How Better Communication Leads to Stronger Driver Retention

00:00 - 00:22Robert Sitarski: I think the greatest disconnect, especially for recruiters to keep in mind, don't ever promise something that you can't deliver. I mean, that is where I think pretty much anyone would agree that's where you're going to lose a driver fast as you can, is if you can't deliver something that you've promised them. Don't ever do that to a driver because you will not retain them.

00:38 - 01:14Ginger Craddock: Rob, you work at the intersection of driver recruiting and driver relations, and you've participated in industry conversations about improving the driver hiring experience and delivering a positive return on investment. We spend a lot of time in trucking measuring what it costs to hire a driver, but far less time measuring the value of the relationship after the hire. Rob, what do you believe carriers are missing when they evaluate recruiting success?

01:15 - 01:43Robert Sitarski: I believe, and thank you, Ginger. It's such a pleasure to be here with you today. I believe what we miss is we miss the personal side of the driver. Being able to get to know the drivers. You can't get so caught up in the numbers and what the costs are because at the end of the day, the thing that's going to retain these drivers is it's not just the money.

01:43 - 02:15Robert Sitarski: The money's important. It's not just the benefits. It's the connection, the collaboration, the culture, and, and that, personal feeling that you get when you're, when a driver's in the in the yard and and he feels connected to and and feels like part of a team. And I I mean, I have a perfect example. I mean, I can remember the first time I ever went out on a on a trip for our company from the corporate office, and I was doing some dealership relations work.

02:16 - 02:36Robert Sitarski: And I was in I was in our our old Houston terminal over there, and I was sitting in the back office, lights, I'm getting ready to shut the lights off. I keep hearing, somebody out in the in the, main office area saying, man, I appreciate you. Thank you. I appreciate what you do. And I just keep hearing this going over and over again.

02:36 - 02:59Robert Sitarski: I know it's our terminal manager out there. And I was so impressed, just hearing that. And I was like, wonder who he's talking to on the phone. And as I walked out with my bag and carrying all my stuff with me, he comes running out of his office and he shakes my hand and he goes, Man, Rob, thank you so much for what you do for me every single day. And I'm just like, You know what?

02:59 - 03:16Robert Sitarski: I wanted to jump in a truck and start driving one of his trucks, you know, and helping him out any way I could. It just really pumped me up, made me feel so wanted. And I think we miss that a lot when we're talking to drivers and evaluating drivers. It's what effect we can have on them.

03:17 - 03:27Ginger Craddock: Yeah. Yeah. And so how did that experience in that moment... I I hear you were ready to go drive a truck, and that isn't even what you were thinking about Yeah. Doing.

03:27 - 03:37Ginger Craddock: But how did that experience change the way that you think about recruiting success? It more What did you integrate in after that experience?

03:37 - 04:26Robert Sitarski: Bringing that... A a more thankful, a much more a way of, of kind of coming at drivers more personably, understanding that some drivers, I mean, there's a lot of different, different personalities and traits out there, but I know, I don't know anybody who doesn't, who doesn't enjoy a relationship with somebody that of, of like a friendship with someone, you know, and treating them like a human being and not just a number coming in, you know, we lose that sometimes. It's like, okay, hurry up, hurry up. Let's just get these guys started. Know, and guys are, you know, especially for even myself, guys are always afraid of change, you know, as far as I am concerned, you know, Especially drivers, man.

04:26 - 04:51Robert Sitarski: You give them a new tablet and an ELD device in their truck, and oh my gosh, I hate it. I can't stand it. Two weeks later, they realize it's so much easier to use than that last one. And I mean, change is really hard, but to have that, that support and that connection when you're recruiting and just just talking to talking to somebody, and and really getting to let them speak is what it it really boils down to.

04:53 - 05:07Ginger Craddock: I love the let them speak. And so thinking about what you know about drivers today, what do you wish that you had understood earlier in your recruiting career?

05:09 - 05:38Robert Sitarski: You know what? I drove for many years, so I take a... There's a lot of things that I see early in the recruiting career. When I first came over and I started working with our recruiting team at Hanson Atkins, there was a I think I wish I would have known that it's okay to be yourself while you're talking to somebody. You don't have to be a machine.

