If you want your truck driver recruiting strategy to bring in the best drivers, you must budget carefully. Creating a budget plan for the year will ensure the right resources go towards finding and attracting your ideal candidates.
So, the next question becomes: do you go about planning a successful recruiting budget? Budgeting can feel intimidating — and not at all exciting for most of us. But don’t worry — we’ll cover what you need to know below.
Outlining Your Recruitment Plan
We all know turnover rates are sky-high in the trucking business. However, planning your annual budget can help you prioritize attracting and hiring the type of drivers who are more likely to stay. And all of that starts with estimating what to expect for the year.
Get as clear as possible on how many hires you plan to recruit, your expected turnover rates (based on previous quarters/years), and which roles are more expensive to fill.
You will probably need to speak with hiring managers, department heads, or recruiters to estimate your recruitment details.
From there, you can figure out specific expenses.
What Should Be Included in a Trucking Recruitment Budget?
You’ll need to know everything your budget should include. What are your actual recruitment needs and costs?
A recruitment budget should estimate your total cost of hiring. It should include expenses like:
- Sometimes unexpected costs from things like turnover
- Internal recruiting costs like paying recruiters, referral bonuses, time spent on interviewing, and onboarding costs
- External recruiting expenses like advertising, branding, relocation, events, agency fees, and software
The budget should also align with your long-term goals and strategies. It’s best to have your recruitment processes nailed down before you outline your expenses.
Know Your Cost Per Hire
Once you know all of your recruiting costs, you’ll need to calculate your cost per hire. The formula for that is:
- Total recruiting costs / The number of hires within a specific time period = Cost per hire.
Companies can save a lot of dough by reducing the overall cost per hire. Pay close attention to where your costs are coming from.
For example, are you spending a lot of money on job board postings and third-party leads where potential recruits aren’t directly invested in you? It might be time to consider smarter, more targeted recruiting methods.
Evaluate and Adjust Recruiting Expenses
Before planning your next budget, look over your past and current costs. Which methods are working, and which need to be tossed? How can you move costs around to create a more efficient recruiting process?
You might convert your costs into a chart so that you can see how everything breaks down in percentages. Take a look at fixed costs, such as job fairs, technology expenses, and recruitment tools, and reevaluate what’s reasonable. Also, work with others in your organization to identify smaller costs that you might not have considered at first.
Some steps that might reduce recruiting costs include:
- Offering referral bonuses
- Rehiring former drivers
- Revisiting existing leads
- Switching to more efficient technology (or relying more on existing technology)
- Employing more active, targeted recruitment and advertising methods
Planning your truck driver recruitment budget will help you reduce costs in the new year and improve existing recruiting methods. Remember that it’s not all about volume. You want to craft a plan of action that reaches the best drivers for your organization—not just anyone who is currently looking.
To upgrade your recruitment strategies with better branding and direct leads that convert, contact AMG Driver Recruitment. We help small, medium, and large carriers attract (and keep) the drivers they need most.