Hire Truckers Podcast

00:00 - 00:09
Ginger Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast, the show for fleet executives, HR leaders, and recruiting professionals. I'm your host, Ginger Craddock.

00:09 - 00:17
Aaron Craddock: And I'm your host, Aaron Craddock. Each week, we share actual insights, market trends, and proven strategies to help you grow and thrive.

00:17 - 00:44
Ginger Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast. I'm your host, Ginger Kradoch. Most fleets aren't struggling because they lack interest from drivers. They're feeling strained because the systems behind recruiting, development, and operations, they weren't designed for the volatility that we're operating in today. What worked five or ten years ago, it doesn't always hold up when expectations change.

00:45 - 01:15
Ginger Craddock: Freight cycles have tightened. The margins for misalignment get smaller when this happens. In this episode, we're gonna talk about where driver pipelines actually start to strain and what it looks like when a fleet intentionally designs for durability instead of just speed. I'm thrilled. My guest today is Amanda Worthing, director of driver employment at Roehl Transport.

01:15 - 01:42
Ginger Craddock: Roehl is featured here as a fleet that has been willing to learn, adjust, and refine its approach by focusing on fit, preparation, and alignment across recruiting life cycles. Amanda, I appreciate you being here and being willing to have a thoughtful systems level conversation about what it really takes to build pipelines that hold up over time.

01:43 - 01:47
Amanda Worthen: Thank you, Ginger, for having me. I'm so excited to be here and have this conversation.

01:48 - 02:05
Ginger Craddock: It is an incredible conversation, I know, from our prep, so I can't wait for our listeners to hear. So, Amanda, from your perspective, where do fleets often assume that their pipeline is struggling versus where strain actually begins to show up?

02:05 - 02:33
Amanda Worthen: I would say that the lack of good education and preparation for new CDL holders. We see drivers coming in all the time as their first CDL driving job with expectations that don't mean that just don't meet reality. I heard someone say recently that being an over the road truck driver or regional truck driver, it's a lifestyle. It's not a job. And, you know, I grew up my dad was a truck driver, so I know what that means to be at home waiting for dad to come home.

02:33 - 02:47
Amanda Worthen: Right? And so it's it's a choice that they have to make. It's a lifestyle that they have to make. Many drivers come into it thinking that it's the opposite. You know, we have a very robust training program for those drivers that we we work with at Rail.

02:47 - 03:16
Amanda Worthen: We send them out with a trainer for twenty six days to make sure that they can experience what that actually feels like to be on the road to have to do do laundry at the terminal or, you know, just get some downtime at a terminal or have to spend time in a cab with with a bunkmate or something like that. So we wanna make sure that that when they're out on the road, they know what that's gonna be like, that they can do that job safely, effectively, efficiently, and do whatever we can to make sure that they're set up to be successful.

03:18 - 04:07
Ginger Craddock: Amanda, that is so powerful in how your preparation unfolds in giving those drivers the opportunity to see what it feels like. I I mean, my brain went there when I heard you describing that because if you've not been a CDLA driver, to your point, you don't know what that looks like. And so to intentionally give that experience to new drivers, I can see how that reduces strain. That's incredible. What kind of feedback are you getting from your early drivers as they begin to experience what you guys are doing for them to help them understand the fit of the role of a professional truck driver?

04:07 - 04:30
Amanda Worthen: I think they really appreciate the experience, especially, you know, having a good trainer or good mentor there with them. And it's it's not something like maybe other carriers where they're just sitting in the passenger seat and we're using their logbook. They are actually in the seat of the truck. If the truck is moving there, the student is in the driver's seat, and the trainer is sitting right there beside you. They are you know, if if one's sleeping, they're both sleeping.

04:31 - 05:02
Amanda Worthen: If if the student's driving, then the then the trainer is in the passenger seat kinda helping them with what is it like to pull into a customer's yard and maybe they don't know where to go or how to how to do the paperwork that they need to do and how to communicate maybe some safety items that they need to get back to safety or with mechanicals, anything like that. They have that person with them. We we kinda use the nineteen to twenty six days. Some people catch on quicker, and so it could be a little bit less time. But we do give them that grace and the opportunity to learn with somebody right there beside them.

05:02 - 05:20
Amanda Worthen: And the the response that we're getting is they are so appreciative that somebody is actually there that they can talk to. They can show them how to get in and out and out of our terminal facilities and and how to best work their their hours to get the most out of their, you know, their time. So we've seen it very positively.