05:38 - 06:11Robert Sitarski: You don't have to go through all these motions and try to just cut people off. Drivers like to talk, you know, and they like to carry on a conversation and they love to get feedback. So I think that's what I can really take is just being a more personable kind of a person when I'm speaking to somebody. It's not about just getting somebody to fill out an application as fast as you can. It's about taking the time to explain the company, to explain what they're going to experience, and not rushing them through.

06:12 - 06:50Ginger Craddock: That is so good. And I think with all of the innovative technologies that we have right now, what I'm seeing across the human experience is people are craving authentic conversations. And so thinking about every recruiting conversation, every recruiting conversation creates expectations about compensation, home time, equipment, and about the work itself. Where do you see the greatest disconnect between what drivers expect and what they experience once they're hired?

06:50 - 07:30Robert Sitarski: I think the greatest disconnect is for, especially for recruiters, keep in mind, don't ever promise something that you can't deliver. I mean, that is where, I think, I think pretty much anyone would agree that's where you're going lose a driver fast as you can, is if you can't deliver something that that you've promised them. So don't make broken promises to any driver and don't expect them to understand, Oh, I made a mistake, or Oh, I shouldn't have said that because it's a different... You know. Don't ever do that to to a driver because you will not retain them.

07:31 - 07:43Ginger Craddock: That's good insight. And a a tip for recruiters. How can recruiters build trust without overselling the opportunity?

07:44 - 08:10Robert Sitarski: I think they need to be need to be truthful. They need to be... You you you definitely cannot promise. Like I said before, promise something that you can deliver. You have to, if you're going to, if you say you're going to do something, for a candidate, whether that's sending them some, some hyperlink or something for them to update their app or whatever it might be, don't delay.

08:10 - 08:21Robert Sitarski: Make that person feel important. Make them know that they're important. Because at the end of the day, our drivers are the ones who are paying all the bills. They're out there working. We're behind a desk, you know?

08:21 - 08:32Robert Sitarski: We're making sure that we keep everybody staffed, making sure our customers are happy. But at the end of the day, we need to treat our drivers like they're our customers. And they Oh,

08:32 - 08:48Ginger Craddock: I love that. Treat drivers like they're our customers. Yeah. Are. So Hansen and Atkins operates in specialized auto transport where the responsibilities and the demands differ from traditional freight.

08:49 - 08:59Ginger Craddock: What characteristics tell you a driver will not only exceed in the role that you want, but they're likely to stay?

09:00 - 09:25Robert Sitarski: You know what? Some of the characteristics that I think, you, you, you kind of talk to a person, a driver about is, are they critical thinkers? Are you a critical thinker? You know, because there's a lot of decisions that can be made. I mean, you're, you're operating a piece of machinery that, if you don't follow the proper steps, you can, you can damage yourself.

09:25 - 09:36Robert Sitarski: You can, you can hurt people out there. You've got to make sure everything's strapped down. Are you a compliant driver? You look at their MVR PSP. Are they compliant?

09:36 - 09:49Robert Sitarski: Are they, are they, taking care of what they are responsible for out on the road? And are they self motivated? Are you a motivated person? Do you have an upbeat personality? Are you good with customer service?

09:49 - 10:15Robert Sitarski: You know, just a conversation alone with somebody. I mean, not everybody is happy go lucky every 20 fourseven. I know that, and we all know that you can have your good days and you can have your bad days, but when you're coming and it's time for you to be a professional in front of a customer, no matter how your day is going, you know, you got to put a smile and you've got... Especially if you wanna keep that customer. You know?

10:15 - 10:19Robert Sitarski: So I think it's important that... Those are basically the characteristics that we look at.

10:21 - 10:32Ginger Craddock: That's a helpful frame. And what if you learned about the difference between a qualified driver and the right fit driver?

10:32 - 10:47Robert Sitarski: Well, right fit driver, he meets all the basic qualifications. Right? He's gonna... You could put him in the seat and, he could be able to drive that truck. But if he doesn't meet...

10:47 - 11:17Robert Sitarski: If he he... He's lacking one of those, intangibles that, you know, you see he's he's, he's gonna hurt himself or or damage, freight. And it's, it just may not be a good fit. Not everybody's a good fit, you know? But, but I think I think the assessment you take and listening to your, I think it's very important to listen to them as well, because you don't even have to take a guess on whether they're going to be a good fit.

