The Truth About Driver Recruitment | J. Boren & Sons Trucking

Who are We?

Welcome to J. Boren & Sons Trucking! We are a local trucking company located in the heart of Columbus, Ohio. We have a central location, robust infrastructure and are within proximity to major markets. This makes us a key partner for logistics and distribution centers. Being in the heart of the Midwest, we are within a day’s drive to 60% of the US and Canadian populations. Highway access is a large part of accessibility for J. Boren & Sons Trucking, as we are in a major city with access to all the major highways which facilitates efficient transportation. We offer 24-hour dispatch with no touch freight for our drivers and a large list of services for our customers. Recruiting for any job can be difficult, but understanding your industry, creating a positive recruiting process and understanding the long-term challenges drivers face can bridge the gap in building a successful trucking company. 

Industry Knowledge is key!

With our location, we are in a prime market for truckload carriers. Columbus experiences busier shipping seasons during the peak harvest and holiday season, leading to higher prices and increased competition for trucks. This pushes us to go beyond the bounds of what an average trucking company can provide. It is important to understand the current demand for drivers, types of positions and challenges drivers face at ALL companies, not just yours. The demand for truck drivers in Columbus, Ohio is robust with numerous job opportunities available across various sectors. As of April 2025, Indeed.com lists over 1,000 truck driver positions in the Columbus area, highlighting the industry’s need for qualified drivers.

Be an expert in your industry. What type of freight do you haul? What does operations expect from drivers? What is your recruiting and on boarding process? What are your company’s driver requirements? During the onboarding process, it is possible drivers will ask you these questions! Knowing the ins and outs of the business you are hiring for does three things for potential hires; showcases you know the company, the job, and requirements. It shows the driver or potential hire you understand the company story, and the operations side of the company where drivers will be directly interacting with.

Effective driver recruitment is a critical factor in the success of trucking companies, especially with the ongoing challenges and driver shortages. To stand out and attract the best talent, companies need to employ best practices that address both the immediate and long-term needs of drivers. Here are some of the best practices in truck driver recruitment that we use:

Build a Strong Employer Brand

What is a company’s brand? A strong employer brand focuses on the values, culture, and benefits your company offers. Your companys reputation as an employer can significantly impact your ability to recruit quality drivers. Where are you recruiting drivers? What platforms do you utilize to generate leads for drivers? Using multiple platforms to increase driver leads and a broader pool of candidates.

Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits & Promote Work Life Balance

While pay is important, studies have found that 4 in 5 employes want benefits or perks more than a pay raise (Glassdoor 2015). These benefits can range from health insurance, vacation/paid time off, performance bonuses, paid sick days, 401k plans, and office perks like free lunch or casual dress days. Other options would be employee development programs, tuition reimbursement or gym memberships. Think about this: what sets your benefits apart from other companies? What are you doing differently that gives you the edge over your competitors? Here at J. Boren & Sons Trucking, we have fuel on site. We do our orientation in house which takes about 4-6 hours, and we pay $1 a mile, up to 500 miles for reimbursement for drivers coming to class.

Creating a Positive Recruiting Process

Have you ever applied and interviewed for a job, but their recruiting process was stressful or inconsistent? At J. Boren & Sons, we strive for easy and effective communication from the moment we get a lead to your first load ran. Our recruiters are hands on, on the phones working as your point of contact for all questions and concerns. Then once you are onboarded and ready to roll, our 24-hour dispatch and operations team are ready for you!

Ways you can create a positive recruiting process is by using tools that help streamline driver recruitment. Platforms that house driver information, updates, and reports such as Tenstreet are great options to utilize, and it can run reports that are needed to onboard drivers efficiently and quickly. Offering strong driver support during recruiting and onboarding will make the biggest difference in the final total of drivers you bring on. Processes that are disorganized, lengthy, and have low recruiter to driver rapport, tend to lose potential drivers along the way.

Find an applicant tracking system or platform that can track and measure driver recruitment metrics. This can help determine bottlenecks in your recruitment process. Are recruiters calling only one or two times? Are they texting, calling and emailing? Studies show five to seven calls to potential hires result in better chances of hiring. Attracting the right person for the job seems silly when we are experiencing a driver shortage, but there are certain drivers required for specific customers.

Think of your long term hopes for recruiting. Turning leads into hires, then those hires tell their friends and family, post on Facebook, or use other word of mouth marketing, and you have just expanded your hiring pool. According to a study by Nielsen… “92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.”

Recruiting must be on the same page with operations because operations is going to be who the driver interacts with daily; they are a retention tool! At J. Boren & Sons Trucking, our recruiting team and operations team work closely together and are in constant communication as drivers are being onboarded.

The last place companies want to invest are recruiting and marketing because it takes money to make money. Recruiting drivers can be costly, especially when considering the costs of advertising, training and the potential cost of drivers who leave shortly after being hired. The cost of a new hire can be higher than many recruiters acknowledge because of the hidden expenses involved in the process such as reporting, drug screenings, vehicle outfitting’s and orientation.

Long Term Challenges for Trucking

The trucking industry has one of the highest turnover rates across all industries with some companies seeing turnover rates above 90% annually. At J. Boren & Sons, we experience a lot lower than 90% annually due to our hands on approach, continued training and communication whether you are a driver or a member of our staff. High turnover rates are often tied to factors like long hours, time away from home, poor work life balance, burnout and lack of company to employee benefits. Companies often struggle to provide the kind of support and benefits that would keep drivers satisfied in the long run.

A large factor in the driver shortage is drivers are aging out. Being a truck driver is becoming a niche industry. While we all need drivers to move freight, the driver pool is shrinking due to working conditions and demands, aging out, poor work life balance, access to healthy foods and exercise while on the road. Recruiting younger drivers is difficult because the trucking profession doesn’t always appeal to younger generations who may have different career aspirations such as flexibility, technology driven work, or shorter work hours. Moreover, the cost and time commitment for obtaining a CDL can deter new recruits as a decent portion of companies do require 24 months of experience and that can be difficult to get.

How do you change this? Whether you’re a new grad driver, recruiter, or business owner, shifting to a more employee-friendly recruiting approach can be a game-changer. When you focus on what drivers truly want—respect, support, and efficiency—you don’t just attract more leads, you turn them into loyal hires. Happy drivers spread the word, creating a powerful ripple effect that fuels long-term success. Invest in the technology for trucks and driver tracking systems, increase the company benefits for employees, and create an open and honest dialog between recruiters and potential hires.

References

Allton, M. (2024, June 9). The science behind the effectiveness of word of mouth. The Social Media Hat. https://www.thesocialmediahat.com/blog/the-science-behind-the-effectiveness-of-word-of-mouth/

Consumer Trust in online, social and mobile advertising grows. Nielsen. (2022, July 21). https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2012/consumer-trust-in-online-social-and-mobile-advertising-grows/

Job search | indeed. (n.d.). https://www.indeed.com/