05:21 - 05:52
Ginger Craddock: Wow. And when you reduce that strain and that tension of the unknown, I can see how that builds confidence. So so that's a really clear picture of what you're doing for new drivers. Thinking about the more experienced drivers, what are some of the things that you're doing when you onboard the more experienced drivers that help orient them to rail and kind of reduce strain on the front end, even for the more experienced drivers?

05:53 - 06:14
Amanda Worthen: So for the experienced drivers, you know, we we bring them into our our local terminals in order to put them through orientation, and they're going to orientation with the students as well. They're gonna go out and they're going to do the road test, and and, you know, they're gonna be evaluated on their skills and all of that. If there's something that we see that's lacking, we don't go, oh, nope. You didn't pass. See you.

06:14 - 06:28
Amanda Worthen: Thanks. Come again. Right? We have those trainers there on-site that can maybe help them, give them a little bit of guidance, maybe tweak something if if it can date, you know, a few hours to help them work on. So I think we give them that that grace as well to be able to to kinda come in.

06:28 - 07:07
Amanda Worthen: And if they feel like they need a little helping hand, then they can. And then we also have, you know, we have top rate operations people that work with us, especially those that are gonna be in the in the flatbed divisions that we have, just the amount of support that I heard that we offer our flatbed drivers, I was blown away. You know, there's 247 support they can call anytime that they feel like they need a help or they feel maybe unsafe or they didn't scrap something correctly. You know, we'll have them take pictures of it and give them guidance. And so just that level of constant support, not feeling like they're alone, I think is tremendous.

07:07 - 07:32
Ginger Craddock: That's incredible. And and two things that I hear in that in that support is there's opportunity to maybe correct some bad habits potentially that an experienced driver has maybe developed over time. I heard you really when you said if they fail a section, you know, we're there to support, help coach Mhmm. Help resolve that. That's beautiful.

07:33 - 08:00
Ginger Craddock: And then in your example with the the flatbed, I thought back to what you said about your dad was a professional driver and what it looked like to come home. I'm a daddy's girl. And so when I think about my my dad or a family member being out on the road or being at risk, what that means to my heart that they have the support they need, that's incredible. Like

08:00 - 08:01
Amanda Worthen: Absolutely.

08:01 - 08:19
Ginger Craddock: That's that's next level. So I don't know if you're a daddy's girl like like me, but, like Absolutely. That your daddy is taken care of when when he's away. Yeah. And then as a wife too or and a mom, like, for my significant relationships, that really matters.

08:19 - 08:44
Amanda Worthen: So It does. And I was thinking about this the other day. Mike, like I told you, my dad was a truck driver, and those in the South will remember Hurricane Hugo back in, I think it was '88 or '89. My dad was a truck driver. He was an over the road truck driver at that time and was was getting trying to get home, and a tree fell on his truck, and he was having to kind of face the storm in his cab.

08:44 - 09:02
Amanda Worthen: And I was thinking about how rail if if you don't feel safe, then they tell you, don't get in the truck. You know, you kinda determine if you're going to get in that truck or not. And so we really listen to the drivers. If they say, I don't feel safe to drive, then that's taken very seriously. As I said, safety is our cornerstone value at rail.

09:02 - 09:25
Amanda Worthen: It is lived, breathed every single day, and I don't think that that's something that my dad probably had the the encouragement to say. I I don't feel safe driving. I I would prefer to bunker down somewhere safe instead of having to to drive his cab. So I really, really appreciate that about rail and what you said, like that really stuck home with me when I was thinking about, you know, my dad in that situation and how it would have been very different if he was at rail.

09:27 - 09:56
Ginger Craddock: That's incredible. I think in our industry, top of mind when we're having conversations about safety is the safety from the fleet side of the drivers for the scores and all the things that go with that. But that thoughtful intention and that safety to be able for the driver to say, hey, I don't feel safe. Here's what I need to be safe in this situation. Absolutely.

09:56 - 10:00
Ginger Craddock: And your connection back to hurricane, Hugo, that's powerful.

10:00 - 10:04
Amanda Worthen: Mhmm. Absolutely. You for trusting us with that.

10:04 - 10:13
Ginger Craddock: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for trusting us with that. That's a powerful illustration of what you guys are doing and why it matters. Mhmm.

