Ray Haight is second-generation trucker; his parents ran a small four truck fleet operation, which worked for a local shipper into the U.S. market. Ray Haight was a driver and Owner Operator for 10 years logging over one million accident free miles prior to starting his own company, which serviced long haul lanes with both dry van and refrigerated equipment. In 1984 he started Southwestern Express Inc. based in London Ontario, which grew into a successful dry van and refrigerated 50-truck fleet. In 1990 MacKinnon Transport Ltd. was brought in as a partner and Southwestern Express moved from London to Guelph Ontario; in January of 2000 MacKinnon Transport Ltd. and Southwestern Express Inc. were amalgamated. Ray held the Position of President and COO until May of 2005; at that time MacKinnon Transport Inc. was a 275-truck fleet, warehousing and Logistics Company. Currently, he resides in Lambeth, Ontario where in addition to being Retention Coach at Truckload Carriers Association and co-founder of TCA inGauge carrier benchmarking platform he also finds time to lend his energies to many transportation industries related associations. Personal, Professional and Corporate Accolades: • Past Chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association • Past Chairman of the PTDI Professional Truck Drivers Institute • Past Chairman of NATMI North American Training and Management Institute • Past Chairman of the Industry Committee for Apprenticeship; Commercial Tractor Trailer Driver appointed by The Ontario Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities • Past Chairman of the Recruitment and Retention Human Relations Committee of the Truckload Carriers Association • Alumni of the UWO’s Ivey School of Business’s Quantum Shift Program • Winning team member of the Top 50 Best Managed companies of Canada for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. • Winning team member of the Shipper’s Choice award for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 • Winning team member of the Truckload Carriers Associations National Fleet Safety Award for 1999, 2001, and 2003. • Winning team member of the Over the Road Retention Award for 2003 • Winner of the Lee Crittenden Award for service and dedication to the Professional Truck Drivers Institute • Co-Founder StakUp Inc, an online transportation benchmarking service and the operating platform for the Truckload Carriers Association’s Profitability Program operating as TCAinGauge. • Creator of the Driver Retention Project Plan, a focused educational series that has resulted in reduced driver turnover in many fleets in the trucking industry. • Currently holds the position of Carrier Retention Coach an intracule part of Truckload Carriers Association’s Profitability Program

The simple truth is that the low retention rates prevalent in the trucking industry are nothing more than a business challenge gone unchecked. Being in the trucking industry exaggerates this challenge by being capital intensive and having very few restrictions to enter the industry, other than courage and money. Now, add to this margins that are razor-thin by most business standards, and you begin to understand how so many new companies always seem to pop up and flash in the pan.

In the beginning, the trucking company owner must wear many hats to get the business off the ground. They are usually the first dispatcher, the first salesperson, the first safety manager, the first billing clerk, and the bookkeeper, just to name a few essential functions. This type of pressure can be overwhelming to all but the determined few. So as the company begins to gain traction, the concept of adding to this responsibility by doing the things necessary to retain drivers starts to get a little overwhelming.

As these companies expand, few ever make it down the road of strategic planning. If they do, they might discuss plans to build the company through additional sales and trucks. Also, a discussion might ensue concerning the business’s infrastructure, which would also need to be expanded to accommodate the extra work budgeted to be brought in by the company. To some entrepreneurs, this entails the additional expense of hiring people before the additional revenue has been secured. Most business owners find this scary, but if not done, things can quickly go off the rails. Spending the day putting out fires because the company is understaffed can wear down the business owner and the staff. Driver retention can also suffer at this point.

Scenario one allows the company time to filter through available candidates and train them to precisely what is needed. Scenario two puts much more strain on the hiring process. It rushes things and likely shortens the training period for the new person leading to performance issues and possibly more fires to put out. At this point, driver retention is not a priority as it is just such a hectic atmosphere that the priorities get blurred when you’re always playing catch-up.

The TCA Profitability Program’s (TPP) Retention Project Plan shares core fundamentals that need to be in place when talking about driver retention — Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.truckload.org/about-tpp/tpp-retention-project/.

When speaking in public about driver retention, I can usually hold a group’s attention with this discussion. Most folks can absorb the concept; they get it. What they have a much harder time understanding is that this is a foundational concept of retention. In practice, it needs to be brought along slowly and thoughtfully. It is not something that can be muscled into place or that happens naturally. I have talked to many owners, and many of them want to act first and plan later. It’s the old joke of shoot first and ask second, and then they are confused when things don’t change to the extent they wanted.

