Recruit More Drivers With a Better Screening Process

This blog post was updated on March 31, 2021. 

This article is a guest blog post by our partner Verified First.

Everyone in the trucking industry has more freight than drivers - this isn’t a secret. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the shortage is expected to only get worse over the next eight years. Bob Costello, Chief Economist for the ATA, projects a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2026. 

As our partner, AvatarFleet, described on our joint webinar, How to Develop Your Driver Brand: The Driver Shortage is For Your Competition, there is no driver shortage - there is a quality driver shortage.

Quality Drivers And The Hiring Process

Because qualified drivers have many options, it’s critical for your company to have a streamlined hiring process. The applicant experience is the first impression a candidate has of your company. If you have an inefficient process, it’s easy for them to drop out and apply for your competitor down the street.

You need to remove friction from every step of your hiring process. For many candidates, the background screening process can be a final hurdle. Research shows that 2 in 5 employers loose job candidates because of a poor experience with their background screening process.

Download eBook: The Driver Shortage is For Your Competition

To improve your driver recruitment, here are some best screening practices to improve your candidate experience:

• Communicate the screening process to candidates. Help them understand what they need to do and how they can get their questions answered. If candidates understand their role, it removes friction that delays the process.

• Give projections of turnaround time. Candidates need to understand that quality background checks aren’t an instant process. Let them know that if it takes longer than a day or two, it doesn’t indicate a problem.
  

• Let candidates know their security and privacy will be safeguarded. Because hacking is a widespread problem, communicate the security standards of your screening provider. For example, Verified First meets these industry standards to safeguard data.

• Explain the decision making process. Help candidates understand that if disqualifying information is returned from background screening, they have the opportunity to make corrections. They will receive a copy of the background report and a summary of their rights to review.

• Leverage the online collection process. Integrating background screening with AvatarFleet will reduce errors, eliminate duplicate information, and expedites communication with your candidate. To enhance the candidate experience, Verified First fully integrates with AvatarFleet.

Give Yourself an Advantage Through a Better Screening Process

The driver shortage will be a significant challenge over the next decade. However, savvy trucking companies can take steps to adapt to any market. To improve the efficiency and ease of running pre-employment screenings, Verified First fully integrates with AvatarFleet.  

To learn how we can improve your hiring process, click here.