I subscribe to several e-mail pundits concerning personal responsibility. From time to time, I usually pick a few new ones to replace ones I find myself ignoring. The following comes from Seth Godin. Seth is a very successful entrepreneur, best-selling author and speaker. Many of his insights are reveling, but this insight hits the mark on what I see when face to face with trucking company employees over the years. It goes as follows:
“Ruts don’t dig themselves! If we are in a rut, it is because that is precisely where we have put ourselves! Actions become habits and habits get repeated because they feel safe. The easiest way to make things more progressive is to simply stop your habitual behavior, which often comes from reacting to triggers. Remove the triggers and it is your first step in altering your habits. Tomorrow comes daily but we don’t have to follow the same ‘rut filled’ habits from day to day. I think the quote by Samuel Johnson describes the situation nicely, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they become too strong to be broken.”
The fundamental concept behind a dramatic reduction in driver turnover is to acknowledge that the ruts that relate to your high driver turnover, are of your own making. You must own them! You can’t allow employees to play the internal and external blame game with each other. If you do, the rut is full of excuses such as: we recruited and hired the wrong drivers; operations are to blame for our issues; drivers today are not like they used to be. And on and on!
The only way to make a sustainable change to a company’s high turnover is to begin by having everyone in the company grasp this reality. No one came into your business and developed policies and procedures that were designed to make your workforce uncomfortable, which results in high turnover. You did that! So, face up to it, or it will never change. Allowing employees to play the blame game lets everyone off the hook. I always preface this by saying that having a company where drivers want to work does not start by going out and finding people who don’t have the qualifications or potential to become good employees. It starts by following a project plan that is designed to weed out the ruts and excuses and to get things back on a successful track, which significantly lowers your turnover.
It is as simple as, “It takes what it takes!’ You must be ready to put in the work to reduce high driver turnover, which, unfortunately, is an ugly reality in our industry. To separate yourself from the crowd, you must look at it from a different paradigm. Willing a different result will not accomplish what is necessary to address the situation. Continuing with an apathetic approach will achieve nothing. Unless you change your approach, the consequences can be dire.
On the company results side, high driver turnover can result in a company that has higher insurance costs, usually because their accident rates and CSA scores are in terrible shape. These companies have a higher percentage of unseated trucks, and they will have a higher turnover of people inside the walls. Their operating ratio will be less than acceptable, and their culture will suffer. These are only a few of the residual effects when you have a high turnover.
On the driver side, when a driver voluntarily leaves the company or is asked to leave, it results in a disruption to their families. Their cash flow is interrupted while the driver’s mortgage and car payments continue to flow in. Medical costs continue and any disruption in that coverage can cause stress. Along with this is the noticeable kick to one’s self-esteem. If any of you has ever lost a job, you will know what I mean. If you don’t get your company out of the rut, you may be creating situations where people must go home and tell their families they have lost their job. We are disrupting families and there is no reason for it – but for our apathy or belief that we can’t change. A lack of empathy will be noticeable as expressed in this short video.
Let’s clarify things: turnover beyond your control is likely 1-2%. Some drivers will simply retire, or they might have family or health issues. Then we have the folks who get homesick. There may be some who originally thought this was a perfect job, but, over time, found out otherwise, something haschanged in their lives and whet your offering to them no longer fits their changed situation. The number for all these folks is about 10 to 20%. After that, the rest is yours to own.
If you are hiring to simply clean files and not hiring good fits to help solve your company’s needs, then don’t expect positive results from your new hires. New hires should know what you expect of them, and you should be reviewed by operations regularly. Unless you do this as a start, promises made during the recruiting and hiring process will have little chance of fulfillment for the drivers and for the company.
Question: “If you were a driver looking for a job, would you come to work for your company?” Usually, there are no hands in the air if I’m at a company and ask this question. I challenge you to do the same thing with your folks. Maybe find a way for your people to vote anonymously and have a look at the results. If this exercise doesn’t open your eyes to the tone of your company, I don’t know what will. Success can happen, but you must fill in the ruts and make it happen.
Regards
Rjh
