Why do trucking companies need recruiters?

[Cluggy619]

This has been a question on a few minds, or at least, with myself. If a company is so great of a opportunity, drivers should come out of the woodwork to sign on. So why have recruiters? A large enough HR department should be able to handle most of the hiring that the company needs.

I do have an answer for myself. A company that is truly great for it's drivers doesn't need one. Only a lesser company would use a recruiter. The recruiters job is in essential talking the driver into signing on with them.... So one has to reason that if a recruiter(s) were not hired on to the company, the company would fail on it's own, being the total lack of drivers interested in working for them. Let's face it. If a company is truly great, drivers will brag about it, and word of mouth would get around that that's the company to work for.

And that's the way it should be..... Why not let those companies that are unworthy simply die off do to lack of interest from the drivers?

So I'm not getting the reason why they are needed...... I'm sure there will be those who can explain it to us all. And lets not just have one company recruiter answer.... I would like to hear from all recruiters why their company needs them.

This should be interesting. :wink:

[Ridge Runner]

Did you stop to think about the fact that MOST large companies have "recruiters". Sometimes they are given a different title but they do the same thing for a different group of people in different settings ( college comes to mind ).

[Fozzy]

It's a stupid question...

[Sheepdancer]

Most corporations use recruiters, not just trucking companies.
Maybe it will help you understand why recruiters exist if you look at the succesful companies outside of trucking. If you look at "Fortune Magazines, Top 100 place to work for" all those companies use recruiters.
Why? These are the best jobs in the country in any industry. You would think they wouldnt need help filling those jobs. However, in this very strong economy, with extreemly low unemployment rates, there are not enough qualified people to fill positions Recruiters are used because recruiters are experts at creating interest where interest didnt exist before. Recruiters dont exist to prossess apps of the unemployed. Recruiters are used to hire people who already have jobs. When you see the national unemployment rate go up in a poor economy, you see the need for recruiters go down as the number of qualified people looking for better work grows. So basically we recruiters were created by a stong economy and low unemployment rate.

[Rabbit one]

It would be less costly to keep drivers than to recruit new ones.

[Sheepdancer]

It would be less costly to keep drivers than to recruit new ones.

You think? Im not trying to be a smartass with this answer. But if not using recruiters would make the companies more money, why are successful companies using them. The people who run the most successful companies are some of the nations best and brightest when it comes to business sense. Im pretty sure they know much more than you or me when it comes to things like cost effectiveness. If we knew more, we would be CEOs.

[Fozzy]

It would be less costly to keep drivers than to recruit new ones.

It would even more effective had the "lifestyle truckers" not taken over the industry and of course if people did not have so many stupid half-assed preconceived notions when the get into the industry and of course when these notions clash with the stark realities of what this business IS, they blame????

EVERYONE BUT THEMSELVES!

[Cluggy619]

As most of you have pointed out, some of the majors corperations also use recruiters, or "head hunter" But they don't look for mail room clerks, they look for upper management.

And if anyone can tell me what major corperation other that within the driving industry has a 120% and higher turnover rate, I would be glad to concede that recruiters are needed.

But lets face facts. If IBM had a 120% turnover rate, they would be out of business. So calling a company successful with that kind of a turnover rate is misquoted. Take away the recruiters, and the company fails. Unable to fill the seats. Am I wrong?

[golfhobo]

Cluggy said:

And if anyone can tell me what major corperation other that within the[ driving industry has a 120% and higher turnover rate, I would be glad to concede that recruiters are needed.

Not exactly a "corporation".... well, MAYBE.... but, I believe the MILITARY has a turnover rate very similar! And, YES.... they have recruiters! :wink:

EDIT: Not only do they have recruiters.... but they have them for EACH branch! Hmm.... wonder WHY? Could it be um..... COMPETITION?? Or, in other words, they EACH need a somewhat equal number of recruits?