10:13 - 10:23
Ginger Craddock: So what did Roehl begin to approach differently when the industry norm wasn't delivering the outcomes that you guys wanted?

10:24 - 10:57
Amanda Worthen: Something that I love about rail is we try to work with as many drivers as possible. We've created things like our relaunch program where we can work with drivers that maybe have had their CDL and maybe in the past ten years or so they've had experience, but maybe went into a a different career after COVID or it has just not hasn't been in the truck with that recent experience. You know, every carrier wants that. I need a year within the past three, or I want six of the whatever that is. We will take a look at those drivers, and we'll work with them through our relaunch program.

10:57 - 11:23
Amanda Worthen: We utilize the training program that's already set up, and we create, you know, personalized training for them, whether that be you know, do they need just a week or so of training with a with a trainer, or do they they need a few more days? But we get them into orientation. We evaluate what those skills are, and we're getting them set up with that trainer so they can get them back up to speed. We also continue to work on our well oiled recruiting machine. You know, we're always looking for ways to remove roadblocks from our process.

11:24 - 11:33
Amanda Worthen: We're gonna patch the holes where we have delays. You know, we we I hear it a lot of times from Tim. It's a yes until it's a no. Right? And so we're going to engage with them.

11:33 - 11:46
Amanda Worthen: We're going to move quickly, and we're going to make sure that they know that they have a home at rail until something comes up and we just can't go any further. Those are two ways that we're kind of working towards that. How can we be durable? How can we get to more drivers?

11:48 - 12:14
Ginger Craddock: That's incredible. And what I'm hearing from the relaunch program, the students, the seasoned experienced drivers, what I'm hearing from each of these examples is how you guys have built in the ability to customize the need of the driver to be able to bring them on at in a healthy, sustainable, durable way.

12:15 - 12:41
Amanda Worthen: Yes. And make sure that they're set up for success. You know, from a recruiter's perspective, not always the best, right, because we can't have set processes, or it can be difficult if we can work with everybody. So that that's that's a that's a little challenging, but so rewarding. Like like I said, when when you look at a driver that, you know, came through COVID and maybe stepped out of it for a year or two and now wants to come back, a lot of carriers would would just say no.

12:41 - 12:52
Amanda Worthen: But we can work with them, and we can try to find a home for them and make sure that their skills are up to par and make sure that they're gonna be a good safe driver, and they end up being fabulous for real. So it's a win win.

12:52 - 13:03
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13:03 - 13:29
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13:29 - 13:56
Ginger Craddock: And I appreciate you. This this intention towards the best fit for the driver and the preparation for the driver throughout the entire recruiting cycle. I appreciate that you've touched on some of that adapting to the need of the driver can feel a little bit potentially painful for the recruiters who are trying to move them maybe through the pipeline quickly.

13:57 - 13:57
Amanda Worthen: Yes.

13:57 - 14:11
Ginger Craddock: So what are some of the things that you do internally? I I love your awareness that recruiters may feel pain here. What are some of the things that you do to support your recruiters in this way?

14:13 - 14:40
Amanda Worthen: So, making sure that everybody has a clear understanding of, kind of where where the guy where the guardrails are. But as you said, it it can be a a painful process for the recruiters. You know, a lot of times you you work through getting them to orientation and get them in the door, and then something, you know, at another carriers might happen. And and now all of that work is gone because they've left orientation because it wasn't what you told them. Right?

14:40 - 15:04
Amanda Worthen: Rails put a lot of effort into making sure that the recruiter is setting clear expectations from that very first phone call. You know, we're not in the business of selling unrealistic expectations or trying to sell them something that just simply isn't true. So something that we've put in place is we started having our recruiters do an integrity worksheet so that the recruiters can review with the driver prior to them coming to orientation. This is what we review. Right?

15:04 - 15:18
Amanda Worthen: We we've talked about the fleet. We've talked about the pay. We've talked about what equipment you can expect. What are your expectations, and what is Roehl's expectations of you? And we wanna make sure that that driver fully understands what they're signing up for before they even get there.

15:18 - 15:25
Amanda Worthen: So it's not a he said, she said, my recruiter said this. I didn't she said she mentioned a sign on bonus. We're like, no. We didn't. No.

