Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/949884
commercial carrier journal | march 2018 43 INNOVATORS CENTRAL OREGON TRUCK CO. Redmond, Ore. members' pay is very consistent." COTC also has a minimum pay guar- antee program. To qualify, drivers must meet the eet's safety requirements and be willing and available to work 25 days out of the month. e company's minimum pay pro- gram makes up the di erence between a driver's gross monthly pay and a guaranteed monthly amount of $4,250, although drivers generally earn more than that. COTC's pay program can be viewed as a "salary plus" program, Wil- liams says. e salary is based on the minimum guaranteed pay of $51,000 annualized, with performance pay that adds to it. e performance pay gives drivers of all experience levels an equal opportunity to increase their earnings. e program rewards up to an additional 12 cents per mile each month. If a driver runs 12,500 miles in a month and quali es for the full 12-cent performance pay, the driver would receive an additional $1,500. e percentage of drivers earning at least some of the performance pay is 98 percent, Williams says. e program has measurements in four categories: performance, safety, fuel and "focused pay." e data for each of these measurements come from systems that include telematics and video event recorders with inward- and outward- facing cameras. e "focused pay" category is Central Oregon Truck Co.'s pay, benefits remove uncertainty, help retention BY AARON HUFF I n 1992, Rick Williams shi ed gears in his transportation career from being a truck driver to an owner of Central Oregon Truck Co., which he launched with a few business partners. Before purchasing eet assets, COTC started out brokering local and regional freight in the Paci c Northwest. Today, the Redmond, Ore.-based atbed carrier oper- ates more than 300 trucks. Williams says his experience as a truck driver formed his understanding of the value that high-quality drivers add to a trucking company. He wants COTC to be a place where top-level professional drivers choose to spend an entire career. " ere are multiple things we do that are high priorities on a driver's list," says Wil- liams, the company's chief executive o cer. "We try to make sure that when we get a high-quality driver that this has become their new home." COTC has been recognized as a Best Fleet to Drive For by the Truckload Carriers Association for ve consecutive years. Each year, program nalists are chosen by Car- riersEdge – an online training provider that administers the program for TCA – via interviews with management and driver feedback. Among the attributes that distinguish COTC's workplace for drivers are generous pay, incentives and bene t programs. e company also has created unique systems to eliminate week-to-week pay variability and establish a personalized work experience. Stabilizing pay To smooth pay variability from one week to the next, COTC pays drivers on all actual and approved dispatch miles, including empty miles. Its payroll is not tied in exibly to cuto dates for delivery status and paperwork on loads. "We gured out how to handle that di erently," Williams says. "Our driving team The flatbed carrier offers generous pay, incentives and benefits and establishes a personalized work experience for its drivers.