“Too many of our decisions are made using foundational data and beliefs we established a long time ago.” This quote in a recent article from Fistful of Talent really got us thinking about some of the legacy recruiting practices still in place across all industries, but particularly in truck driving, which is undergoing something of a crisis of talent shortage.
And while the world of talent acquisition is full of shiny new tools that promise to revolutionize your recruitment marketing strategies, too often we see clients (and their agencies) adopting new tools without addressing foundational issues that date back to a bygone era.
To help you bring your recruitment marketing strategy into the modern age, we’ve identified four of the most common mistakes we see most often.
1. Not Measuring Your ROI:
According to FindATruckerJob.com, 15% of driver recruitment teams are not measuring their return on their recruitment investment. Candidly, this percentage seems low compared to talent acquisition as a whole. In fact, in an onboarding call with a new client last week, they seemed genuinely shocked when we were hesitant to launch a new programmatic recruitment marketing campaign without UTM tags in place, or access to reporting in their ATS. “Our last recruitment agency never asked for these things.”
2. Failing to Consider New Talent Pools
Data from EMSI suggests that approximately 30.2% of CDL drivers in the United States are over the age of 55. This means that almost 600,000 truck drivers are quickly approaching retirement age. Yet barely 20% of truck drivers are between the ages of 19-34. So if you thought recruiting drivers was difficult today, it’s only going to get more competitive.
The most successful companies have expanded their recruitment advertising beyond traditional job boards — and have worked to identify and recruit new talent pools. As highlighted on Freight Waves, companies like Lone Star Transportation have started looking outside of traditional ‘profiles’ of truck drivers, with a focus on recruiting female drivers. Currently, less than 5% of CDL drivers are females.
3. Not Investing in Your Employer Brand
A quick glance across the internet hints at another large opportunity in the transportation industry: Investing in your employer brand. A recent article from the Washington Post finds that of those surveyed, most truck drivers do not recommend their job to others.
While it’s true that some of the common barriers and pain points exist at the category level, (e.g., long stretches away from home) companies that communicate honestly about these challenges and the ways their company uniquely addresses them are likely to realize a significant strategic advantage in an already crowded space.
4. Focusing on the Wrong Places in the Funnel
Aggregate job boards continue to be a main source of driver recruitment, which opens up an enormous opportunity to build awareness across social channels. 98% of recruiters think social media a key for truck driver recruitment, but few have found a centralized partner to tap into these new channels.
At Change State, we believe recruitment marketing should mean more than just job postings. And with 74% of drivers applying on a mobile device, a lengthy application process immediately after showing ‘interest’ in your open job or company can be a significant deterrent. Ultimately, the best recruitment marketing strategies should attract potential driver candidates across all phases of the funnel, from initial awareness, through the consideration phase and eventually hire.