“[MILLENNIALS] THINK DIFFERENTLY. THEY WANT


TO BE PROMOTED OFTEN. SO YOU HAVE TO TEACH CAREER PATIENCE. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO KEEP


THEM ENGAGED. THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT CAREER PATHING DOESN’T ALWAYS HAPPEN ON THEIR TIMELINE, BUT THAT THEY ALSO NEED TO


MAKE A COMMITMENT TO STAY WITH A COMPANY.” —JEFF HAMMONDS,


WALMART’S VICE PRESIDENT OF PRIVATE FLEET “What the board wanted was specif-


ically to bring in young people from all over in hopes they would form relation- ships and bonds that would strengthen our state association as a whole,” Heringer said. “We’ve had great speak- ers and lots of bonding experiences. I’ve always gotten a lot out of it.” Heringer’s own executive grooming


process was akin to being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool. He studied small business management at the University of Arkansas, but he also played football, and his career-related thoughts revolved around going pro rath- er than going into the corporate world. His family started in the oil business


in 1926, and always had their own trucks and hauled their own fuel. In 1994 the company formed a common carrier as Star Transportation. Heringer joined his father in 1998, when that part of the family business was still in its infancy. Busy with the oil and convenience store parts of the business, Heringer’s father handed him the trucking division and told him to make it work. “It was me and two other people in a


double-wide trailer, and we did the whole shooting match,” he said. “I kind of got thrown into a trial by fire – it was ‘Here son, make it work. If you need my help, holler.’ He showed me a lot of the finan- cial end, but as far as the nuts and bolts of getting this truck here and that truck there, I learned most of it by doing the wrong thing first.” Since then the company has grown from six trucks to 88 trucks, and


36


Heringer’s younger brother – educated as a lawyer – has joined the business. He, too, has had to get to know the trucking industry from the ground up, Heringer said. “I’ve enjoyed watching him learn,”


Heringer said. Because it’s a family business, there


aren’t as many opportunities for other young executives to climb the ranks, Heringer said. His company doesn’t invest in any formal executive grooming programs, but Heringer has been heav- ily involved in the 40 Under 40 Council and hopes his brother will take his place when he ages out of the group next year.


GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES Asked which speakers have stuck


with him over the years, Heringer men- tions one that isn’t even from inside the trucking industry: Fitz Hill, the former football coach and current president of Arkansas Baptist College. Hill spoke about general life skills that benefit lead- ers in any industry: how to influence people, how to be a good person and good businessman, the importance of responsibility. “It was just his story,” Heringer said.


“I remember that one quite well.” That kind of direct, personal con-


tact with older executives is invaluable for promising young professionals in the industry. It’s especially impor- tant for helping bridge the sometimes stark generational differences between Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millennial generation, whose members


are now in their 20s and early 30s. Hammonds says he sees two major


differences that he works on with the younger executives he mentors. “They think differently,” he said.


“They want to be promoted often. So you have to teach career patience. But you also have to keep them engaged. They need to understand that career pathing doesn’t always happen on their timeline, but that they also need to make a com- mitment to stay with a company.” A Millennial whose career star has


risen quickly by anyone’s standards, Still agrees with that description of her peers. “Baby Boomers say to wait and


work hard and you’ll get there,” she said. “Looking at Millennials, we want things quicker. We’ve had technology and a lot of things at our disposal all our lives.” Wing, who at 38 is on the tail end


of Generation X, says he sees that same difference between his generation and the younger one. “They’re more an 8-to-5 genera-


tion, and everything is always at their fingertips,” he said. “It’s an instant-grat- ification, instant-feedback world. I think that’s something everybody is getting more used to. We’ve had a lot of discus- sions about hiring Millennial employees into the industry.” Another difference Hammonds


deals with is that Millennials sometimes don’t think about the broader team. But, he said, they usually buy into the idea pretty quickly once it’s put on their radar.


Millennial employees are the future


of the trucking industry, though, and hir- ing and grooming the best ones is crucial for companies – especially those with a view toward growth, Hammonds said. “We’re obviously a very large com-


pany,” Hammonds said of Walmart. “If you look at the challenges of grow- ing a company to this size, one of the most demanding aspects is how you’re going to support it with talented people. Whether you’re operating another 300 stores or adding 500 trucks and drivers, you have to develop talented people that can manage the day-to-day of the com- pany and prepare for growth.” ATR


ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 1 2015


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