How to Save Time and Money When Hiring Drivers

If you run a transport and logistics business, hiring the right type of drivers for your fleet is hugely important. With safe, sensible drivers absolutely essential to the safety of the products that your company delivers and also the reputation of your business, putting a lot of time and effort into choosing the drivers that you hire is absolutely crucial. But, the hiring process can often cost a lot of time and money, leaving many HR professionals who work for transportation and logistics companies wondering if there are any ways in which they can cut corners and save both money and time spent when hiring drivers for the fleet. Here are some of the best ways in which you can make the hiring process easier.

Hiring from Within

Often, companies prefer to hire staff from within wherever possible in order to help keep costs low and reduce the amount of time spent completing paperwork and inputting a new employee’s details into the system. Another main benefit of hiring employees from within the company is that you already know and trust the employee, giving you peace of mind that they will be able to carry out the job correctly. When hiring drivers, many transportation companies choose to train staff who already work for the company rather than hire from outside. By putting existing staff through the necessary training to become a driver – even if this involves putting them though their driving and theory tests – you can rest assured that you have a team of drivers that you can trust as you have trained them from the bottom up. If you’re planning to give your drivers or potential new driving staff theory training, see TopTests.co.uk for some great resources.

Hiring Professionals

When hiring new drivers, going for those applicants who have previous experience in the field and good references from past employers is a good way to ensure that you have a good driving team for your fleet. Although experienced, reliable driving staff may be more difficult to find, it can save you a lot of trouble and worry in the long run if you bring in new staff who you can trust to drive safely and look after your vehicles from their very first day on the job. Although all logistics companies have some specific training, in many cases taking on drivers who already have a lot of experience in the industry means that there will be less training to be done, allowing them to start work sooner.

Ongoing Training

Ongoing driver training is important to the safety of your drivers, your fleet and the reputation of your business overall. At least once per year, your drivers should be briefed and re-tested on driving safety and perhaps even observed in order to ensure that they are doing everything correctly. By implementing regular training and making it clear that unsafe or reckless driving will never be tolerated, you can help to ensure that your drivers are always performing at their best.

Hiring good drivers for your fleet might not be the easiest of tasks, but it is definitely worth it.