The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/307131
2 person behind the wheel. That allows the company to get higher rates, which allows it to pay its drivers better, which in turn helps make sure its driver workforce can provide the level of service shippers are paying for. "We set out to hire better and to reward the best." Meanwhile, Petty says, "CSA is doing a lot to weed out the unqualified driver who's available for the lowest wage and will be part of the churn and burn envi- ronment that operates in some businesses where high turnover is a planned part of economic model." Treat drivers with respect The pay difference may be one of the most obvious differences between private fleets and for-hire fleets, but the way drivers are treated may actually be the most important. "Pay is never one of the top things that keep employees," says Jane Clark, who works with many private fleets as vice president of member services for Nation- aLease. "It might be in the top 10. Feeling like they make a difference, like they are part of a team, is always in the top reasons why people stay with a company." It's not just your company that needs to treat drivers with respect – it's also how they are treated by the customer. "One area that for-hire fleets have to deal with that private fleets don't is the way our employees are treated when delivering or picking up freight for our customers," says Ken Johnson, CEO at Leonard's Ex- press in Farmington, N.Y. "Some shippers and receivers are very good to our drivers, but some are just terrible." You can't control how shippers and receivers treat drivers on the spot. How- ever, you can be like Jim Mickey and stand up for your drivers when you hear repeated complaints about mistreatment at certain customers. "We help duke it out on behalf of our drivers," Mickey says, when it comes to things like excessive deten- tion times and making sure drivers are 38 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com These drivers work an average of 58 hours per week, which is down from 2011 by 3.5 hours but in line with the 55.3 hours reported in 2010. Of these work hours, 37.5 are spent behind the wheel each week, while the remainder is spent performing other non-driving tasks such as loading (7.9 hours a week) and unloading (13 hours a week). Driver turnover at these private fleets was 11% in 2012, up slightly from 2010's 10%, but lower than 2009's 15%. Average pay for drivers in the private fleet community was reported at $60,021 in 2012, up nearly $1,500 from the $58,784 reported in 2011. Starting pay for drivers remained virtually unchanged at just under $50,000, as did pay at the end of year one ($53,417). However, pay after three years dropped 12% to $58,137, while the upper limit for the most experienced drivers maxed out at more than $68,000 annually, a decrease of $14,000 compared to the previous year. This can be explained by the retirement of more highly compensated drivers. Source: National Private Truck Council, Benchmarking Survey Report, 2013 Driver Turnover Remains Low 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Driver Compensation Remains Strong $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $ Starting Year 1 Year 2 Max d r i v e r s _ m a y l . i n d d 3 8 drivers_mayl.indd 38 4 / 2 9 / 1 4 3 : 4 8 P M 4/29/14 3:48 PM