Recruiting and hiring drivers has historically been a time-consuming and expensive process. In fact, recruiting costs for companies with a frequent hiring need often exceed thousands of dollars per driver.
In an economic environment that has left most carriers strapped for cash, this financial burden can be insurmountable.
“Several thousands of the companies on Lanefinder’s job platform are feeling the pinch of the current economic climate,” Lanefinder CEO Mats Holmbäck said in a recent interview with FreightWaves. “It’s vital that they can access qualified drivers without the usual financial risk attached to recruitment.”
Holmbäck saw the flaws in the typical carrier recruiting experience and recognized that all of them stem from a lack of specialized, industry-specific resources. He believes the trucking industry deserves its own jobs marketplace, so Holmbäck — along with his expert team of developers, salespeople and support staff — has spent more than four years building Lanefinder as an answer to the industry’s recruiting woes.
Lanefinder provides a nuanced recruiting experience for both drivers and carriers. The platform allows job seekers to filter positions based on highly specific criteria, including types of experience and job preferences. Roles that do not align with an applicant’s skill set, goals and desires are automatically filtered out, creating a more streamlined — and less frustrating — hiring experience for everyone.
At the same time, Lanefinder alleviates the financial burden attached to recruiting by offering an unconventional, risk-free pay-per-hire payment structure. When carriers use Lanefinder, they do not start paying until their new hires start earning money for the company. Additionally, installments toward recruiting costs stop if a driver quits or is terminated before those fees are paid in full.
Chris Gilmartin plays various roles — including managing recruiting and orientation — at J&H Trucking. He has been using Lanefinder for more than three years and he has experienced the platform’s benefits firsthand.
“Lanefinder will cater the jobs platform to the customer based on individual needs and requirements,” Gilmartin said. “No matter how rigid or flexible you are with your standards, they will be able to find you drivers.”
Some of the Lanefinder features Gilmartin appreciates most include:
- Receiving a list of available drivers catered to specific demographic needs.
- The ability to recruit for local, regional and over-the-road drivers separately.
- Various options for contacting applicants, including phone, email and messaging.
- Push notifications that make it easy to communicate with recruits from anywhere.
- How quick and easy it is to post, deactivate and reactivate job listings as necessary.
The expertly catered functions available in Lanefinder have changed how Gilmartin hires new drivers, creating a cascade effect throughout J&H Trucking. By optimizing the recruiting process, the entire operation runs smoother.
Transfinity Logistics Safety Director Borislavka Kecman agreed with Gilmartin’s assessment. She has used Lanefinder to recruit new drivers for two years. Not only has her application-to-hire ratio improved in that time but she is typically able to find qualified drivers in as little as one day.
The value of Lanefinder doesn’t lie solely in its technological features, however. The company also works hard to create an open line of communication between itself and the carriers it serves.
“I have had the opportunity to visit with many of the driver managers and all of them have gone out of their way to support our objectives and our company in a very personal way,” Gilmartin said.
By going the extra mile in communication and customer service, Lanefinder is able to create a recruiting and hiring experience that rivals one of the most respected — and elusive — recruiting techniques: word of mouth.
“In my view, the only other way to recruit outside of Lanefinder is driver referrals from current drivers,” Gilmartin said. “The problem is you never get a sustainable pool of drivers from internal referrals, no matter how good the incentives you provide.”
Lanefinder marries the personal touch associated with referrals to the high-tech capabilities of modern software, creating the best of both worlds for drivers and carriers alike.