Moving Words – Myth vs Reality

Timothy Brady

“A myth is an image in terms of which we try to make sense of the world.” – Alan Watts

The moving industry historically has been better at retaining its van operators and movers; however, since the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021, the industry has experienced the winds of change. As older, experienced drivers “retire,” finding younger generations willing to do what’s needed to be a quality mover has become the biggest challenge faced by moving companies of all sizes. The first step to solving any problem is to separate the myth from the reality. Let’s study what the trucking industry as a whole has done, both in failures and in successes in resolving this challenge. Here are a few things to ponder in your search for a solution:

The Myth: ‘Training more truckers will solve the problem.’ If you don’t fix the retention problem, throwing more unsuspecting, newly-trained van operators into the industry won’t solve it. If any other industry had annual employee turnover exceeding 100%, as the trucking industry at large has, industry leaders would demand major changes. If it were happening during high national unemployment, they’d throw out current employment procedures and start from scratch.

The Fabrication: Perpetuated by some industry organizations and large carriers who insist there’s a shortage of qualified, trained truckers. Truthfully, many large carriers outside the moving industry fail rudimentary principles of employee-contractor management. Example: lease-purchase plans put most of the fiscal responsibility on the truckers’ shoulders – and when truckers fail, the carrier not only loses good, qualified drivers, but goes immediately into the costly new-recruit cycle again. It costs approximately $20,000 to replace a trucker, including advertising, recruitment, administrative costs and bringing the new driver to the point of generating a positive cash flow. This all contributes to a major money leak. Retaining good drivers is much more cost-effective. For your van operator leases, make sure they work in a fair and equitable manner for both the moving company and the van operator. In the current atmosphere where finding quality van operators is a huge challenge, don’t lose one because they perceive advantage is being taken of them.

The Reality: Years ago during the first ‘driver shortage,’ University of Arkansas, Walton School of Business Professors Delaney and Gupta polled several carriers’ HR departments: What was required to reduce the massive truck driver turnover rate to a more manageable level?

There were three interdependent answers:

• Reasonable pay for all the time and work required to manage a truck on the road
• Consistency in pay from week to week
• Regularly-scheduled home time.

This study has been virtually ignored by the industry. In 2006, the ATA predicted a shortage of truck drivers exceeding 110,000. Today they predict that number will increase to over half a million within a few years.

Currently America has millions of unemployed. But the estimated truck driver shortage is nearly 5 times what it was in 2006. Doesn’t this show, statistically, that truck driving is no longer a desirable or sufficiently-compensated occupation?

Solution:
As the problem has many parts, so does the solution. One part is van operators need to be compensated 100% of the time they’re responsible for a carrier’s truck and/or trailer regardless of whether it’s loaded or empty, rolling down the highway, or waiting for dispatch. This could be a combination of per-day pay plus mileage; or straight hourly pay, or straight salary.

Another part: set up specific shipments and customers for each van operator which generate approximately the same revenue week after week, thus creating consistency in pay.

Finally, these same lanes could be structured so the van operator completes his primary outbound load near his residence. If he needs to wait for a load back to where the primary shipments are located, he’s at home.

Moving companies want good, professional van operators and movers for the long term. These folks want to be paid fairly; consistently, get home regularly and be respected by their chosen industry. 

It’s time to stop talking and start solving this problem.

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” –  Albert Einstein