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Blazing the trail
By Aaron Huff
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Speed is the key to hiring quality drivers. Information
technology can make your hiring process faster, better and
less painful.
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High turnover — more than 100 percent in
truckload during the third quarter of 2002 — makes hiring drivers a
continuing process. You may be so busy hiring drivers using your
current process that you have never stopped to question whether
there’s a better way of doing it. If your hiring process is laden
with paper from application to hiring to management of qualification
files, you may be creating problems for your company.
In a competitive environment, carriers that can process applications
quickly have an edge in landing the most desirable drivers.
Electronic processing of applications and required documentation
through the Web and other means can speed that decision, reduce the
workload on people responsible for the task, and reduce the
potential for major errors due to illegible writing or paperwork
snafus.
Carriers — especially larger ones — may benefit from the planning
and tracking capabilities of some systems to fine-tune their
recruiting and hiring efforts. And managing the ongoing driver
qualification tasks in a digital environment can make your staff
more efficient and more accurate.
Knowing what works
Managing the hiring process is especially difficult as a company
grows and adds locations and multiple recruiters....................
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About three years ago, Monaca, Pa.-based PGT Trucking bought a
driver recruiting management system called RapidHire for its AS400
mainframe computer. It was the first recruiting software package the
company had ever owned, says Lori Brown, director of MIS for the
750-truck carrier. The software helps recruiters gather information
from prospective drivers more quickly and more uniformly. RapidHire
also has reporting features that allow users to determine, for
example, which ads work in which areas, Brown says.
Advanced software to manage recruiting and hiring is not limited to
large companies that have expensive mainframe systems. Driver
Recruiting C/S is available in a subscription-based online version,
says Ken Windle, president of IEG Software. RapidHire will be
available in an online version in August or September, says Lloyd
Tempero, president of RapidHire Software.....................
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RapidHire users can order DAC reports with the touch of a function
key. Moments later, the DAC report is displayed to recruiters while
the driver is on the phone.
RapidHire also has an optional feature called iApp that enables
drivers to enter an application from a company website directly into
the RapidHire software database.
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KLLM Transport Services uses an online application from
RapidHire Software to make its hiring steps — such as data
entry and verification of past employment using DAC Services
— more efficient.
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KLLM Transport Services uses the iApp
system to give drivers an immediate response, telling if they meet
experience and location requirements. If they do, they are told so
while they are on the website and asked to call the company
immediately.
“DAC employment verification occurs at the touch of a button, and
the driver receives real-time feedback on our interest level at the
time they click the application submit button,” says Vincent Schott,
vice president of information services for Jackson, Miss.-based KLLM
Transport. “These applications are processed in minutes and, in many
cases, job offers are made to qualified individuals in as little as
a day.”....................
READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE FROM
eTrucker.com HERE:
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