bonus for joining their fleet, which only encourages the cyclical nature of drivers hopping around — the current best practice many carriers rally around. Tis begs asking: “What about keeping the


drivers?” Pay tends to be the primary argument for


retaining drivers. Executives constantly stated that pay is the biggest issue, sharing that we’ve got to find a way to pay the drivers more. Tis is true to an extent, as drivers need


to make a livable wage, but the Harvard Business Review has shown there is merely a 2% overlap between pay and job satisfaction levels. Pay matters and is an influencer of employee engagement, but consistent pay wins the day, as a lack of pay does create a barrier to engagement. All of this talk of pay (good or bad) could


ultimately have a negative effect on drivers’ perceptions towards work. Te people that focus too much on how much they make could be preventing themselves from enjoying their jobs. A 2010 MIT study showed that this


indeed the case to keep employees happy: professionals must receive enough money to


take the issue of compensation off the table, something that has been a challenge for the industry since deregulation. An increasing number of carriers like Covenant Transport are setting minimum weekly payments to drivers to let them know they aren’t running a $300 a week operation. Tis falls right in line with the study: if


pay is no longer the primary focus, drivers can focus on doing their best work. But there are a number of ways, beyond


pay that are differentiators in keeping drivers. According to Harvard Business Review, “employees who are intrinsically motivated are three times more engaged than employees who are extrinsically motivated (such as by money).” Tis goes to show that carriers that go beyond pay win the day. In talking with dozens of drivers, many


highlighted the joys of barbecues at terminals, open door policies and driver advisor councils as a few ways carriers build strong sentiment with their drivers. However, when it came down to the biggest reasons drivers thrive with their carrier, as opposed to continuous departures, it comes down to purpose and


respect. When it comes to establishing the purpose


of a carrier, the first question that should be asked by everyone, whether executive or employee is why do we do what we do? If the first answer that comes to mind is profitability, an immediate concern should arise. As the workforce increases with


millennials, the purpose of an organization will take center stage. Understanding the rallying cause of why this company is in business is vital. Te purposes to think through are around “who do we serve as our customer?” and how do we enrich the lives and communities around us? As all of us know, trucking carriers a tremendous purpose with it, but sometimes we get lost in the dollars and cents to remember the stories and sacrifices of the drivers and the customers they serve. When the purpose is bigger than the


paycheck, people will go out of their way to make a difference. Instead of having a fleet of individual drivers, there’s a fleet rallying for the same cause. One carrier that has taken this approach is Roehl Transport. On their website they prominently display “Driving


8


NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 4, 2015 — www.nebtrucking.com


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