15:25 - 15:56
Amanda Worthen: We reviewed that with you. So that really cut down on the driver having a different story when they get to orientation and causing that confusion that can cause orientation teams a headache and, you know, loss of maybe funds to get the driver there, some travel costs and hotel costs and all that stuff. It really cuts down a lot of that. But I think it also kinda speaks to the driver that, you know, we wanna make sure you understand what we said and we wanna make sure that that we understood what you needed and we're gonna make that that good fit.

15:58 - 16:42
Ginger Craddock: The use of the language of the integrity worksheet and that it gives the driver the safety and security that he really he or she has heard exactly what Roehl is offering, but also the support, I can see how that would be really supportive to the recruiters as well because things in communication can get missed, but by going through that integrity worksheet, I can see how that would significantly reduce that risk, which not only supports the driver, but supports the recruiter for better outcomes.

16:42 - 16:42
Amanda Worthen: Absolutely.

16:43 - 17:01
Ginger Craddock: That's excellent. That that is outstanding. Yeah. So the integrity worksheet, it kind of illustrates that there's shared ownership between the driver and the recruiting. When I look at alignment, I want to kind of build upon that.

17:01 - 17:21
Ginger Craddock: Let's talk about alignment not just between the driver and recruiting, but let's talk about alignment around ownership across the departments, like recruiting, training, safety, and operations. What does that shared ownership across departments look like?

17:22 - 17:54
Amanda Worthen: For me, and I think for everybody at Roehl, the key is going to be consistent communication. In Marshfield, Wisconsin, where rail is, you know, headquartered, the the recruiting team and the operations team and safety, they're all sitting close together, and they're all in constant communication. There is daily check ins. There could be weekly check-in, monthly check ins. But all of those departments are talking together, and we each kind of know what we might be struggling with or what we're dealing with when it comes to maybe a a certain applicant, but we're all staying, you know, kind of aware and on the same page.

17:55 - 18:18
Amanda Worthen: I think it's good to kinda know where you shine and maybe stay in your lane. I think a lot of times, you know, there there can be a rub between recruiting and orientation or recruiting and safety. And then when that rub starts, the communication generally stops. Then you have to kinda get past that and and each know that you're working for the betterment of the company, working in in Rail's best interest. Right?

18:18 - 18:47
Amanda Worthen: Everybody's working to to keep to be safety top of mind and and work towards that that cornerstone value that rail has, but we're each doing our part. I personally would not be a good safety person because I think the best of everybody, and and I wanna see the good in everybody. And I would definitely not be good at operations, but I I think you let those people shine and and let them bring their expertise and just find a way that you can work together and stay in good communication. That's gonna be the the key for best alignment at Real.

18:48 - 20:00
Ginger Craddock: I love that imagery of letting each individual shine in what they bring to the table. And also what I hear and what you shared is alignment isn't a meeting one and done where we've communicated information, But what I heard is the the strategic multiple meetings across departments that help you guys create and understand what the shared expectation is. Absolutely. And and I'd like to go, if you don't mind, go a little bit deeper in kinda what comes to my mind is is sometimes we can get meeting fatigue, but if meetings are done right and they're strategic, they can genuinely create that shared expectation, that sense of teamwork. How do you guard against meeting fatigue and having effective meetings that create this cohesiveness that you guys, have built in for durability at Roehl?

20:02 - 20:14
Amanda Worthen: I mean, that's a little bit of a hard question. I I came from a company that was meeting fatigue, just a meet a meeting to have a meeting. Right? And that can be very stressful, especially when you look at your calendar and you're like, I have all these meetings. When am I gonna get my job done?

20:14 - 20:24
Amanda Worthen: Definitely top of mind at Braille. I think that I've been a part of meetings that we've all gotten together, and it's like, okay. What are the issues? And we don't have any. That's great.

20:24 - 20:45
Amanda Worthen: And but that means that that it doesn't mean that when we hang up, we're not going to, you know, be on a group email or maybe something has just now come up, now we're all addressing it. And so I think it's addressing it real time. It's not keeping them for that any one time where you meet on a a monthly meeting with orientation, and you're just gonna kind of just spout out all the issues that you have. Right? Just dump it at their feet.

20:45 - 21:17
Amanda Worthen: But we are in constant communication with orientation leaders, safety leaders, operations. When I started at Rail, you know, kind of put together a meeting for operations that where we can talk about what the openings are, and and it doesn't feel like it's a push and pull kind of conversation. Everybody's bringing something to the table, and everybody's kind of getting what they need out of it. And from a lot of those meetings, we've built, you know, tools that can be very helpful for for all sides, and so we've worked on that. But I just think it's addressing it in the in the time that it's happening.