Just like one doesn't "enlist" in the MILITARY (call it an industry) and then get "apportioned" to the branch that needs them the most..... one does not "enlist" in the Trucking Industry and have some "Czar" dole them out equally.

Have you ever heard of "Branding?" I can't remember the exact term, but ALL nose wipes are called "Kleenex." Underwear used to be called B.V.D.'s ( a brand name.) You get my drift. Word of mouth can "skew" the "interest" to a company who's name is synonomous with the product.

Recruiters are just there to tout THEIR specific company and benefits versus those you may have heard MORE about.

And that's the way it should be..... Why not let those companies that are unworthy simply die off do to lack of interest from the drivers?

Um.... maybe because YOU might be a driver for THAT company who "dies off" and YOU might then be out of a job???

Cluggy, I don't know exactly WHAT your beef is with recruiters, but I can guess it is because (like MANY of us,) you were "sold a bill of goods" by one. Problem is.... it's no more THEIR fault than it is YOURS for "buying into it" without doing your OWN homework! At least.... that's the way I see it.

I don't know you, but MOST Truckers are real conservatives who believe in Supply and Demand. Okay.... there's a Demand for drivers at a certain company. There's a large Supply of new drivers getting into the business. Recruiters create a SUPPLY of drivers for THEIR company. What's so nefarious about this?

OR.... perhaps there's a large Demand for drivers at that company, and NOT SO BIG a supply of "applicants." So.... they go out and FIND them!

Finding WORKERS is no more nor less important than finding CUSTOMERS! This is Business 101!

BTW.... have you ever heard of "negative advertising" or "negative publicity?" Either way.... it is a boon to the company. YOU, Sir.... have created MORE interest in J.B. Hunt (on this little "board") than anything Sheepdancer has ever said!

He ought to pay you a commission! :shock:

[continental]

Hey, Sheepish,
Thanks for the honest answer. Recruiters create interest where there was none.
How do you create interest? By distorting the truth? Giving false
information? Everybody knows JB, and there is no interest. Hmmmmm...
What do you do? Place ads without identifying the company. We already know that.
A bad reputation such as JB's is very hard to live down, and it goes back decades. There must be a reason for that.
You would not have the turnover that you have if it was a
JOB WORTH KEEPING.
That's what I think.

[golfhobo]

Did you stop to think about the fact that MOST large companies have "recruiters". Sometimes they are given a different title but they do the same thing for a different group of people in different settings ( college comes to mind ).

Yeah.... I would HATE to see the demise of football at VA Tech, or Grambling or Carolina because ALL highschool "wannabees" went to USC, Penn State or Notre Dame!! As a matter of FACT..... some/most of the BIGGEST names in the NFL came from SMALL schools who had to RECRUIT to get these players. Once there, they got MORE attention and "coaching" which most probably led to their success in the Big League!

If M.I.T. didn't "recruit" the brightest minds in the country, we wouldn't have half of the techonology we have.

"Recruiting" is as old as FREE Enterprise! It's worked well for over 200 years! But, I guess Cluggy has a better way to run the country and the economy!

[greg3564]

As most of you have pointed out, some of the majors corperations also use recruiters, or "head hunter" But they don't look for mail room clerks, they look for upper management.

And if anyone can tell me what major corperation other that within the driving industry has a 120% and higher turnover rate, I would be glad to concede that recruiters are needed.

But lets face facts. If IBM had a 120% turnover rate, they would be out of business. So calling a company successful with that kind of a turnover rate is misquoted. Take away the recruiters, and the company fails. Unable to fill the seats. Am I wrong?

Well I know of many companies that recruit entry level positions. Dell Computers recruits heavily for customer service, manufacturing and warehouse jobs. They use at least four recruiting companies here in Austin.

Another is Southwest Airlines. They use recruiters for ramp agents and customer service.

[silvan]

Yeah.... I would HATE to see the demise of football at VA Tech[...]SMALL schools who had to RECRUIT

Don't even get me started about Virginia effing Tech and their stupid effing football team.

