Despite the fact that there are more truck drivers than ever before, driver shortages is still the biggest issue facing our industry today. As the market continues to grow, the trucking industry is unable to keep up with demand. The average age of a trucker is 55 years old, which means the current shortage will only get worse as more drivers get ready to retire. By using a new and up-and-coming technology solution like True Fuel, fleets can entice a new, younger crowd to see the value in joining the trucking industry.
Millennials in Trucking
Now more than ever, it’s crucial for industry leaders and fleet managers to start recruiting millennials to join their fleets. Despite some negative stereotypes, millennials can actually bring a positive, meaningful impact to the trucking industry. Here’s why:
- Most millennials were raised with technology and embrace innovation--it’s simply a way of life for them. Technology is vital to the future advancements of the trucking industry. Having tech-savvy individuals on your team will only help your fleet prosper.
- Millennials constitute a very large portion of the U.S. workforce, and this number will only grow as more Baby Boomers retire. Rather than excluding millennials, fleets should begin to focus their efforts towards encouraging and embracing the future of our country’s workforce into the trucking industry.
- At the center of most millennials’ employment requirements is their desire for purpose-driven work. They are looking to be personally motivated by their job and inspired by its purpose, which leads to many millennials searching for work outside of a typical office setting.
- Millennials love to travel. Fleets need to show millennials that trucking could be the job that they’ve been looking for and that it offers many great benefits that they seek including: travel/seeing new places, benefits, flexibility, good pay, and job security.
True Fuel Works for All Drivers, including Millennials
A tool like Vnomics True Fuel gives fleets the means to measure the things that drivers can control. It helps create a realistic incentive program that promotes smart driving behaviors while optimizing the bottom line. This patented system combines real-time driver coaching, precise vehicle monitoring, and comprehensive fuel-use analytics to significantly improve fuel economy. Drivers, both veterans of the industry and the newcomer millennials, will greatly appreciate and benefit from an incentive program that recognizes their performance and understands the difficulties of the job. True Fuel gives drivers clear instructions, feedback, and an opportunity to challenge themselves and improve their fuel optimization. Drivers can work to achieve their goals, which leads to them being recognized for all the hard work they put in with bonuses and other great rewards.
One positive of recruiting millennial drivers is that technology has always come easy to them. This generation is always on the lookout for the newest innovations that can help them succeed personally and professionally. Due to the fast pace of tech in today’s world, millennials also expect instant gratification, which is why True Fuel is a perfect fit. True Fuel instantaneously lets drivers know exactly where and how they can improve by providing fast, accurate, and convenient real-time, in-cab coaching. At the end of the trip, prompt feedback is given on the drivers’ overall performance to help them achieve mastery as quickly as possible. By immediately seeing how they are making a difference in their company and in the industry with True Fuel, these younger drivers will understand just how much they are contributing to something larger than themselves.
Although younger drivers don’t yet make up a large portion of today’s trucking fleets, attracting and engaging them will bring new energy to your existing team. True Fuel is a modern and efficient technology that can motivate millennials to find their calling in the trucking industry.