Women of Trucking Advisory Board makes suggestions for driver recruitment and retention

Recruitment and retention were the focus of conversation during the most recent meeting of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board.

The group held its third meeting on June 29, with the goal of discussing ways to expand existing opportunities for women in the trucking industry.

The creation of the board was mandated by Congress in the 2021 infrastructure law. The goal of the board, which includes 16 members with more than 275 years in trucking and other transportation modes, is to make recommendations to the FMCSA on how to recruit and retain more females in the industry.

Driver recruitment

In terms of recruitment, a number of ideas were suggested, including increased marketing and awareness campaigns. The board suggested that changing the image of “what a trucker is” and giving a face to the industry could help encourage a more diverse group to give trucking a chance.

The board also suggested increasing awareness among women who are active military or veterans – a group that has industry-related skills and a high retention rate.

Additionally, the board discussed the use of apprenticeship programs to encourage recruiting. Nicole Ward, co-owner of the African American Women in Trucking Association, suggested an “ROTC style” introductory program for high school students.

“Some type of introductory program like that, that we could gain the younger audience interest, would really I think be a great idea,” Ward said.

Other members of the board suggested allocating money to existing programs, like Next Generation Trucking, that has a current model that caters to younger audiences.

Driver retention

While attracting a fresh crop of drivers to the industry has perplexed many, the issue of retaining quality individuals already behind the wheel has been equally difficult. It’s an area that WOTAB chair and OOIDA senior member Joyce Brenny says trucking is “definitely failing as an industry.”

Brenny, the president and CEO of St. Joseph, Minn-based Brenny Transportation Inc., says she takes an approach to recruiting that keeps retention in mind. She says that keeping drivers in the industry starts with a clear understanding of what the job entails.

“I get really tired of this fluffy, pie-in-the-sky, ‘see the country’ mentality, when it’s a real job with real expectations and real sacrifices,” she said.

It’s an approach that has paid off for Brenny, who claims to have a 90% retention rate at her company. She says those high numbers are, in part, because she is honest about the expectations – saying that carriers shouldn’t be asking “do you want to see America” but rather ‘do you want to help build America?’”

“There are people out there that are looking for those challenges. We need to be clear and truthful about what we really know about the industry and being an over-the-road truck driver. It’s a tough job, and it’s not for everyone,” Brenny said. “Being a truck driver is the most important career in the trucking industry, and we have to remember that. And not stray our focus off of the expectations and be clear and honest about them.”

Kellylynn McLaughlin, a driver for Clean Harbors and member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, says that carriers have their share of the blame for giving rookie drivers a negative image of the industry.

McLaughlin suggested that contracts between carriers and prospective employees that include paid CDL training should be stopped. She says many of these deals are one-sided and they put “employees in unfair relationships.” These lopsided deals, according to McLaughlin, can often lead to first-year drivers being frustrated and leaving the industry, never to return.

Of course, pay is inevitably going to come up when discussing retention. This is an area that McLaughlin says the industry could improve on as well. She says that removing the trucking industry’s exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act – which prevents drivers from being guaranteed overtime pay – could go a long way when it comes to retention.

“It was created in the 1930s. It’s out of date for us, and we need to not be exempt from that anymore as an industry,” she said. “It’s really hard to encourage people to enter the industry and stay in when they find out they don’t get paid for all their time.”

More information about previous and upcoming WOTAB meetings – including agendas, presentation materials and discussion notes – can be found here. LL