IMAGE: JIM ALLEN / FREIGHTWAVES
TCA Retention Coach Ray Haight will speak at the National Recruiting and Retention Symposium in Ontario, Canada next month. The symposium, powered by TransRep, will focus on educating transportation industry leaders about recruitment, retention and human resources issues.
“Drivers are most carriers’ number one issue,” Haight said. “Education like this is vital to the industry.”
Haight, a second-generation trucker, was a driver and owner-operator for 10 year, logging over one million accident-free miles before starting his own company to service long haul lanes with dry van and refrigerated equipment.
He started Ontario-based Southwestern Express, a 50 truck fleet, in 1984. Mackinnon Transport was brought in as a partner in 1990, and the two companies were merged under the Mackinnon name in 2000. Haight acted as president and COO of the company until May 2005, at which point Mackinnon was a 275-truck fleet with warehousing and logistics segments.
Now, Haight works for as the retention coach for TCA and co-founder of TCA InGauge, the carrier benchmarking platform.
“My presentation is two-fold. First, it is a retroactive look at my life experience from when the carrier I was president and COO of took it’s turnover from 120 percent to 20 percent over a two year period,” Haight said. “Second I will lay out a program that any carrier can follow to reduce their turnover dramatically.”
The one-day symposium is slated for Saturday, April 27. It is completely focused on education for recruitment and human resources professionals in the transportation industry, arming attendees to tackle turnover and attract high quality drivers when they get back home.
“I think you fill your trucks through safety and your culture,” Kim Richardson said in an interview with AvatarFleet. “Having a good foundation of what you believe in as a company and taking a good, hard look at what you’re doing in recruiting and retention is crucial.”
In addition to Haight, speakers will include Women in Trucking President and CEO Ellen Voie, AvatarFleet President Scott Rea, Auction Transport Owner and COO Denise Beaupre and Left Lane Associates President Mike McCarron.
Allison Graham, also known as the Resiliency Ninja, will be the keynote speaker. She will focus on helping recruiting and HR professionals master “everyday resilience.” Graham has been a professional speaker since 2006.
There will also be a networking event the night before the symposium for those interested in building industry contacts.
Click here to learn more about the National Recruiting and Retention Symposium.
