Top Reasons Drivers Chose To Stay With Fleets

EpicVue announced results of a survey indicating the top reasons drivers chose to stay with fleets. Independence and respect are among the top retention factors.

EpicVue's study asked fleets what percentage of their drivers have been with them under a year, 1-5 years, 5-10 years, and over 10 years.

EpicVue also interviewed 270 over-the-road drivers at truck stops to find out what leads to loyalty. The drivers ranged in age from 20-50. They had an average tenure with a company of 5.73 years. They spent, on average, 2.61 weeks away from home at a time.

Three questions related to loyalty were asked:

~ Other than the paycheck, what do you enjoy most about being a professional truck driver?

~ Other than compensation, what is the best aspect of the fleet you drive for?

~ Other than the money, what makes you most loyal to the fleet company you drive for?

26% of drivers said independence is what the enjoy most about their job

37% of driver said the best aspect of a fleet for the is a company they view as respectful, friendly, understanding and kind.

25% of drivers said companies that listen to suggestions, followed by incentives and benefits are practices that create loyalty.

Source: WRCBTV

Let's here your opinion! Let's see what the TT results of the survey are...

This isn't "other than money" but, I am loyal to a company that treats me as though my time is valuable. If a driver is sitting for reasons out of his/her control my company or its customers compensates for that time. Had a flat tire a few weeks ago. Sat 3 hours waiting for replacement. Next paycheck had 3 hours extra pay for that time. Never had to say a word about it. That sort of thing fosters loyalty in me. Most of it boils down to being compensated fairly for the time and effort I give.

Loyalty is not something that's valued in American society. Company management and employees were never loyal to each other which is why there are thousands of laws set up to protect both the rights of employers and employees. That's also why unions were formed long ago, because company management held all the cards and workers weren't getting a fair shake. Then, ironically, when unions became a little too powerful they often times drove their company overseas or into bankruptcy with their never ending demands.

Loyalty? No loyalty.

Even athletes and the teams they play for are rarely loyal to each other. The greatest athletes of our generation all ended their careers at different teams because the team they played most of their career with no longer wanted them around - Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Gordie Howe, Emmitt Smith, OJ Simpson, Bobby Orr. The list goes on and on, all of them Hall of Famers that didn't retire from the team they played most of their career with. Here's an article with a long list of athletes.

Loyalty? No loyalty.

Even at the highest level of corporations there is no loyalty. An article in Yahoo Finance states "the the average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is 4.6 years – about the length of a presidential term." And these guys are running the company making millions of dollars a year. But if someone offers a little more, they're on to the next place.

Loyalty? No loyalty.

So if the greatest athletes of all time and Fortune 500 CEOs aren't finding a bond of loyalty between themselves and their employers, truck drivers and their employers likely won't either. There is no such thing as paying someone enough money to keep them around. A little more money will draw them away. And there's no such thing as treating someone well enough that they'll stay. A little better treatment will draw them away.

So to me, the turnover in trucking will continue the same way it has for decades. The freedom to try to better yourself is something that's deeply ingrained in the individuals of our society and even within the business models of our corporations. It's a basic premise of capitalism.

Overall for me it's stability. I make a steady income, when I do have to wait it's never more than an hour or two, have a professional support system in place, and drive a brand new truck. I have no interest in trying to find my own freight, deal with mom & pop companies lacking formal policies and procedures, or own my own truck. Stability.

I left Schneider bulk after 7 months. Not enough miles and some other reasons. My loyalty is first to me and mine not to any company. I just lp at Bp express, I believe in trust but verify. I have no dues to pay. I do this for money. Door signs are only as good as Friday's pay.

...My loyalty is first to me and mine not to any company. ...

Well said!

Let's here your opinion! Let's see what the TT results of the survey are...

OK, aside from compensation (which is always about 6th on lists of employee satisfaction drivers on these surveys), the most important thing for me is the relationship with my dispatcher.

Does he honor my requests for home time?

Does he tell me the truth all the time?

Those two things right there are make or break for me. The rest doesn't matter too much.

Of course, if I'm not making enough to live on, I'm going to look elsewhere, but anyone getting into driving a truck to get rich is fooling themselves. You can make a good living and earn more money than 70% of people doing it. That's good enough for me if I can trust my dispatcher.

Tell me the truth

Pay me what you said you'd pay me.

I want to work. I.e. DRIVE. I'm not a loader/lumper/yardhand/unloader/stacker/racker. No sir none of it. They don't call me DRIVER for no reason.

Sitting idle waiting for days outta the week, NO SIR, see ya cant be wit ya. My three to four weeks away from my wife kids and cats is my time to work and earn a living. I'm not out here to hit the casinos and make friends with the truck stop employees. I'm here to turn the wheel and pay for my kiddos college.

So for me it's the idle time wondering what the heck is goin on when every guy at the flying j in the city of my former companies home terminal are on or picking up loads for the company I work for and I been sitting around with my thumb......you get the idea.