11:17 - 11:37Robert Sitarski: They're going to tell you, Hey, this is for me. This is not for me. When you're honest and truthful with a driver, especially during the recruiting process, you're not holding anything back. Boy, you're going to be out there loading in the weather. You're going to be, harsh weather conditions at times, you know, cold, hot, whatever it might be.

11:37 - 11:50Robert Sitarski: And, and, you know, are you good with that? Are you good with, you know, sometimes you work on Saturdays. Are you good working on a Saturday? Nothing can be a surprise because that's where you're gonna lose people.

11:52 - 12:23Ginger Craddock: So I hear you on that right fit driver looking and being curious and really listening, and they reveal where they fit within Hansen and Atkins. And if they are that right fit driver to hit all of these things that you've talked about. That's excellent insight. So when we look at the first ninety days, we know that the relationship doesn't end when the driver accepts an offer. So let's say you've got that right fit driver, you've listened to them.

12:23 - 12:36Ginger Craddock: What happens during onboarding and those first few months that determines whether a driver develops confidence in the company or they begin to question the decision to join?

12:36 - 13:05Robert Sitarski: You know what? That's a really good question because we take lot of pride in doing a ninety day our recruiters do. They take it upon themselves to do like an onboarding. They call it an onboarding ninety day onboarding call. They make that connection and we share that information that that driver gives on this ninety day to everybody pretty much in the company.

13:06 - 13:20Robert Sitarski: And we'll say, Hey, look, this is what this guy might be struggling on. He maybe needs some help. Maybe it's mechanical, maybe it's insurance benefit. Who knows what it is that he needs help with that he's not sure about? But also that mentorship.

13:20 - 13:44Robert Sitarski: So we have our driver trainers so that, that at the terminals and I have, our driver council members. There's critical phone numbers that they can find on our Luma app that we have for everybody is part of that. And even my number's on there. So I love talking to the drivers. I love finding out how they're doing and I harp like crazy.

13:44 - 13:58Robert Sitarski: I'm constantly calling calling our driver's up on the phone. I love it because it just helps me to understand where they're at. I hear something that's, you know, hey, this guy is having, an issue. He doesn't understand something. I want to call them.

13:58 - 14:18Robert Sitarski: And then I want to call the rest of their drivers in that terminal just to find out if they've experienced that same problem or if it's just like an anomaly. Maybe it's a truck issue. Who knows what it is? But, all these things that, taking the time to really speak to them and listen to them, I mean, they help us out tremendously.

14:21 - 14:46Ginger Craddock: And so what I hear is you're listening before you're losing a driver. And so in your driver relations role, you're in a position to hear concerns that may never reach executive leadership. So what if drivers taught you about why they stay, why they leave, and what matters most to them?

14:46 - 15:25Robert Sitarski: You know what? A lot of times, I think it's the culture and the atmosphere in our in our company that the reason why drivers stay. I mean, you can almost, you're, you know, there's a lot of different companies out there and, but there's not the same culture in all those companies, you know, when they're leaving, when drivers leave, I hear a lot of, a lot of different things. Maybe it might be a, this guy's given a bonus or they were told this and sometimes the... They hear rumors or something like that.

15:25 - 15:42Robert Sitarski: And and like, like we talked about before, this this industry is a... Even though there's a lot of car haul companies, it's so funny. Everybody kind of gets to know each other. You know? And heck, I was in Jessup, Maryland nine years ago.

15:42 - 16:16Robert Sitarski: I went to Jessup, Maryland, and and I ran into a driver that I hauled cars with years ago out of Southern California. It's just... The guys... The one thing I tell drivers in this industry, when they come in, especially new car haulers when I interview them, I say, look, the one thing that I'm going to warn you about with this, learning to be a car hauler is once you learn how to haul cars, you're probably never going to do anything else in your career. And if you do, you're going to come back to it again because it's a, it's a skill that it takes a while to learn.

16:16 - 16:23Robert Sitarski: And once you learn it, there's no way you're going to turn around and go off. And if you do, you realize, man, how much easier it was to haul cars.

16:25 - 16:45Ginger Craddock: Love that. And so you're really listening to the driver, and I'm gonna touch back on the driver council that you kinda mentioned. And and so you you guys have done an incredible job of giving drivers a seat at the table. Yes. So, Rob, I wanna explore the idea of a driver council.