21:17 - 21:26
Amanda Worthen: Don't don't kinda leave it for a a a big meeting so that it seems like a daunting task. Lot of times we just have a meeting to say hi because there are no issues and that's good too.

21:27 - 22:03
Ginger Craddock: Well, and that builds trust and relationship in the times where there aren't immediate issues, but also that relationship piece when there aren't issues is creating that sense of safety that I hear in the difficult conversations. Then when things do surface because I heard what you said, when difficult things it it's not a he, she, we blame, but, like Mhmm. Collaboratively, how do we solve? And it it takes both ends of the spectrum. That's excellent, Amanda.

22:03 - 22:10
Ginger Craddock: Thank you for sharing that with us. That's incredible. Thank you. Thank you. And so that's leadership, man.

22:10 - 22:30
Ginger Craddock: I love leadership, team development, and it's not buzzwords and slogans. Like, it's the real work in the trenches. And and I told our audience, this is gonna be like nuts and bolts, like operationally what these things can look like at scale, these details. So you're doing a great job of helping us see that picture at rail, Amanda. So Thank you.

22:30 - 22:42
Ginger Craddock: I want you're welcome. Speaking of leadership, what do leaders tend to underestimate about how recruiting systems operate day to day?

22:43 - 22:54
Amanda Worthen: I think executives often miss and underestimate recruiters and the recruiting by lining it up almost like an assembly line. You got the leads. You got the apps. You talk to the drivers. You're gonna get them in.

22:54 - 22:57
Amanda Worthen: Right? Get them in the door. Get them to orientation. Move them to the next step. Alright.

22:57 - 23:32
Amanda Worthen: Who's coming up next week? That can promote that feeling of I'm just a number at those types of trucking companies. You are a number on a on a recruiter's goal sheet that week, and that takes the human side away from recruiting. And I'm not a fan of that type of of recruiting cycle. Here at Roehl, we know that we have goals to reach, of course, just like every other company, But every single phone call that a recruiter has with a driver is an opportunity to find how Roehl and that driver can partner, where we can offer them a driving job that they want that's going to be safe, and and they know that they're coming on to a reliable carrier that they can partner with.

23:33 - 23:47
Amanda Worthen: That that's our goal at the end of the day. So I think executives should sometimes miss the forest for the trees. It's like we have to have the numbers. We have to have them come in. But if we get down to the human side of it, just make sure they're being treated like a number.

23:47 - 24:07
Amanda Worthen: They they have that good experience, and it's all about the driver experience in my opinion. When the when the recruiter gets them on the phone, they're building those relationships, and that's what's bringing them the door, not the fact that we called them 17 times, you know, right, to meet a goal or something on a sheet. So I think that's what it is for me from a leadership perspective, keep the human side in recruiting.

24:08 - 24:40
Ginger Craddock: Keep the human side in recruiting. And you've beautifully illustrated that from the new driver, the experienced driver, the driver that's reentering the workforce, the how you support your recruiters in this focus, and then how you communicate departmentally across teams. Like, I can see the human side that you have painted the picture, so well with, Amanda.

24:40 - 24:41
Amanda Worthen: Thank you.

24:41 - 25:12
Ginger Craddock: So I have a follow-up question for you. What do you enjoy most about the I don't think this is something that you were taught. I think you were intuitively this way. What is it that that really sets your heart on fire and gives you passion for what you do that is related to the human side of trucking. And I think this translates knowing you, I think this translates across not just your work, but I think this translates across just literally who you are as a human being.

25:12 - 25:46
Amanda Worthen: Oh, thank you. For me, it's that joy that you can either hear or see from a driver when they're sitting in orientation or or they've offered a job or you kind of give them exactly what they've been looking for. That excites me. And I I think I also step outside of it being, like, for me, for drivers, but I also see that when I'm talking about uplifting the recruiters that I work with, finding whether it be men or women to uplift into supervisor roles. You know, I I started off processing paper applications at at Cardinal.

25:47 - 26:06
Amanda Worthen: I had no experience. And to do that, my dad was a truck driver. That was all that I knew. But somebody saw a spark in me and got me involved in advertising and then got me involved in, you know, working with a VP of safety and and or in recruiting to talk about budgets and how to how to hire somebody. And and so that's that's kinda where I thought started.

