Category: Retention

Ying Vs Yang

Posted on by rayhaight in Driver Recruitment, Drivers Perspective, HR, Retention, Senior Managemennt, Strategy, Success, Trucking

Ying or Yang

Yin and Yang are ancient Chinese concepts that represent opposite yet complementary forces; here, I use them to describe contrasting management styles. Originating from Taoist philosophy, Yin (often associated with darkness, passivity, and introspection) and Yang (linked to light, activity, and outward expression) illustrate how two seemingly opposite energies can coexist and balance each other. In the realm of leadership, these principles serve as a powerful analogy for the push and pull between control and empowerment

There are many iterations of what the definition of an effective manager is. This overview is mine; it doesn’t mean that any others are wrong, but some definitely are. I’ll share a quick look into the Yin and the Yang of the role. My paradigm will likely conflict with some manager’s vision of their position. I see this as a good thing. Once we stop looking at alternative ways of managing ourselves and our businesses, we become complacent and dull. No one wants to be around complacent and dull, especially Drivers.

It is first pertinent to overlay the companies’ goals. Is this a company whose strategic plan is to grow exponentially or one that is planning moderate gains in size but is looking to maximize shareholder value? The reason to identify the strategy is that these are likely two different personality types, one possibly being more aggressive than the other. The individual must fit the company strategy.

Here we go. The Yin, this manager feels the need to touch every nuance of their department’s activity. They will need to be Cc’d or worse Bcc’d on every email, even remotely related to their area of responsibility, and will become uncomfortable if they are not. This manager has a tight hold on every aspect of their department and trusts no one below them on the organizational chart to make an independent decision without approving it beforehand. This manager is usually busy at any time putting out fires or producing endless streams of spreadsheets. Their personality motivates them to control everything around them that they possibly can. It is in their DNA, control, and dictate.

They will be very directive; they see themselves as the ultimate problem solver; this is how they derive their self-worth. They spend much of their time finding culprits when things get off track. They do not effectively coach their direct reports, and they ask for no feedback on their performance. They chastise in public and seldom offer praise except those who have figured out their style and yield to it. Let’s call those people suck-ups, or to be kinder, they are survivors. They may share a role description with a direct report, but it is usually very vague. It is not usually talked about again to any degree after the hiring process. Information is held close by this manager; they and they alone are the keeper of the bigger picture.

The Yang, this person manages by committee, wants a cross-section of opinions before they pull the trigger on a new policy or procedure; they want their people’s input. They know that asking another person’s opinion empowers that individual; they feel part of the process. This manager delegates responsibility to their staff and thinks that their people should enjoy autonomy in their roles. They see their role as a coach, always looking for ways to assist their direct reports more efficiently and successfully. They exercise daily walkabout coaching trips; they encourage better performance through collaborative conversation, always talking to everyone respectfully.

This manager would never chastise an individual in public and would rarely do it at any time. They practice praise in public coach in private principles. When this manager sees a reoccurring issue, they rally the troops and limit any additional distractions. That might include a collaborative SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) or some other action designed by the department and owned by everyone involved in the process. This person knows they do not need to be involved in every decision or cc’d on every piece of correspondence related to their departments. This manager knows that sharing the big picture at any given time is essential to the individual and impacts the quality of their decision-making. Yang encourages the individual’s decision-making. They hire to a solid role description and coach their direct reports to review the document periodically. They also use it during quarterly performance reviews; the role description lives, and performance is measured to it.

I understand these two paradigms of a manager because I have been both at one time in my past. I was Ying, feeling my self-worth as a businessperson was based on the strength of my control of everything around me. On a typical Friday late afternoon, which as many in the industry know is the witching hour, if it is going to go wrong, chances are this is when it will happen. I reveled in being the go-to guy for everyone, my employees would line up at my door, and I would meter out direction like a traffic cop at a busted intersection. It was exhilarating and exhausting, and it was wrong.

I learned from a couple of competent business coach’s the error of my ways. It would have been impossible even to write that last sentence in my past. Consultants were looked down on by me. How dare you suggest to me how to run my business? No way. The shift in thinking came from my need to read business books, case studies, and business psychology. What could I learn from others who had been successful? My reading enabled dealing with consultants to give me an expanded paradigm on their value.