16:45 - 17:10Ginger Craddock: There's a difference between asking a driver for feedback and genuinely inviting them to collaborate in shaping the company that they represent. So what does an effective driver council look like and how do you establish a mission that brings drivers and leadership together around the shared success.

17:10 - 17:48Robert Sitarski: It's so funny because I think that when I was asked to do the driver council, I didn't know what it was. I mean, I drove for a lot of years for our company and I think it was probably, I heard like rumbling somebody talking about it at one of the terminals one day, and he happened to be a member of the Driver Council, but I didn't know that till later on. And, I was asked to, to, and I, and I was kind of like, it's, it was, it was explained to me what exactly the driver council is. And it's a, what it is a group of drivers from different regions across the country. We get those drivers, on a call once a month.

17:48 - 18:28Robert Sitarski: And for us, it's the first Friday of every month. And, the drivers are on there to collaborate. The main goal of the driver council is to, to kind of bring together upper management, corporate, and the drivers all the way to kind of collaborate together, understand where the drivers are at, understand where the corporate's at, and understand that we're all working for one purpose, that is to make the company successful. And without them, there's no way we can be successful. And without them guiding us and telling us what it is that that will help us to be successful, there's no way we can just figure it out on our own.

18:28 - 18:40Robert Sitarski: We'll just be a a revolving door. Right? So, it it it kinda sparked a lot of, lot of different interest as far as... It was so funny when I first got it. I'm calling every...

18:40 - 19:07Robert Sitarski: All these different drivers that I'm just looking at, like, these drivers who have these awesome numbers, not just not just, revenue numbers or safety is impeccable. Everything about what they do is just screams professional, safety minded individuals and calling them up and saying, hey. Could you be on a driver council? And they're like, what is that? And and, so I explained it to him.

19:07 - 19:15Robert Sitarski: I kind of... My first round was a lot of talking guys into it. Right? And, oh, no. You're gonna talk talk to the, the owner of the company.

19:15 - 19:26Robert Sitarski: You're gonna talk to everybody that is in upper management every once a month and everything like that. And, guys were like, yeah. I'll try it out. I guess I'll try it out. It's not about you.

19:26 - 19:43Robert Sitarski: It's about your region. You know? We can have those individual... If you're having an individual issue, then we'll take that off the air. But one thing that we wanted to do and I wanted to to address is that any issue that's brought to, the attention of...

19:43 - 20:16Robert Sitarski: On the driver council, we need an answer for it. And whether that's a yes, no, or maybe, but we needed to have resolution to it because it's important for important for enough for them to bring up during a driver council call. It's important for us to take care of that situation as fast as we could. And, I mean, was, it was bought, everybody bought into it from the, from the top to the bottom. And it's really impacted us to the point where we have a mentorship program with our Driver Council members.

20:16 - 20:55Robert Sitarski: There are numbers available to everybody in the entire company and they can get on there. If like, say you're in, in a certain part of the country, you can look up who that driver council is and you've never been to this dealership and you don't know who to call and how to get there and you don't want to cause any damages. You can call that driver council if he member up, and if he doesn't know where that's at, he's going to get somebody from that area that's going to get you the directions and get you from point A to point B safely and whatever else you need. And it's really, it's been a culture change for us in a, in a real positive way. And there's a lot more to it, but it is, it's...

20:55 - 20:58Robert Sitarski: I have a blast and the guys love it. You know?

20:59 - 21:13Ginger Craddock: That's a that's a great frame. And and so I've had experience of driver councils going well and driver councils that don't go well. And so my... I'm gonna nuance this out a little bit. So I'm gonna start with leadership.

21:14 - 21:47Ginger Craddock: What mindset should leadership bring to the table to create this genuine collaboration rather than just another forum for complaints. So there's a leadership side to that in framing and how the leaders need to come to the table to create that genuine collaboration. And also there's a mindset and a framing for the drivers so they understand it's not just a complaint session. So what's the mindset for the leaders and the drivers?

21:47 - 22:15Robert Sitarski: I think, and I've explained it to both our leaders and our drivers, that to be open to answer any question anybody has. And you know what? It might lean, there might be a personal question that comes up during the call. And you may have to say, oh yeah, by the that we can handle that off the call or, you know, or what have you. But, for the most part, I think that the willingness for anybody who it may pertain to...