Abraham Maslow put forth a theory that each of us is motivated by a series of priorities that drive our aspirational decisions daily.

  • First level: We need sustenance (Food) which in trucking means wages, how much are you going to pay me? Pay relates to respect also.
  • Second level: We need to be safe; we need shelter. In trucking, this means how old the truck is, the reputation of the fleet I am working at, or looking at for future employment.
  • Third Level: We need to feel a sense of belonging, communication with our peers. We are social mammals; how does the company interact with their drivers, is it effective, is it consistent, and does it give me valuable, helpful information?
  • Fourth level: Self-esteem or recognition; we need feedback and acknowledgment of what we do for the business. No one wants to feel taken advantage of or taken for granted.
  • Fifth level: Self-actualization. I plan on being the best I can be in this profession. Does this company provide me the tools and educational opportunities for me to advance in my chosen field?

The five levels shared above hold the key to the kingdom for retention. It is the holy grail. As I have said many times before, this is a complex issue for most trucking companies that took years to manifest. Do not fool yourself into thinking that there are any quick fixes to getting things under control. There are, of course, many vendors who have jumped on the pain that many companies suffer. The ROI (Return on Investment) for these services is usually handsome when you compare the average cost to hire a driver. The question becomes to what reduced retention level will we get to, and can we sustain it? In many cases, the benefits are marginal.

Take one of these products and nest it inside a company that has decided that driver retention will be the business’s primary focus. Now you have an excellent opportunity to make lasting change. If you would like to hear some of my ramblings in more detail, please jump to,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIpq39PLpso or take a look at https://rayhaight.com/engage/.

It’s always been confusing to me that when something threatens the trucking industry or an individual company, they will pivot on a dime to manage their way through whatever obstacle. But, when it comes to driver retention, many look for ways to find new drivers rather than stop and try to find a way to stem the leakage of drivers from their companies. Driver retention can be solved and needs to be looked at as a threat to the company’s very existence because that is what it has become at this point in the industry’s history.

Safe Trucking,

Ray Haight

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Ray Haight is second-generation trucker; his parents ran a small four truck fleet operation, which worked for a local shipper into the U.S. market. Ray Haight was a driver and Owner Operator for 10 years logging over one million accident free miles prior to starting his own company, which serviced long haul lanes with both dry van and refrigerated equipment. In 1984 he started Southwestern Express Inc. based in London Ontario, which grew into a successful dry van and refrigerated 50-truck fleet. In 1990 MacKinnon Transport Ltd. was brought in as a partner and Southwestern Express moved from London to Guelph Ontario; in January of 2000 MacKinnon Transport Ltd. and Southwestern Express Inc. were amalgamated. Ray held the Position of President and COO until May of 2005; at that time MacKinnon Transport Inc. was a 275-truck fleet, warehousing and Logistics Company. Currently, he resides in Lambeth, Ontario where in addition to being Retention Coach at Truckload Carriers Association and co-founder of TCA inGauge carrier benchmarking platform he also finds time to lend his energies to many transportation industries related associations. Personal, Professional and Corporate Accolades: • Past Chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association • Past Chairman of the PTDI Professional Truck Drivers Institute • Past Chairman of NATMI North American Training and Management Institute • Past Chairman of the Industry Committee for Apprenticeship; Commercial Tractor Trailer Driver appointed by The Ontario Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities • Past Chairman of the Recruitment and Retention Human Relations Committee of the Truckload Carriers Association • Alumni of the UWO’s Ivey School of Business’s Quantum Shift Program • Winning team member of the Top 50 Best Managed companies of Canada for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. • Winning team member of the Shipper’s Choice award for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 • Winning team member of the Truckload Carriers Associations National Fleet Safety Award for 1999, 2001, and 2003. • Winning team member of the Over the Road Retention Award for 2003 • Winner of the Lee Crittenden Award for service and dedication to the Professional Truck Drivers Institute • Co-Founder StakUp Inc, an online transportation benchmarking service and the operating platform for the Truckload Carriers Association’s Profitability Program operating as TCAinGauge. • Creator of the Driver Retention Project Plan, a focused educational series that has resulted in reduced driver turnover in many fleets in the trucking industry. • Currently holds the position of Carrier Retention Coach an intracule part of Truckload Carriers Association’s Profitability Program