I have flower beds made from the remains of the Myers house, and the Kirk, and I have several flower beds full of wild plants I rescued from what was to become the new express road to Tech's football stadium.

In exchange for these additions, I now have a 20' concrete wall right outside my bedroom window, I have to listen to Jake brakes all night long, and the shooka shooka shooka of light poles swaying in the breeze. I have no night anymore, in the blinding glow of these road lights. I can't see the stars. On top of it all, on game nights, all those @#@#^@ VT flags FLAP FLAP FLAPPING in the wind from the tops of cars sound like gunshots echoing off the concrete walls.

All because of Michael Vick, and what a :dung: head that dog butcher turned out to be.

Life was a lot better in this little town when Virginia Tech's football team sucked.

[golfhobo]

Yeah.... I would HATE to see the demise of football at VA Tech[...]SMALL schools who had to RECRUIT

Don't even get me started about Virginia effing Tech and their stupid effing football team.

I have flower beds made from the remains of the Myers house, and the Kirk, and I have several flower beds full of wild plants I rescued from what was to become the new express road to Tech's football stadium.

In exchange for these additions, I now have a 20' concrete wall right outside my bedroom window, I have to listen to Jake brakes all night long, and the shooka shooka shooka of light poles swaying in the breeze. I have no night anymore, in the blinding glow of these road lights. I can't see the stars. On top of it all, on game nights, all those @#@#^@ VT flags FLAP FLAP FLAPPING in the wind from the tops of cars sound like gunshots echoing off the concrete walls.

All because of Michael Vick, and what a :dung: head that dog butcher turned out to be.

Life was a lot better in this little town when Virginia Tech's football team sucked.

Sounds like a DRIVER needs to go O-T-R for awhile to get some good SLEEP and a view of the COUNTRYSIDE!!! :wink:

[Sheepdancer]

Hey, Sheepish,
Thanks for the honest answer. Recruiters create interest where there was none.
How do you create interest? By distorting the truth? Giving false
information? Everybody knows JB, and there is no interest. Hmmmmm...
What do you do? Place ads without identifying the company. We already know that.
A bad reputation such as JB's is very hard to live down, and it goes back decades. There must be a reason for that.
You would not have the turnover that you have if it was a
JOB WORTH KEEPING.
That's what I think.

Like ive posted before and keeps getting ignored. Most of the turnover at large trucking companies come from drivers being fired. WAY more than 50% of that turnover. A lot of it comes from there are many job hoppers in this industry. Face it truck drivers come from all backgrounds. Some are college educated but still move around a lot. They got their degree and decided that wasnt for them...so they tried something else. They found out that something else wasnt that great, so they try truck driving. They find out that no truck driving job is perfect, so they try to find a different job. Some truck drivers come from no education, they have a history of being quiters. Quiters are usually job hoppers. So in an industry that attracts all kinds of people from all backgrounds, you are bound to have a high turnover.
How do I create interest, by telling the truth. Not by lying. You seem to think every driver I hire fails over here. In the many years ive been here, I have hired many drivers who are succeeding and still here. I can call them at any time and those drivers will help me close the driver by showing them how great they are doing. I can create interest by having the driver get a calculator out pulling up a JB stock quote on the internet, doing the math and showing them with a small part of their paycheck invested and a few years, they will be making some major money.
I can create interest by helping a driver out here on this board that WASNT MY RECRUIT. When he comes back out here and thanks me (see the thread ODE TO SHEEPDANCER) and tells everyone how well hes doing. That creates interest.
Not to cut you down dude. But our reputation is fine. We are one of the most respected companies in the nation and the favorite truck driving company of investors and customers. A few angry delusioned drivers who spend their time bashing things on message boards and the CB dont amount to a hill of beans in the real world. You are a very small % of the driving force who makes a lot of noise and really doesnt matter. Hell, there are quite a few of you bashers out here. I dont mind. I even encourage it. Why would I encourage you bashers? Quite simple, you actually help me do my job.
You said, everyone has heard of JB and there is no interest. In the last 2 days, I have had 8 drivers on this board contact me about work. Thats way above normal for out here. Why is it happening now? Pretty simple answer. Because cluggy has been on a roll. Giving me a lot of chances to respond. Keeping my name on the top of the threads. How have I responded to his attacks? Ive simply responded with facts,WHICH HAVE IN TURN CREATED INTEREST.

