Moving Business Network - Learn from Industry Veterans

Best Practices for Hiring New Drivers

Managing entire fleets can be difficult, especially when you are dealing with so many different variables. However, one thing managers can control is who they hire. By starting from the ground up and hiring quality drivers, you can minimize overall risk that is exposed to your company. It is crucial you know that you are handing the keys over to a safe driver. Here are two guidelines to abide by.

Policy

One of the first steps to hiring quality drivers is to become familiar with state or federal rules that involve hiring and interviewing potential employees. Make sure you are following Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations. Every state is different.

A structured hiring policy is also important. It makes it easier to make changes to the fleet and service if you change the driver hiring policy in the beginning. By establishing a formal policy, you ensure that every driver has been properly vetted before being hired.

Interview

Start by stating what will be discussed in the interview, making sure to relay the fact that the company values safe driving. This helps the interviewer obtain factual responses and sets the basic foundation for safety regulation if the applicant does not get hired.

Once this is complete, ask open ended questions. Respond with follow-up questions to drill down as necessary. This allows you to identify certain traits such as behavioral issues, concern for safety, self-accountability and self-improvement.

Whenever you have to manage massive fleets of trucks and cargo, mistakes can be risky and costly. But with these two guidelines, you can establish a foundation for building a safety-oriented organization. By establishing a top-down hiring policy you can be assured each applicant is properly vetted according to DOT regulations. And by conducting better interviews you can emphasize safety regulation. Following these two guidelines allows you to control what you can and minimize risk.