Coincidentally, these revelations that I accepted matched simultaneously with our company’s drastic reduction in our turnover, which was a two-year journey. Putting a driver turnover plan together with the people and asking them to fill in the blanks was instrumental to our success. It was exhilarating to watch while the team came together and reduced turnover from 120% to 20% in just two years—what a ride. We also more than doubled our operating ratio and won TCA’s national fleet safety award three times.

Engaged employees are more productive, they feel empowered because they are, they have a level of autonomy to do their jobs. If you were a driver, do you think the Ying, or the Yang would reveal itself during their interactions with everyone in the business. There is no doubt about it in my mind.  Which company would you like to drive for?

Safe Trucking

Rjh

Culture, Your Company, and Turnover: A Few Hard Truths

Posted on by rayhaight in Driver Recruitment, Drivers Perspective, HR, Retention, Senior Managemennt, Strategy, Success, Trucking, Uncategorized

People stay where they’re comfortable, and they leave where they’re not. In most industries, that statement has limits. Switching employers isn’t always easy, and options can be constrained by geography, skill set, or pay.

Trucking is different.

In today’s market, a competent driver with a clean record can generate multiple job offers within hours. That reality hasn’t fully sunk in for many truckload carriers, and it shows in their turnover numbers. Too many companies are still asking the wrong question. Instead of “Why are drivers leaving?” they should be asking:

“Why would a driver choose to work here in the first place?”

Know Where You Stand in the Market

Start with an honest look in the mirror. Where does your company rank on driver pay compared to competitors in the same lanes and sectors—flatbed, tanker, refrigerated, dry van, and so on? If you don’t know the answer, find out. At a minimum, you should reassess this quarterly.

Not knowing your market position may be the single biggest contributor to high turnover. Drivers know exactly where you stand—even if you don’t.

Safety Is Culture, Not a Slogan

Next, examine how safety actually operates in your organization. Is it embedded in day-to-day decisions, or is it treated as a department that exists after something goes wrong?

Where are your CSA scores? Are standards enforced consistently? Do you tolerate unprofessional behavior?

Here’s the reality: professional drivers want to work around other professionals. If you allow unsafe or sloppy behavior to go unchecked, your best drivers will leave. Every time.

Do you have a clear discipline policy? Is it applied fairly? Does your safety team have the knowledge, authority, and support to run a real safety strategy—not just manage paperwork? If not, turnover will continue, or your insurance costs will eventually push you out of the market.

Communication: Who Controls the Narrative?

Now ask yourself where drivers get their information about your company and the industry. If you don’t have a formal communication strategy, then the message is coming from the driver room, social media, and the CB radio.

People are social by nature. They need information, context, and connection. If leadership doesn’t provide it, someone else will.

And communication isn’t just recruiting. Your company is constantly communicating—with drivers, office staff, customers, vendors, regulators, law enforcement, charities, and the communities where you operate. Most importantly, you are communicating with the drivers you want to hire next.

The question is simple: Are you controlling that message, or reacting to it?

Controlling the narrative isn’t marketing. It’s leadership.

Rate Yourself—Honestly

Try this exercise. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your company in each area:

  • Driver pay package versus competitors
  • Safety culture and professionalism
  • Overall communication to all audiences

Be honest. When in doubt, score lower.

If your scores are weak, that’s actually good news—it tells you exactly where to focus. Improving these areas directly improves culture, and culture is the real retention tool.

If you rate yourself high across the board and still struggle with turnover, go back and do it again. You missed something. Perception is reality. If your company is perceived poorly, it doesn’t matter what you believe internally.

Culture Is What Keeps Drivers

Every company I work with hires far more drivers than they should. The fix isn’t more recruiting—it’s building a place where drivers want to stay.

That means a positive, professional environment where people feel respected, informed, and supported. Where safety is real, communication is intentional, and leadership knows its position in the market.

That’s what reduces turnover. Everything else is noise.

If you want to discuss any of this further, feel free to reach out. Retention is a strategy problem, and strategy can be fixed.

Take good care,
RJH

Ruts

Posted on by rayhaight in Driver Recruitment, Drivers Perspective, HR, Retention, Senior Managemennt, Strategy, Success, Trucking, Uncategorized

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