22:15 - 22:34Robert Sitarski: Like, we have our our director of of our maintenance on that call, and he can answer any questions. There might be a concern about trucks or a concern about something that keeps going wrong with a certain, number of our trucks or something like that. Hey. I've noticed this or that. To bring that to his attention is huge.

22:34 - 23:01Robert Sitarski: And he's open to say, hey. You know what? I need to get with all my, regional managers, and we need to make sure that we're not having this issue anywhere. And, I mean, it's just about being, willing to answer and jump on and and, resolve any issues that come up because these issues aren't just affecting the individual driver. This is affecting the whole entire, region, you know, and that's why it's brought up on that call.

23:01 - 23:29Robert Sitarski: But I mean, some really cool stuff that's happened. I mean, our design of our new trucks that we got this last year was, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give you this owner of our company. I'm gonna give you the guys all the schematics and everything else on it. I want you guys to pick out what options you want on that truck and and what you guys wanna do with, you know, what would what would suit you guys and what wouldn't suit you guys for this truck. And, you're designing this truck.

23:29 - 23:46Robert Sitarski: And to put that on the drivers, I mean, you don't even... You can't even imagine the amount of pride these guys had doing that. You know? And they took it and they ran with it and they... And then they didn't get every option because they knew they weren't gonna be they don't need that stuff.

23:46 - 23:53Robert Sitarski: You know? They just went with what would help them and help the company, and that's what it's all about. You know? Just that collaboration.

23:55 - 24:28Ginger Craddock: I hear you on that collaboration. And what it strikes me, I really appreciate that tangible example of the new trucks. Leadership didn't just go purchase what they thought the driver wanted, they brought it to the driver council. So what strikes me is the most effective driver councils, they're not built around what drivers want from leadership or what leadership wants from drivers. What I'm hearing is they're built around what both can accomplish together.

24:28 - 24:49Ginger Craddock: It's this shared mindset of being successful as a team, as an organization. Hiring CDL drivers isn't about more leads. It's about better ones. That's why serious carriers partner with Hire Truckers by Trucking Clicks. We don't sell ads.

24:49 - 25:20Ginger Craddock: We bring clear strategy, straight talk, and a relentless focus on quality drivers. Even in a tough market, our clients see improved performance month over month. By optimizing smarter and making every hiring dollar work harder. For honest insight, sharper targeting, and results that you can trust. Visit truckingclicks.com or call (512) 982-0816.

25:20 - 25:57Ginger Craddock: Hire Truckers by Trucking Clicks. Clarity, courage, results. So that brings me to the hidden ROI of these nuanced relational decisions. You participated in the Women in Trucking panel focused on improving the driver hiring experience and delivering positive ROI. Beyond cost per hire, what should fleet leaders measure to understand whether their recruiting investment is creating long term value?

25:59 - 26:37Robert Sitarski: Well, I think what they need to do is making sure that it creates long term value. I think, I think they should be looking at the big picture seeing, I think that focus needs to be put on, on, on finding out how the, how the drivers are doing, you know, how they're, how they feel, how the drivers are they happy? Are we just having issues constantly with the drivers? Is there problems? Know, problems are going to be around, but what is it that keeps our drivers?

26:37 - 27:10Robert Sitarski: I think that retention is for everybody these days. I mean, there's so many everybody's trying to poach everybody else's drivers out there. No matter what you do, you're always seeing somebody's got a bonus out there or a, hey, I'm gonna give you a $20,000 bonus just to sign up and all this stuff. And there's a lot of promises like that. I don't think that those kinds of promises are genuine all the time because they understand without that, no, the drivers wouldn't go to these companies, you know?

27:10 - 27:47Robert Sitarski: So it's important to make sure that, to really to gauge the... And to gauge how the drivers are doing, and and take a survey. We've done surveys with our drivers to kind of see where you're at, you know, how do you feel about about, you know, the the company and you've only been here for so long. Like I said, there's there's there's a little there's a hidden gem in there that you just gotta get by to to make sure that your drivers... You keep a focus on your drivers.

27:47 - 27:48Robert Sitarski: And boy, that's very...

27:48 - 28:17Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And when we talk about attracting the right fit driver and we talk about retention, yes, there's bonuses out there, but to your point, why are you having to offer bonuses? What other levers can you pull? What I hear in this communication with the driver counsel and the other things that you guys are building is you're intentional about breaking down silos. So that has to do with driver experience.

