The trucking industry is essential for moving goods and maintaining the flow of global supply chains. However, a significant challenge trucking companies face is the difficulty recruiting drivers. Finding skilled and dependable drivers has become more complicated, resulting in shortages and operational obstacles for carriers. Many trucking companies have opted to outsource driver recruitment to tackle this issue. This involves hiring specialized recruitment agencies to handle tasks like finding, screening, and hiring candidates. This approach brings various benefits and has proven to be a significant improvement for the trucking industry and other sectors facing similar difficulties.
What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is a type of business process outsourcing (BPO) where a company hires an external service provider to handle all or part of its recruitment processes. The external provider can handle tasks like candidate sourcing, screening, and hiring, either using its own resources or integrating with the company's existing systems and methods.
How Does RPO Work In The Trucking Industry?
In trucking, RPO begins with an agreement detailing the project's scope, schedule, and cost, often ensuring that recruited applicants are exclusive to the hiring company. This collaboration involves the HR team and the RPO provider shaping or discussing job descriptions, followed by the recruitment agency advertising the job using its methods or the company's techniques.
As truck driver resumes come in, the outsourcer assesses candidates, addressing any discrepancies with the employer if needed. The RPO team screens applicants, identifying top candidates for the employer. The RPO provider often facilitates interviews, sets up meetings with leading candidates, makes initial offers, handles negotiations, and assists in the early onboarding of new hires.
In the trucking industry, RPO is crucial for efficiently sourcing, screening, and hiring qualified drivers, addressing the challenges of driver recruitment and shortages. By streamlining these processes, RPO helps trucking companies build reliable and skilled driver teams, ensuring smooth operations and contributing to the industry's success.
7 Ways RPO Can Help Your Trucking Company
RPO is like teaming up with outside experts to handle parts or all of the hiring process. These experts bring special knowledge, technology, and tools to improve driver recruitment in the following ways.
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Getting more candidates
RPO helps find a broader range of people for driver jobs. These experts use extensive talent networks, job websites, and tools to reach a bigger group of potential drivers. They even use smart tools like artificial intelligence and data analysis to discover drivers from different backgrounds.
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Cost-effective solutions
RPO presents your trucking company with highly efficient and budget-friendly solutions. By delegating certain RPO recruitment functions to external experts, you not only sidestep unnecessary overhead costs but also strategically diminish the overall financial burden associated with the hiring process.
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Unbiased choices
RPO is all about making the hiring process fair. They set up ways to limit the impact of biases we might not even realize we have. RPO makes sure applicants are judged on their skills and qualifications, not other things, using methods like blind resume screening and well-organized interviews.
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Expertise in driver recruitment
RPO providers specialize in truck driver recruitment, providing detailed knowledge and extensive experience. This specialized proficiency guarantees that your company draws in top-tier drivers whose qualifications and values seamlessly align with your specific requirements.
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Cultural competency
It's crucial to grasp job seekers' diverse needs and perspectives for effective recruitment. RPO firms often specialize in engaging with various talent pools, tailoring their communication to meet specific requirements. This cultural understanding ensures that applicants from diverse backgrounds feel respected and acknowledged during RPO recruitment.
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Improved employer branding
Engaging in RPO actively contributes to the augmentation of your company's image. By ensuring a transparent, fair, and streamlined hiring process, your company establishes a positive reputation among drivers. This strengthened employer brand is a magnet for high-caliber talent and is pivotal in fostering long-term employee loyalty and satisfaction.
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Training and development
Both applicants and in-house recruiting teams can benefit from RPO training and development programs. These programs can emphasize diversity and inclusion awareness, ensuring that everyone involved in the recruiting process knows the value of diversity and is prepared with the skills needed to promote it.
The Key to Successful RPO
Successfully outsourcing trucking recruitment begins by selecting an RPO recruitment agency specialized in trucking. Trucking companies need to find agencies with a strong history in the industry and a good understanding of their unique requirements. Before deciding to work with an agency, check their experience and track record. Positive signs include a history of successfully placing drivers, good relationships with drivers, and a solid reputation in the trucking sector. Collaborating effectively between the trucking company and the recruitment agency is crucial for aligning goals and achieving successful hires. Clear expectations and goals should be set by both parties to ensure a smooth and streamlined process.
RPO vs. Internal Recruiting
An external RPO recruiter works similarly to an internal recruiter, but there are important differences. When a company uses an RPO provider, it gives up some control over the hiring process. However, outsourcers often have specialized knowledge about industries, job functions, or the latest recruitment technology, like advanced tools, which can be beneficial. On the other hand, internal recruiters are likely to know the organization and its culture well, reducing the risk of new hires not fitting in. However, HR departments need more resources for recruiting and hiring, while an RPO provider can provide scalable capacity as a client's needs grow.
Should You Take Advantage of RPO?
Getting help with trucking RPO recruitment has become a solid solution to deal with the challenges of finding drivers. When trucking companies use the expertise and resources of specialized agencies like CDL Worker, they can improve their hiring process and find qualified drivers more easily. Considering the ongoing shortage of drivers and the growing complexity of hiring, getting help with trucking RPO recruitment is a smart move. This way, companies can make finding and hiring drivers better, speed up the steps from application to hiring, and get their drivers on the road faster!
Do you want to know how CDL Worker has assisted carriers in connecting with over ten thousand professional truck drivers?