[Sheepdancer]

oops double post

[allan5oh]

At my company, although mostly owner/operator, we have zero recruiters. Several people in our HR department will answer questions for you, but your on your own unless your a company driver (mostly teams).

Our fleet is 350 trucks.

Penner also doesn't advertise.

All word of mouth.

[continental]

Ok, here we go again with the JB Hunt stock.
JB Hunt is a publicly traded company, and you don't have to drive for them
to be able to buy their stock, so don't attribute that to DRIVING for JB.
And if you think JB is the most respected company out there,
you're living in a haze. Come out here on the road and talk to the drivers.
The ones you get from this board are the beginners.
Most self respecting old hands would not consider your company,DUDE! :?
Job hoppers? If recruiters would tell the truth upfront, there would be less "job hoppers". I just love those catch phrases. The companies are just as
responsible for that. I had a job offer, where there was supposed to be
90% drop and hook, it turned out to be maybe 10%. Was I a job hopper? Damned right I was. I will not tolerate that crap.
Tell me this, Comes In Sheeps Clothes, why is it, that nobody"bashes" Roehl,
Boyds Bros., Maverick, etc?
And you go on saying that most drivers get fired, and you talk about "job hoppers" and "quitters". Which one is it now?
How about some straight talk?
You think you can do it?
At least Cluggy is constant, and I respect him for that.

[Cluggy619]

So many answers from angry people. Let me start off by saying I'm not trying to bash recruiters. But we all heard another worker state "My recruiter lied to me, now I'm stuck". Every business that uses them, and of course, the military, all have had workers that said that.

The "recruiter" is nothing more than a sales man. He sells the idea that working for company A is better than working for company B. This is his/hers job. Some tell it like it is, stating what the company has, and what it can do for them. Others embellish on the truth a little, hoping not to get caught until they are paid. And a few just flat out lie. Now, with removing the sales "advertising" that they do by removing them, would the company survive? So far, with all of the answers I have read, you ALL are telling me a resounding NO.

Are we all to believe that without them, the company fails? I think not. Companies have a way to adapt, and continue on. Of course, that would mean change, and no-one likes changes. It also means a lower bottom line, because the pay would have to increase a little to out do the competition. Better benefits would have to come out, and generally, a much better working environment for the employee. hmmmmmm, you would think they would want to do this anyways.

I think we all can agree that a 120% turnover is simply unacceptable. If I know a company has that kind of a turnover rate, chances are, I won't want to work for them. Now I didn't want to bring any companies into this, so we will make one.

Let call the company Paquete, a truck driving company.

Now my company has that high turnover rate, 120 %.

I also have 15,000 power units, and 14,500 drivers.

With a 120% turnover rate, I need to hire 17,400 drivers in the next year to keep the same amount of tractors filled. In 10 years, I would have hired 174,000 drivers. Lets say I have over 100 recruiters, making around 35K per year to keep me with drivers. That's over 3.5 million dollars per year in payroll just to keep the same number of drivers. But what if I give that to the drivers? It comes to 241.38, not even a good Christmas bonus.

Now, is my company being managed right? And what should be done to correct the problem, which is keeping my drivers?

[Fozzy]

It must be a lovely place in that dreamworld where you live...

We get it already.. you hate JB Hunt and recruiters and practically everything else... The turnover is high because of the job, not recruiters and not the companies. The numbers are the same all over the industry and they aren't changing anytime soon.

You better watch that ax your grinding, its about to wear completely away.