WorkHound was created when its founders saw high turnover rates in the trucking industry and decided to create something to combat this issue.
“A lot of people [in the industry] quit because they don’t feel effective and as though they have a voice. Historically, the only options for them have been exit interviews and annual surveys, which are often too late or too slow,” said Max Farrell, co-founder and CEO of WorkHound. “With WorkHound, we built a real-time feedback loop to help companies address issues at the speed of business through anonymous feedback.”
WorkHound has continuously grown in its seven years of business, with 75,000 workers across North America as of January 2023. Last year alone, it helped companies retain more than 9,000 truck drivers through its proactive approach to helping companies address internal issues, according to Farrell.
“One of the best things [about this business] is watching companies start a culture of curiosity inside their business, instead of having the mindset of ‘Things are the way they are,’” he said. “If the last three years have taught us anything, it is that change is the only constant. Getting feedback from your people and taking action is creating fundamentally better businesses.”
This “culture of curiosity” he refers to is simply companies approaching growth and improvement with open minds and questions. Companies need to continuously ask themselves questions that reflect the questions drivers and other employees have.
Parking, fuel costs and compensation are all among the crucial issues for drivers, according to the 2022 ATRI Top Industry Issues Report. Carriers’ list of key issues is vastly different, said Farrell.
For companies to best position themselves to address carrier issues and provide relief to drivers, the first step is for carriers and drivers to tackle the problems together, he added.
The ATRI report noted that driver retention is a top issue for carriers. Farrell believes that addressing issues within the company’s control could yield a significant improvement on this metric, helping both drivers and carriers.
“It starts with understanding what the issues are and then asking, ‘How are these issues affecting someone’s ability to be successful in our company?’” Farrell said.
Feedback is vital to this process.
“Being better starts by listening to your people. Knowing how to maximize opportunity comes from your front lines. The value of feedback is being able to know how to improve the company when the margins are thin,” he said. “There are a lot of really great ideas that drivers will bring to the table when they have an avenue to share.”
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