at the beginning and end of personal use and yard moves. In addition, ELDs must be capable of automatically transferring RODS data to FMCSA and must monitor themselves for diagnostics and malfunctions.” Source: Live View GPS
Why fleets SHOULD NOT wait until December to update…
During the ELD boom early last year, new users who waited until the last minute faced major challenges.
“Late adoption created a capacity crunch for devices and installation, with some suppliers running out of devices and software glitches taking longer to solve as companies tried to onboard thousands of users at once.” Source: Freight Waves
Companies who switch from AOBRD to ELD in advance of the mandate won’t just avoid the masses, but they’ll start saving major cash immediately…not to mention improve safety and accountability for their fleets.
So, don’t get caught in the haze – phase out today.
Request your ELD demo and we’ll make sure you’re scheduled for an easy transition.
We could go on and on about all that’s upcoming for 2019, and well…that’s exactly what we’re going to do!
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