Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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commercial carrier journal | april 2018 69 by CCJ sister brands Truckers News and Overdrive. That's a criticism many fleets are taking to heart: Truckers News has reported more than 25 pay changes since October, and Klemp notes that many took effect immediately. His- torically, fleets might announce a pay bump in January but make it effective in late March, he says. Klemp also expects some fleets that made announcements early in the year to raise pay again, possibly in the third quarter, based on competitive pressures and continuing strength in freight rates. "Pay won't move unless rates are going up," he says. Klemp predicts that if GDP is above 3 percent in the last three quarters, pay will be 15 percent higher on Dec. 31, 2018, than it was the prior year. Alongside pay increases, many fleets are offering attention-grabbing sign-on bonuses. Klemp's company reports median sign-on bonus amounts in February were three or four times as high as those a year earlier, depending on the segment. While such bonuses are common, many experts suggest R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Find out what it means to drivers Asked why they think fleets have a hard time finding and keeping them, drivers cite "lack of respect" right after "low pay" as the top two reasons, according to research by CCJ sister brands Truckers News and Overdrive. When asked "What does respect mean to you?" 83 percent of respondents said: Being treated as though what I do is of value to the company I work for. Such responses aren't surprising to Phil Byrd, CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express. "There's a certain point when you draw a line in the sand, and you say, 'I'm a human being, I'm doing an important job,' " he says. Byrd, who calls his company's enviable 20 percent turnover rate "not acceptable," says that when it comes to respect, "it's one thing to say it, but if the drivers don't feel it, you're just speaking in the wind." Job-hunting drivers look for home time, pay and respect, says Roadmaster Group's Michael Fisk. As a sign of respect, his fleet has refurbished two of its four terminals with the help of a developer who does lux- ury high rises, giving drivers a "high-end experience," he says. Fisk wants drivers to regard the beautifully appointed spaces as their "home away from home," he says. "We're getting great feedback." One area where drivers feel least respected is at ship- pers and receivers. Two-thirds of respondents say they receive little or no respect on the docks, a situation Byrd says carriers must work to change. "If you're doing ev- erything right but you're sending them in to a shipper where they are being disrespected and mistreated, you are in essence disrespecting them yourself," he says. CFI's Michael Hinz believes driving can be a great profession, but only when drivers are supported and respected by their in-house team. "Management, cus- tomer service, maintenance and the entire company all need to be 100 percent behind them," he says. If there are any doubts about the role that respect – or lack thereof – plays in fleets' driver challenges, consider this: 71 percent of drivers said they would rather work for a fleet that paid less but where they felt respected. As one respondent said: "Being appreci- ated may not pay the bills, but it makes it easier to get up and come to work every day when someone understands what you do." – Linda Longton When it comes to respect, "it's one thing to say it, but if the drivers don't feel it, you're just speaking in the wind." – Phil Byrd, Bulldog Hiway Express Sign-on Surge Van Flatbed $7,000 $6,000 $5,000 $4,000 $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $0 $7,000 $3,000 $1,500 $6,000 $1,000 $2,500 Refrigerated Feb. 2017 Feb. 2018 Feb. 2017 Feb. 2018 Feb. 2017 Feb. 2018 Median sign- on bonuses in February jumped 280 percent in the van segment, 300 percent for refrigerated and 400 percent for flatbed versus last year, according to the National Transportation Institute.