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Driving Satisfaction
by Peter Carter
What's a good carrier to work for? It's a question that comes down our phone lines and arrives in our e-mail inboxes on a pretty regular basis. And it gets asked by both green drivers and veterans with millions of miles under their belts. The answer, however, isn't always easy.  Tracy Shulist doesn't run a big fleet, but her drivers are some of the happiest on the continent. What makes one driver happy won't necessarily satisfy the next one. For some truckers a good fleet is one that pays top dollar for miles, others just want more nights at home. Some might be dead-set on driving the newest equipment, and plenty of drivers want to know their opinions matter, while another bunch wants a top-notch benefits package. It wouldn't be unrealistic to think that the best fleets to drive for are the ones that can put the entire package together, but that's not always the case. On the second annual Best Fleets to Drive For list, one of North America's best for-hire trucking employers doesn't even have a benefits package for its drivers. Of course, that doesn't mean the owner of Shulist Logistics leaves her drivers uncared for. The 25-truck operation out of King City, Ont. was launched about 10 years ago by former owner-operator Tracy Shulist. It's the company's second consecutive appearance on the Best Fleets list and she doesn't even have an expensive HR program or full-time driver trainers, let alone a million-dollar simulator. “It's just that we don't have jobs here so much as we have a way of life,” says Shulist. “Look at our website. The first picture you see is our dog. We're like a family.” A family with a pushover for mom, that is, which is how they get by happily without a benefits package. “We don't have benefit packages here,” she says. “But in the event you need glasses or dental work or what have you, I'll cover the expense.” “You can't concentrate on your job if you're in pain,” she says. The Best Fleets to Drive For project was initiated by CarriersEdge, a Torontobased “online driver improvement” service provider, which delivers driver training and wellness programs, as well as driver-assessment tools. Originally, company president Mark Murrell thought when the Best Fleets project launched it would only include Canadian fleets. But the Virginia-based Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), got wind of it and asked to be involved, so the survey scope broadened to include the U.S. This year, 17 carriers made the list and seven of them are Canadian. It works like this: any driver or owner-operator can nominate a fleet – minimum of 10 trucks – to be included on the Best Fleets list. Then Murrell sends out a comprehensive survey to the nominated fleet. The survey touches a surprisingly broad number of workplace policies, from driver retention strategies to environmental friendliness and holidays. And, of course, compensation. The results in that department are reason enough to investigate the survey results. Average income ranges from US$42,260 at the 159-unit Don Hummer Trucking in Oxford, Ind. to $75,000 at MSM Transportation in Bolton, Ont. That said, Murrell is quick to point out that his research shows that driver happiness at the best companies to drive for has surprisingly little to do with direct compensation. “It's ironic that recruiting ads are always focusing on pay packages and compensation but we're finding that at the best fleets, the overall compensation rates are not at the top,” he says. “At the fleets that score highest on our survey, it's all about providing the total work experience. “I'm referring to things like providing a mechanism for drivers' concerns to be heard. Whether it's a driver advisory board or a driver representative, drivers want to know that if they have a concern about something, they'll always get an answer,” Murrell adds. All employees, he says, want to feel like their opinions make a difference. A top Canadian fleet, Mackinnon Transport of Guelph, Ont., maintains a driver-retention program that involves the entire company. Every department's annual objectives include the driver retention rate, so even dispatch and other operations work together to minimize churn. Another key trait many of the best carriers share is professional development opportunities. “If you share information with owner-operators and educate them on how to make more money, they're going to stick around,” explains Murrell. As part of the survey, Dart Transit of Eagan, Minn. was named the Best Fleet for Owner-Operators. The American carrier has arranged a comprehensive selection of insurance options for its owner-ops and used its size to arrange group discounts. They extend their group buying clout to parts and fuel, and the company couples that with sales and management workshops for its drivers. “The fleets that are dedicated to their owner-operators treat them almost as a franchise,” notes Murrell. “They ask ‘how can we help you as a business person?' ” Perhaps Tracy Shulist put it best: “We don't have numbers or robots working for us, we have people.” Carriers with that philosophy are the good ones to drive for.
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