26:06 - 26:32
Amanda Worthen: Somebody saw a spark in me, and I love to be able to kinda push that forward. I worked with several women in the industry to kinda move up to supervisor roles and manager roles and and kinda taking on the next step in their career, and that excites me. It makes me very happy. To be able to help them do that for drivers, man, that's what makes me get up every day and do this. It makes me smile.

26:33 - 27:00
Ginger Craddock: 100%. 100%. And I still see that spark in you and that's why leadership wise, the language that I use is, we have opportunity to expand the mountaintop with our leadership and we can bring as many people as possible with us. Not a competition in that kid game of king of the mountain where to get to the top, you gotta knock somebody else off. No.

27:00 - 27:20
Ginger Craddock: No. No. No. No. It is we can expand the mountaintop and that spark that is in you that others brought you along and and expanded your capacity, your ability, your skills, where you you're now doing that for drivers and and the other department leaders and and, the recruiters.

27:20 - 27:36
Ginger Craddock: That's just incredible, Amanda. Thank you. You're welcome. And so as we wrap up, when you step back, what tends to matter most when building pipelines that actually hold over time?

27:38 - 27:47
Amanda Worthen: So I'm gonna go back to the people. You know, I love my people. I think you hear all the time that you're talking about leads and pipelines. We don't have enough leads. We don't have enough leads.

27:48 - 28:02
Amanda Worthen: I think the leads are there. You need to go back and look at your process. Where does your boat have hold? Where are you losing leads or maybe an old process that's in place? Maybe you're a new leader in the department or maybe you're a new leader to the carrier.

28:02 - 28:11
Amanda Worthen: Have you done a complete audit of your driver journey? Are you looking at all of your phone numbers? Are they all working? Are they going to dead space? Are you looking at all drip marketing campaigns?

28:11 - 28:27
Amanda Worthen: Like, all of those are potential holes that you could be leaking leads. Because we're not seeing a a a shortage of leads coming in, but we are seeing that kind of a shortage of are we working them correctly? Are are we getting to them fast enough? That kind of thing. So for me, would go back to people.

28:27 - 28:34
Amanda Worthen: Is your process set up correctly? Do you have are your people trained correctly? And are you really kind of attacking those leads that are coming in?

28:36 - 29:06
Ginger Craddock: Wow. If our listeners see that there's holes in their pipeline or in communication across departments, you could take that action list right there at the end and know where to start. Thank you for the practical insights that you've shared, Amanda. Any closing thing that you would like to share that, hey, if you're in trucking, I want you to remember this.

29:07 - 29:42
Amanda Worthen: Just keep working hard at it. I think if you're a driver and and you're you're maybe new into your career, think about yourself as a professional truck driver and and really take ownership of that. I think a lot of times what we see in the recruiting space in mind, maybe not a lot of drivers know this, but we're looking at how many jobs have you been at. If you're getting up to six, seven, eight, nine, ten jobs in the last three years, that's a really hard sell for us as a recruiter to kinda say, is that person gonna stay? So if I'm speaking to a driver, I would say, the grass isn't always gonna be greener somewhere else.

29:43 - 30:04
Amanda Worthen: If you're having some difficult times, try try to stick to it. Give it six months. Right? And and just know that that matters to us in recruiting what we're looking at, those number of jobs, and and making sure that you can stay. From a just a recruiter standpoint, just never never accept status quo.

30:04 - 30:28
Amanda Worthen: Like I said, always be looking at your process. If something has has changed, did it break something that you had no clue was even out there? And always be asking questions. Stay stay inquisitive and and and just keep working at it because you're making a difference. And for me, like making a difference in a person's life is probably the best kind of job that you can have.

30:28 - 30:30
Amanda Worthen: So do it with everything you got.

30:31 - 30:51
Ginger Craddock: A 100%. And you're doing it with everything you've got, and it, attracts people to you just like a radiant light. And, we have opportunity to actually change this industry and change the world for good by being that light that I see in you, Amanda.

30:51 - 30:54
Amanda Worthen: Oh, thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you, Ginger.

30:54 - 31:21
Ginger Craddock: You're welcome, Amanda. So what I appreciate about this conversation is how clearly it shows that durable pipelines, they don't happen by accident. They're designed through alignment, preparation, and leadership across departments. It's prioritizing clarity over speed. Amanda, thank you for sharing how Roehl has learned, adjusted, and built for durability.