28:17 - 28:51Ginger Craddock: And so in recruiting, when we're looking at recruiting operations safety and driver relations, all of those influence whether a driver stays and they each have unique responsibilities to the driver and to the company and to the bottom line. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for these teams to work together more effectively that help everybody involved, not only driver retention, but the breaking down of silos and the communication across teams?

28:51 - 29:51Robert Sitarski: I think that to be, to have somebody, like like, even for our our terminals, for instance, to have somebody there continuously, being in it, you know, bringing it to the driver, not just bringing it from a letter or a... An email that comes out to actually, listen to the driver, to, to pay attention to what the driver's needs are, to just to be there and bring it to the driver. And even if it's like safety or whatever it may be, it's better not to have just a spreadsheet sent out to the driver, but to have the driver right there and talk to him about it. Because right there, I think that's gonna do so many wonders for you rather than just these metrics that we all try to measure, you know, and all these intangibles and everything. I think it's so important.

29:52 - 29:53Robert Sitarski: I can't stress it enough.

29:55 - 30:09Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And so I'm thinking about building a competitive advantage. So if two carriers offer comparable pay, equipment, and home time, you've been in the driver's seat. Yep. You've been in these other places.

30:09 - 30:18Ginger Craddock: What ultimately makes a driver choose to stay over versus one who changes and goes to someone else?

30:18 - 30:43Robert Sitarski: I think they're just completely aligned. The only difference is the name on the side of the door of the truck. I think the thing that makes them stay is definitely gotta be the culture. It's gotta be what that company has created there. For our company, it's a family feel that we have, you know?

30:43 - 31:10Robert Sitarski: And I get that from not just, it's not just me saying that because I do love our company, but it is our drivers. They that's the one thing that they always are, are saying, man, there's, I just, especially drivers who have returned, we've had some drivers return and they go, should have never have left. It was, you know, just the wrong decision. And and, oh, man, I'm just so relieved to be back in the Hansen and Atkins family, you know? So it's really neat.

31:12 - 31:41Ginger Craddock: That's incredible. And so before we jump into our rapid fire, Rob, I'd love for you to tell me about a driver relationship that changed the way that you approach recruiting or driver relations? Maybe it was a driver that you nearly lost. Maybe it was someone whose concerns weren't being heard or someone who reminded you why the human side of this business matters.

31:41 - 32:06Robert Sitarski: You know what? That happened for me a long time ago before I ever even stepped into this recruiting role. One of my best friends, I mean, one of the greatest guys you've ever met in your life, was his name is Art Torres, just so I could throw it out there because he meant so much to me. He driving back from one location to the next. His truck he had a truck issue.

32:06 - 33:00Robert Sitarski: And he broke down on the side of the road and he was walking around the front of his truck. And another truck came flying up and this was a car hauler came flying up on the back end, ran him over with his own truck, he was killed instantly. And I can, I'll never forget the, management staff coming over and they were there and, and they were like, the care and concern that they all were having after that showing to all of us, it was like they were real distant before, and this was at a company many years ago, very distant before, but all of a sudden now they were wanting to be, they were very, it struck them, you know? And for me, I always remember that one time saying, you don't know. I mean, can happen to anybody any day, not just at work, even at home.

33:02 - 33:20Robert Sitarski: And every single driver has a family. They mourn, they miss them when they're not home, and when they are home, they're happy. So for me, it's always been making sure that the drivers understand that we care about them.

33:21 - 33:45Ginger Craddock: And I love that illustration. Don't wait until something happens. Demonstrate the care and the concern, not for just what's obviously in your face in a traumatic event, but remember to keep that care and concern with the person that's in front of you in the moment. And you've told that story really well. So Rob, now we're gonna transition into rapid fire.

33:45 - 33:46Ginger Craddock: Are you ready?

33:46 - 33:48Robert Sitarski: I'm ready. Let's go.

33:48 - 33:51Ginger Craddock: Okay. Let's go. Empty truck or wrong driver?

33:53 - 33:56Robert Sitarski: I'd rather have an empty truck than a wrong driver.

33:56 - 34:01Ginger Craddock: Recruiting promise or driver experience?

