Planning

Where to Start

The foundation of a highly effective process for recruiting, selecting, hiring and orientating new employees is the company’s plan - more specifically, its workforce or staffing plan. Knowing how many new employees and when they will be required to fill existing and/or new positions is essential.

As far in advance as feasible, determine the number of drivers needed during the period covered by your business plan and when those drivers need to be available for training and service.

Beyond being able to identify how many and when the company will need to have new employees, the plan should reflect the company’s mission, goals and values. If the company has goals for the development and improvement of its image as a “customer friendly” carrier that has a reputation for efficient and safe operation, these goals need to be incorporated in its plan and reflected in its program for the recruitment, selection, hiring and orientation of new employees.

Furthermore, there needs to be integration between its workforce/staffing plan and the overall human resources plan. If, for example, the company has historically had a strong operational focus and, therefore, in the past hired, developed and promoted employees on the basis of vehicle handling skills and driving record and it is planning to expand this focus to include customer service, this change has to be built into its plans. Correspondingly, this re-focusing would be reflected in its workforce/staffing plan and all other aspects of the recruitment process.