It’s no secret the trucking industry is facing significant issues including the unprecedented nationwide driver shortage. There have been many proposed solutions, but there’s only one that takes the cake. You can rehire your experienced drivers who have been previously medically disqualified.
This isn’t just a concept. It’s a proven solution, with many carriers gravitating towards it because of its considerable impact on the bottom line. Let’s take a further look.
Your Road Warrior is a Keeper
Trucking is not an easy job, and it takes a road warrior to enjoy the long hours, highway scenery and overseeing a 5-ton or more truck. So, finding that diamond in the rough with experience is a true gem and definite keeper. For those reasons alone, it makes sense to learn who’s getting medically disqualified for unlocking your new pool of drivers. Not a believer? Let’s look at costs.
Recruitment Time & Costs
Finding and hiring new drivers to replace drivers or meet the growing supply chain demand will make delivery and fulfilling jobs challenging. And with a truck sitting idle, it can cost you up to $1500 per day. This is a significant amount of unnecessary loss and your inability to deliver what you said you would deliver on time, diminishing your reputation with customers.
Another consideration is the time and costs it takes for Human Resources to spend in advertising, interviewing, and negotiating. We’ve seen costs greater than $8,000 per driver, and we’re not even including new driver sign-on bonuses.
Don’t Forget About Retention
Assuming you have hired a handful of new drivers, they’ve built experience and have now been working for you for a few months. So far, so good, but will they stick around?
The average driver turnover rate is a gasping 90%. After all the time and money invested, those are depressing odds. So, why not invest in your already experienced drivers who you know and trust, help improve their quality of life, and keep them on the road? Your drivers are also much more likely to appreciate the second chance and have a stronger allegiance.
So, what’s the Sugar-free Cake?
When you look under the hood of your driver’s health, according to ATRI, about 92% of them have a medical certificate of one year or less, putting them at-risk at failing their next DOT exam. Another shocking statistic, over 8% have already been medically disqualified. Why? Another unsurprising fact is that drivers run into health issues due to making fast, unhealthy decisions on the road. Because of fast food, sitting for hours on end, the stresses of hitting traffic or the waiting game at delivery spots, and sleep deprivation (the list can go on), our road warriors are getting burnt out physically and mentally. High blood pressure, elevated sugar levels, and sleep apnea are the top three disqualifiers.
The sugar-free cake I’m talking about is Rebuilt, a simple solution to boost your driver’s health so much that they’re able to get back in the saddle. The Rebuilt program provides drivers with education, expert health coaches, and diet and fitness tools and tips to manage and improve their physical and mental health, weight loss, and stress, so they pass their DOT exam with flying colors. There’s a cherry on top, too. Rebuilidng your drivers is accomplished at a fraction of the cost and time of recruitment.
Finding a good driver is a costly dime a dozen lately. So, the question is, how many of your drivers have been medically disqualified in the past 12 months? If the number shocks you, you can have your cake and eat it too with Rebuilt. Let’s give our road warriors a second chance.