You’ve found the perfect candidate for your open driver position – great! But now it’s time to take them through your job onboarding process with the hopes of better driver retention. Is it as easy and comprehensive as it could be, or could it use some work?
Studies suggest that employees who have better onboarding experiences (meaning they’re as enjoyable as they can be, and new hires feel well informed afterward) are happier and more likely to stay with the company long term, which is exactly what you need as a DOT-regulated employer looking for drivers.
Here’s why your onboarding period is so essential to your hiring process and driver retention.
Reduce Turnover & Associated Costs
No company wants a high turnover rate, especially considering how expensive it can be. The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) estimates that the total cost pertaining to replacing an employee ranges from 100–300% of the person’s salary. This stems from the cost of job ads, recruiters, and the strain it puts on other employees.
When other drivers are forced to take on additional duties, your company’s time and resources are drained, which can lead to employee burnout, job dissatisfaction, and lower driver retention. It’s a vicious cycle that can seem never-ending; however, by investing in an effective onboarding program, you can potentially retain up to 50% of new hires that you wouldn’t otherwise, and these losses can be avoided.
Effectively Inform & Prepare New Drivers
Whether you’re hiring a driver who just received his or her commercial driver’s license (CDL) or a driver with 10+ years of experience, they still need to know everything about their new position and your company. It can be difficult to squeeze all this information into a single onboarding session, but it’s all about how you approach it.
Hire Faster & More Compliantly with Our DOT-Compliant Application
The onboarding process gives you the chance to lay out duties, productivity expectations, and goals to ensure new drivers are aligned with your current initiatives. It’s the time to address any concerns or uncertainties your drivers may have about the position, so they immediately feel confident getting in the driver’s seat. Setting them up for success is the only way you can (almost) guarantee safety and productivity issues won’t creep up as time goes on.
Maintain & Enrich Company Culture
Even though you’ve maintained your applicants’ interest up to this point, it’s still worth your time to emphasize your company’s values and unique characteristics. For the best driver retention, letting your new employees know that you appreciate them representing your company well (and any incentives they can get for doing so) should be done early on.
If creating a culture of safety is a top priority for you – and it should be – the onboarding process is the perfect time to instill the best practices you expect new hires to uphold as they turn into longtime employees.
Take a Step Back Before Moving Forward
But before you even get to the onboarding process, you need to make sure you’re hiring the right drivers who embody all the skills and traits you’re looking for, without the potential red flags that could show up down the road. That’s where fully compliant background checks come in.
A survey conducted by the Professional Background Screening Association found that 75% of employers depend on background checks to protect their workers and customers, 52% use them to improve the quality of their hires, and 41% rely on them to help protect their company’s reputation. No matter what your reason(s) for conducting background screens are, you have a duty to ensure they’re done legally.
Foley’s background screenings allow you to mitigate risks associated with recruiting and hiring new employees so you can achieve better driver retention. All checks are completed according to the requirements set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), including providing disclosure that a background check will be conducted and receiving written permission from applicants before doing so.
To ensure this, your drivers will be supplied with the three following documents:
- Disclosure: This notice must be given to the applicant or employee separately from other paperwork. For instance, the disclosure statement cannot be included in the application. The disclosure must be in writing, clear and conspicuous in nature, and consist of only the disclosure. You must state within the disclosure if you intend to run periodic background checks on an employee after they’re hired.
- Authorization: You, as the employer requesting the background check, must receive written authorization from the applicant, acknowledging they have been provided the above disclosure and providing consent that clearly permits both their research and Consumer Report to be produced.
- Summary of rights: If you plan to take adverse action based on the results of the Consumer Report, the applicant must be provided with a copy of the “Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” You can download and print a copy here.
In addition to these documents, you must certify that you’re running compliant background checks with the background check company that’s handling your screenings. Through this process, you need to certify you’ve provided the consumer with the disclosure, received their written authorization, and will not misuse the information or discriminate based on the results.
All the Background Screens You Need in One Place
Once you’ve found a reliable third-party administrator to conduct your pre-employment background checks, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most value out of their services. Foley’s background checks cover all aspects of a driver’s history, including:
- Criminal background – Confirm your applicant’s identity and see if they have a criminal record before putting your company at risk.
- PSP – See a driver’s most recent five years of crash data and three years of roadside inspection data from the FMCSA.
- CDLIS – Get the applicant’s current CDL number and the issuing state, as well as up to three prior CDLs held by the driver, including those held under an alias or former name.
- DOT Clearinghouse Check – Conduct full Clearinghouse queries to see detailed information about any drug or alcohol program violations in a driver’s Clearinghouse record.
- Safety Performance History – Find out employment history, DOT crash data, and DOT drug and alcohol violations within the past 3 years from the applicant’s former DOT-regulated employers.
- Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) – Receive information on your applicant’s license class, status, endorsements, restrictions, and suspensions. Traffic violations and criminal convictions given while driving are also revealed.
- Drug Testing – See if your applicant has recently used illegal drugs to make safer hiring decisions.
With one of the most comprehensive driver background screening programs available, Foley is the ideal partner for your pre-employment verification and compliance needs. While you’ll need to stay tuned for the upcoming reveal of our new driver recruitment, onboarding, and management software, we encourage you to book a free demo of our current background check program. Our compliance specialists will show you how putting (and keeping) the best drivers behind the wheel is easier with Foley. Contact us today to get started!
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