Make The First Call Count
What recruiters need to know to be productive and successful.
Patricia Smith
Senior Editor
A driver's first call to a recruiter can leave a lasting impression. And if that recruiter is little more than an untrained screener armed with a checklist of benefits and required qualifications, that first contact might be the last.
"I call that 'good intentions gone bad,' " says Kelly Anderson, president and CEO of Neosho, Mo.-based Impact Transportation Solutions.
The intent, he says, is to weed out unqualified drivers with that first phone call, giving better-trained, higher-paid interviewers more time to concentrate on the best candidates.
"But competition is so great that few good drivers are willing to wait for that second round," he notes. "You've got one chance and that's the initial phone call. If you don't capitalize on that first chance, you lose them."
Anderson is a former driver who managed CFI's recruiting department before leaving in 1998 to form his own company, specializing in driver retention and recruiter training. He recently shared some of his strategies for making that first call count.
Hire right. "I look for a positive attitude. You don't need people who are always looking for ways they 'can't do,' " he says. "You want people who are looking for ways they 'can do.' "
A good phone voice is important. Anderson also likes recruiters who are aggressive and self-motivated - but only to a point. "If they get too aggressive they start trying to bend too many rules," he notes. "The hiring of truck drivers is highly regulated and you have to be careful. We hire our own successes, but we can also hire our own problems."
Trucking experience is a plus but not a must. "Go out and find yourself somebody that you received great service from," he suggests, citing one client that hired a waitress and trained her as a recruiter. "They saw her can-do attitude, that she handled stress very well," he says. "She's a great communicator and a real people person, and she has worked out phenomenally."
Teach them all about the company. "Our recruiters have to be experts in everything within the company - payroll, medical benefits, operations, maintenance, safety programs," he says. Thus the first step for every new recruiter - even those with trucking experience - is to spend some time in safety, operations and even the shop to learn how things are done.
Most of the companies Anderson works with also require new recruiters to spend some time in a truck. At minimum, they should ride through a road test. Better yet, they should take a road trip with an experienced driver. "It's not necessary," he says of the latter, "but it sure doesn't hurt."
After initial training, it's equally important to keep recruiters in the communications loop. Obviously, they must be informed of any changes in driver benefits or policies that affect drivers. They should also be in touch with marketing and sales so they know where drivers are needed and how best to focus their efforts.
Even with a thorough orientation, recruiters aren't going to have a ready answer to every question, but guessing should be strictly forbidden.
"If you say 'I think' to a driver you've just opened yourself up to lying," Anderson cautions. "You'll have a whole lot more credibility if you admit you don't know the answer, but tell them you'll get it, then you get the right person on the phone. I did it when I was a recruiter and every time it had a very positive impact."
Learn to listen. The best recruiters spend more time listening than talking, he says. In his seminars, Anderson teaches recruiters to take a phone application through conversations rather than checklists. He also teaches them how to be active listeners and to focus on the caller.
"Ultimately we're asking that driver to trust us with absolutely everything - his home, his ability to put food on the table for his family," he notes. "If you're asking him to trust you with all of that, why would you type an e-mail to someone else when you're talking to him? If you're not going to focus on the conversation, you might as well not even take the call."
Through good listening, recruiters can determine what's important to drivers and can emphasize carrier benefits or programs most likely to appeal to that driver. At the same time, listening helps recruiters ask the right follow-up questions to get the information necessary for a good hiring decision.
Another benefit: Listening helps build relationships. "People get committed to people, not companies," he says. "Drivers make their decisions about going to work for a carrier based on how well they like you as a person. If a driver senses that the recruiter isn't interested in him, he'll assume that's the attitude of the rest of the company."
Stay on top of Internet leads. If you use Internet recruiting, one recruiter should be given primary responsibility for monitoring and responding to those leads. Respond as quickly as possible.
You can "paste" standard recruiting information into an e-mail but start with a personalized opening paragraph and end with a phone number, name and invitation to call.
Follow-up your failures. If a driver goes to work for another company, or decides to stay with his current employer, Anderson recommends a follow-up letter within 45 days just to let them know you're still interested. The message: If things don't work out where you are, don't hesitate to call.
Many times drivers are afraid to go back to a carrier they've talked to before because they don't think they'll get a second chance, he explains. "But if they have a follow-up letter in hand, that carrier will be the first one they'll call."
Stay in touch. When Anderson ran a recruiting department he was able to help reduce turnover from 72% to 45% by having his recruiters call drivers they hired after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days on the job.
As he explains, about 75% of turnover occurs in the first 90 days of employment. Follow-up calls reinforce relationships drivers develop with recruiters and give recruiters a chance to clear up any misunderstandings. At the same time, recruiters can get some valuable feedback: Did they tell the driver something that wasn't quite correct? Could they have done a better job of communication anything?
Provide good hiring systems. "One question people need to ask themselves is whether their system is designed to hire drivers," he says. "Many systems are not designed to hire good drivers, they're designed to prevent good driver from getting hired."
Anderson starts every training session with a thorough review of the carrier's hiring documents, procedures and programs. Very often, he finds procedures that aren't in compliance with DOT rules and he finds systems that work against their purpose. For instance, a carrier might only accept applications by mail and won't make even a contingent offer until all the background checks have been completed. In all, the process can take two or even three weeks.
"I don't know a cream of the crop driver out there who has had to wait more than three hours to have a good job," he says. "What happens is that those companies are getting poor quality because the system isn't built to take advantage of the good quality."
Good recruiters, on the other hand, can get enough information about a driver in that first phone call to get all the necessary approvals to go ahead with the background check, make a conditional offer, and even discuss orientation dates.
"When that driver hangs up the phone," says Anderson, "he should have a feeling that he doesn't have to call anybody else."
Staff for productivity. "A lot of recruiters aren't productive because they have to do too many non-recruiting or clerical functions, which is a waste of a high dollar employee," he says. Thus he recommends hiring and training recruiting assistants to handle the paperwork.
Carriers that need to hire less than four drivers a week can usually get by with one full-time recruiter who handles his or her own paperwork. When demand exceeds four drivers "you'll see your productivity jump" by hiring an assistant for that recruiter, he says. Company needs vary, but two full-time recruiters plus one full-time assistant should be adequate to bring in eight to 12 drivers per week.
Because they may occasionally have to catch phone calls, recruiting assistants should have many of the traits sought in recruiters - mainly a positive attitude and a good phone voice. They need to understanding hiring procedures and should receive at least some recruiter training.
"Lo and behold," says Anderson, "when I need a recruiter I usually end up promoting my assistants. It's a whole lot easier and cheaper to find an assistant than to find a recruiter."
Discourage bounty hunting. Anderson acknowledges that many carriers effectively use bonus programs to promote recruiter productivity. Nevertheless, he has some reservations.
For one thing, individual bonuses encourage recruiters to work for themselves rather than the department or company. In busy operations, where recruiters have to pinch hit for each other, you don't want a driver to get the brush off just because he's another recruiter's potential hire.
Anderson says he has also seen situations where bonus programs were changed when recruiters started making more money than the company was willing or able to pay. "Now you've just shot yourself in the foot," he notes.
"My personal opinion is that you need to pay recruiters what they're worth, appreciate a job well done, and create a work environment they love," he says. "If you want to offer a bonus, consider a group bonus to encourage team effort."
First Call continued...