31:22 - 31:54
Ginger Craddock: For our listeners, if your pipeline's feeling strained, it's worth asking not who's the problem, but where does the system need attention? I'm cheering for you. I know that you can build durability into your pipeline. Until next time, this is Ginger with the Hire Truckers podcast. Okay.

31:54 - 31:57
Ginger Craddock: Did you awkward freeze frame there at the end?

31:57 - 31:58
Amanda Worthen: I did it.

31:58 - 32:02
Ginger Craddock: Good. I did it too. Hold over time.

32:03 - 32:12
Amanda Worthen: So I'm gonna go back to the people. You know, I love my people. I think you hear all the time that you're talking about leads and pipelines. We don't have enough leads. We don't have enough leads.

32:12 - 32:22
Amanda Worthen: I think the leads are there. You need to go back and look at your process. Mhmm. Where does your boat have hold? Where are you losing leads or maybe an old process that's in place?

32:22 - 32:34
Amanda Worthen: Maybe you're a new leader in the department or maybe you're a new leader to the carrier. Have you done a complete audit of your driver journey? Are you looking at all of your phone numbers? Are they all working? Are they going to dead space?

32:34 - 32:52
Amanda Worthen: Are you looking at all drip marketing campaigns? Like, all of those are potential holes that you could be leaking leads because we're not seeing a a a shortage of leads coming in, but we are seeing a kind of a shortage of, are we working them correctly? Are are we getting to them fast enough? That kind of thing. So for me, it would go back to people.

32:52 - 32:59
Amanda Worthen: Is your process set up correctly? Do you have, your people trained correctly? And are you really kind of attacking those leads that are coming in?

33:01 - 33:31
Ginger Craddock: Wow. If our listeners see that there's holes in their pipeline or in communication across departments, you could take that action list right there at the end and know where to start. Thank you for the practical insights that you've shared, Amanda. Any closing thing that you would like to share that, hey, if you're in trucking, I want you to remember this.

33:32 - 34:07
Amanda Worthen: Just keep working hard at it. I think if you're a driver and and you're you're maybe new into your career, think about yourself as a professional truck driver and and really take ownership of that. I think a lot of times what we see in the recruiting space in mom maybe not a lot of drivers know this, but we're looking at how many jobs have you been at. If you're getting up to six, seven, eight, nine, ten jobs in the last three years, that's a really hard sell for us as a recruiter to kinda say, that person gonna stay? So if I'm speaking to a driver, I would say, the grass isn't always gonna be greener somewhere else.

34:07 - 34:25
Amanda Worthen: If you're having some difficult times, try to stick to it. Give it six months. Right? And just know that that matters to us in recruiting, what we're looking at, those number of jobs, and and making sure that you can stay. From a just a recruiter standpoint, just never accept status quo.

34:25 - 34:47
Amanda Worthen: Like I said, always be looking at your process. If something has has changed, did it break something that you had no clue was even out there? And always be asking questions, stay inquisitive, and and just keep working at it because, you're making a difference. And for me, like making a difference in a person's life is probably the best kind of job that you can have. So do it with everything you got.

34:47 - 35:07
Ginger Craddock: A 100%. And you're doing it with everything you've got, and it, attracts people to you just like a radiant light. And, we have opportunity to actually change this industry and change the world for good by being that light that I see in you, Amanda.

35:07 - 35:10
Amanda Worthen: Oh, thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you, Ginger.

35:10 - 35:37
Ginger Craddock: You're welcome, Amanda. So what I appreciate about this conversation is how clearly it shows that durable pipelines, they don't happen by accident. They're designed through alignment, preparation, and leadership across departments. It's prioritizing clarity over speed. Amanda, thank you for sharing how Roehl has learned, adjusted, and built for durability.

35:38 - 36:12
Ginger Craddock: For our listeners, if your pipeline's feeling strained, it's worth asking not who's the problem, but where does the system need attention? I'm cheering for you. I know that you can build durability into your pipeline. Until next time, this is Ginger with the Hire Truckers podcast. Thank you for listening to the Hire Truckers podcast, the show for fleet executives, HR leaders, and recruiting professionals.

36:12 - 36:14
Ginger Craddock: I'm your host, Ginger Kratock.

36:14 - 36:26
Aaron Craddock: And I'm your host, Erin Kratock. Each week, we share insights, trends, and strategies to help you grow and thrive. If you found value today, please share the show and leave a review. Until next time, keep building top performing teams.