Behind the Wheel
Planning Tools
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Calculating How Many Drivers
You Need Having considered all of the points discussed above, it is now necessary to develop a plan to determine how many new drivers have to be hired to cover operations for the plan period. Exhibit 5.1 is a model of a spreadsheet format (and therefore, can be easily set up on a computer using Microsoft Excel or similar software) that can be used to determine the number or quantity of drivers that need to be hired for the plan period. In order to use the spreadsheet, company performance related to absenteeism, lost-time accidents, disability, promotion, maternity/paternity leave, turnover and attrition has to be determined. Normally, reviewing historical performance aids in developing these figures and then, making an assessment going forward, a determination is made as to whether the same performance will occur during the plan period.
Some simple math is needed to work out some of the numbers. For example, in determining the workforce/staffing requirements to cover for absenteeism see Table 1 below.
Table 1
Workforce/Staffing Requirements
| 1. Annual number of days absent per employee | 10 |
| 2. Average number days worked per employee per year4 | 226 |
| 3. Total number of full-time equivalent employees | 150 |
| 4. Total number of days absent (line 3 x line 1) | 1500 |
| 5. Positions required to cover absenteeism (line 4 / line 2) | 6.63 |
Similar calculations can be developed for lost-time accidents anddisabilities, vacations, maternity/paternity leaves, turnover and attrition5. Numbers for new routes and frequencies can be developed from operational plans; whereas numbers for government policy/legislation and changes in the collective agreement are developed exclusively through the judgement of the planner.
Ultimately, what the planner wants is a reliable figure for the total required number of employees (full and part-time) needed to cover operations during the plan period. Once this number has been calculated it can be compared with the current number of employees and a difference determined. It is this number, the difference between current headcount and required positions that tell the planner how many new employees have to be recruited, selected, hired and orientated during the plan period.
Determining When Drivers Need to be Hired
The determination of when recruiting should begin requires further judgement and some “guesswork” on the part of the planner. In order to provide some structure to this process, a second spreadsheet-type of tool can be used. Exhibit 5.2 is a representation of what this planning instrument or calendar might look like. Using each of the columns to represent a period in the plan and then listing the reasons for the hiring on the left, the planner can enter on the calendar the number of new employees needed in that period. Once completed, the calendar will contain the same number of “new hires” as was determined using the previous tool. Having established these dates we can then work back to determine when the process has to start. Worksheet, Example 2 provides an example.
4 This figure is calculated by taking the total number of days in a year - 365 and subtracting 104 to cover for weekends, 15 days for vacation, 10 days for statutory holidays and 10 days for absenteeism. This number would vary if there were a non-standard workweek, fewer or more statutory holidays, etc.
5 We have made a distinction between turnover and attrition to reflect the different reasons for why employees leave an organization. Attrition normally refers to employees who retire or leave for reasons not related to dissatisfaction with their work and work situation. Turnover relates to employees leaving because they are dissatisfied, find better work elsewhere or are terminated. Given the objective of the recruitment process we believe it is important to make this distinction and to separate these two numbers.