Let’s face it, hiring and retaining qualified drivers for waste and recycling collection isn’t easy!
There is a high demand for commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers and organizations across North America are doing everything they can to recruit and retain drivers. The best employers with a low turnover of staff put their drivers' needs first and know how to care for them from the moment they start the job application process to when they retire.
Recognizing a driver's value is more important than ever. We’ve come up with a list of useful tips to connect waste and recycling collection organizations with the right candidates that will keep them engaged and motivated throughout the whole process so they stay on the team for a long time!
Streamline the Hiring Process
A hiring process shares an inside scoop on how an organization is run for potential future employees. Providing an easy-to-navigate experience for the applicant will keep them engaged and increase the likelihood of hiring the applicant. If candidates are unsure of where they stand in the hiring process, they can get frustrated and pursue other opportunities.
The first impression counts. Greet a candidate with an experience that pulls them in and highlights their importance from the get-go. We all know waste management services could not function without drivers so don’t hesitate to remind applicants of this.
Following the interview, provide the applicant with clear next steps - if it isn’t going to work out let them know. The processing of hiring a driver should not take more than 1 week.
It’s also important to give constructive feedback. So many organizations miss this out and it can be very frustrating for candidates who fail to make it through the whole interview process.
Make sure to communicate continuously throughout the hiring process. If candidates are still in the running and the organization is seeing processing delays, keep them in the loop. Communication now will set the tone for company communication in the long run.
Once the driver is hired don’t slip up on communication. Make the onboarding process easy and connect them with company values. Work to build trust by checking in frequently to ensure everything is going smoothly.
Offer Competitive Pay to All Employees
Compensation tells a driver a lot about how an organization values its employees. Make sure an offer is competitive with comparable positions. Maybe even consider reviewing other employees’ compensation to ensure they have kept pace with competitors.
Be aware that employees talk. Ensure current employees aren’t harmed if new hires are offered a competitive compensation package. Remember the inside-out approach, take care of existing employees before attracting new ones.
Stay up to date with the current compensation market. Offering competitive compensation and an enjoyable workplace is a great way to prevent employees from shopping around.
Hire Local Residents
Sometimes the perfect candidate is just on your doorstep! Local residents have a vested interest in the beauty of their city and are more willing to go the extra mile to keep their city clean. As observed by Priority Waste in Flint, Michigan, local residents that were hired to the waste management team were giving the community the extra love and attention it deserved.
Of the 37 employees Priority Waste first hired when they entered Flint, 20 were from Flint, and these members were seen taking on additional projects to help improve the City. Government officials that had previously worked with an out-of-state provider expressed their delight with local employees and stated the service had improved after hiring local residents.
You can’t beat passionate locals!
Train and Promote from Within
Everyone has a desire to be proud of their work and to feel valued. Investing in current employees is just as important as investing in new ones. Growing employees' skillsets through training programs help to improve the quality of their service and reflects positively on the company's performance. And of course, an employee that feels valued will value the company they work for. It’s a win-win situation!
When recruiting for vacant positions, use the inside than out approach. Employees that are aware of an internal hiring strategy will strive to position themselves as suitable candidates. This approach improves the foundation of an organization and benefits the internal team. Encouraging continuous growth can only offer benefits for both parties!
Make it Easy for Drivers to Succeed
The responsibility of collection drivers should not be highly demanding. That being said, in recent years drivers have been bombarded with new technology and new responsibilities while performing collections. Some municipalities have introduced recycling contamination alarm systems where drivers are required to push a button if they stop contaminants using the hopper camera. Identifying and recording contaminants is great, but this creates an additional requirement of an already demanding role. It’s not surprising drivers have admitted to underreporting the instances of contamination in the recycling stream.
Drivers are required to follow a strict collection route to ensure they are on schedule. Most trucks have monitors to gauge the frequency and intensity of stops and fuel usage to ensure maximum efficiency is maintained. Further, drivers are required to line their trucks up correctly to ensure they are collecting the correct cart and doing it safely. Drivers are required to balance all this while ensuring they are avoiding road hazards and driving safely. To add even greater responsibility to an already demanding role will make it harder to hire drivers, especially if the monetary reward is not there.
If you reduce the responsibility of drivers, we do not doubt that the ability to recruit and retain drivers will improve.
Offer Great Benefits and Retirement Packages
Common benefits for drivers are mandatory - health, dental insurance. But, if an organization offers benefits that set themselves apart from competitors they become a target company for job seekers. In a competitive driver labor market, this can give an organization a much-needed leg up on competitors.
Performance bonuses, acknowledgments of achievement, and team-building opportunities will keep a team engaged and around longer.
Finally, make sure an employee retirement plan is laid out. It’s important to think about ways an organization can compensate employees that benefit them long term. This will ensure employees stick around to reap the rewards.
Work to Know Employees on a Personal Level
Recycling truck drivers are essential to making the process work. Make sure drivers feel as if they are part of a team. Performing collections alone, day in day out can be a lonely career. Employees that feel connected to their company through elevated company culture programs are more likely to stick around. Be sure to ask drivers questions, how are they performing and what technologies are enabling or hindering their performance. It’s important to ensure an employee's voice feels heard.
Creating an environment that welcomes and values drivers will ensure employee retention. Remember, drivers are an asset, not a commodity.
Bonus Content: Find and Keep Quality Drivers
In a co-hosted webinar, Inflection Poynt and Republic Services shared strategies to find and keep quality drivers. Inflection Poynt conducted a study interviewing drivers from across the county. Want to know what our five takeaways were from the study? Check them out below:
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Just 63% of drivers are likely to leave for another job or company because of better pay.
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A complicated and long hiring process contributes to 84% of drivers giving up on a job opportunity.
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49% of drivers would invest in projects other than increased salary if they controlled the budget.
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67% of drivers stated that sign-on bonuses would not be enough to keep them from getting a new job.
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51% of drivers stated the best way to keep drivers was to focus on respect and purpose.
Inflection Poynt CEO, Mark Mutton summarized it perfectly “finding and keeping drivers comes down to 3 words, ‘respect and purpose’ ”. So ensuring drivers feel valued is essential if to retaining them long term.
If you would like to watch the full recording, it can be found here.
So, we’ve established that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire and retain qualified drivers for waste and recycling collections.
The best employers are the ones that have clearly highlighted how much they value their drivers from the hiring process right through to retirement.
It’s more important than ever to recognize the value drivers bring. Our tips will help engage driver candidates, hire and retain drivers, and show them the appreciation they truly deserve.
Apply these strategies and watch as driver recruitment and retention become the strength of your organization. Your team will never want to leave!