34:01 - 34:02Robert Sitarski: Driver experience.

34:04 - 34:07Ginger Craddock: Better compensation or better communication?

34:07 - 34:08Robert Sitarski: Better communication.

34:10 - 34:13Ginger Craddock: First thirty days or first ninety days.

34:13 - 34:15Robert Sitarski: Gotta get to them early, the first thirty days.

34:18 - 34:20Ginger Craddock: Driver feedback or exit interviews?

34:20 - 34:23Robert Sitarski: Driver feedback. I don't wanna do an exit interview.

34:24 - 34:29Ginger Craddock: I love it. Yes. One early warning sign a driver may leave.

34:30 - 34:31Robert Sitarski: They stop communicating.

34:32 - 34:36Ginger Craddock: One thing recruiters should never promise.

34:37 - 34:38Robert Sitarski: Anything they can't deliver.

34:40 - 34:45Ginger Craddock: One driver relationship metric more carriers should track.

34:47 - 35:02Robert Sitarski: Driver metric? Some carriers should track. I think they should track that they don't track. Gosh, you're stumping me right now. How about your tractor VOEs?

35:03 - 35:03Robert Sitarski: Would say

35:03 - 35:09Ginger Craddock: There you go. What gives you optimism about trucking right now?

35:10 - 35:22Robert Sitarski: You know what? It's... It went from... I see it like a lot of young people getting into it. You know, I see a lot of, I see a lot of one and two year guys coming over and applying to our company.

35:22 - 36:04Robert Sitarski: Six month guys trying to see, Hey, how much, how much time do you need? And, young guys that are all excited about hauling cars and, and working in the industry. So I think that gives me a lot of optimism that if you can remember way back in the day when it was just kind of like truck drivers had a reputation, you know, wrongfully so. We were all kind of put into this box that we were just these, grumpy old people that drove around in a truck and, and got mad at everybody. And, and they, and they didn't have, they weren't real talkative, and they were just grumpy all the time.

36:04 - 36:12Robert Sitarski: And nowadays, I see this, it's kind of changed. And I think a lot of that has to do with the people that are getting into the industry now.

36:14 - 36:37Ginger Craddock: That is incredibly encouraging, and I'm seeing some good signs as well. And so, Rob, if a fleet executive listening today wants to improve retention and get a stronger return on their recruiting investment, what's the first thing that you would encourage them to change about how they build and maintain relationships with drivers?

36:38 - 37:14Robert Sitarski: Boy, I tell you right now, I would definitely consider, getting myself a driver council like what we have here. Get drivers to, to help drivers when they need it, when they need mentorship, when they need somebody to talk to, have those representatives to be able to get on there other drivers to be able to get on there and talk to them and help them out when they're having some struggles. Because sometimes things happen at home. That's another thing we seem to forget. And these drivers have a home life.

37:14 - 37:38Robert Sitarski: They have a family that's waiting for them there and they may be struggling with something at home too. And it may affect them at work just like it does to everyone. So I think it's so important because they're stuck in a 12 by 12 box, seems like all day long driving, be able to connect with them personally and, and make sure that they're okay, you know, and that happens through mentors.

37:40 - 37:55Ginger Craddock: That's incredible. So Rob, thank you for the thoughtful conversation today. Where can listeners connect with you and learn more about the work that you're doing at Hansen and Atkins, which is a division of proficient auto logistics.

37:55 - 38:23Robert Sitarski: Yes. They can reach me on LinkedIn, Robert Satarsky. I'm on LinkedIn. They can also, I'll put my phone number out there as (714) 615-3992. I have no problem with connections and, I'd love to help you, anyone that's out there that needs some, some guidance or, and, and I've worked with people on, that I've met at certain, like, certain trade shows, so to speak.

38:24 - 38:33Robert Sitarski: And, we've collaborated a lot on Driver Relations and Driver Retention, and it was a huge help to me. So I'm always willing to help anyone out that needs it.

38:34 - 38:52Ginger Craddock: Rob, thank you so much. We will include that in the show notes. Thank you for joining me. I appreciate your insights and the work that you're doing to make a difference in our industry. And to everyone who's listening, I wanna say thank you for being a part of the Hire Truckers Podcast.

38:53 - 38:59Ginger Craddock: Until next time, keep learning, keep leading, and keep remembering to find joy in the journey.