How to Find HR Drivers:
A step-by-step guide to hiring top-quality HR drivers. Includes a full hiring process that will help you find, hire, and retain the best HR drivers.
Attract the best HR drivers.
Determine what sets your vacancy apart from others.
Before you craft your job description, list all the reasons why an HR driver would want to work for you. What are you offering that will make long hauls, lengthy periods away from home, and sometimes dangerous driving conditions bearable? These are the things that will put drivers in seats.
Some things HR drivers value:
- A positive and ethical work environment.
- Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
- A good retirement plan.
- Paid holiday and sick leave.
- Respect and appreciation for the work they do.
- No forced dispatches or extra hours.
- Fair fatigue management systems.
- Perfectly maintained vehicles.
- Good work-life balance.
- Flexible schedules.
- Bonuses.
- Opportunities to become owner-operators.
Think about the type of candidates you're targeting and what may be important to them. For example, if you're targeting women HR drivers or veterans, what kind of perks would be important to these candidates?
Create an appealing HR driver job post.
An attractive job post needs to clearly define the responsibilities of the role, and advertise any benefits that the successful candidate will receive. To find a good HR driver, you should also make it clear which certifications, skills, and level of experience the ideal candidate should have.
If there are unfavorable aspects of the job, for example, driving off-road, delivering dangerous substances, or working on weekends, be transparent about this. You increase your chances of hiring the ideal HR driver when you're honest about working conditions and responsibilities.
Clearly outline the duties, requirements, limitations, and benefits of the role.
Be sure to mention the type of HR driver you require. Mention the type of vehicle(s) they will be expected to drive.
Use an HR driver job description template.
A CDL driver job description template will work perfectly as an HR driver job description. It provides much of the boilerplate information you'll need, such as responsibilities and requirements.
Advertise the position.
Make sure your job is picked up by Google.
Google for Jobs allows your posting to be seen in search results. This can greatly increase your job visibility. You can get it picked up by Google by having someone properly format it on your website, or by using a service (such as Betterteam) that creates a properly formatted jobs page for you automatically.
Target job boards dedicated to HR drivers and truckers.
Posting jobs on niche job boards like JobDroid will narrow your search to drivers who have the necessary license and experience to fill your vacancy.
Ask employees for referrals.
A great way to find and hire a suitable HR driver is to ask current employees for referrals. Create an employee referral program to motivate employees to participate in the recruiting process.
Make sure it is clear to your employees that the HR drivers they refer should have the right skills, qualifications, work ethic, and attitude.
Share new job openings on social media.
To attract the best talent, your posts should be engaging, informative, and professional. Maintain an active presence on social media and respond to any questions, comments, or queries in a timely manner.
Post multiple times every day.
Ensure that 65% of your posts are original and that 35% of your content comes from other sources.
Use images and videos to highlight your workplace culture, and to showcase aspects of the job HR drivers would be interested in.
Engage as often as possible with your audience by liking and sharing posts.
Ask your current employees to like and share your posts.
For a more active approach, use Facebook and LinkedIn to research and recruit experienced HR drivers working elsewhere, or to target new talent.
Start a blog or a vlog about HR trucking.
A blog or a vlog can be powerful tools for creating a network and building your employer brand. Whether you're sharing your adventures in the outback or giving tips on how to keep healthy on the Australian roads, blogging and vlogging can help you to become a trusted name in the industry.
Drivers can get to know you and your organizational values and culture through your blogs and vlogs, so be sure to highlight these aspects.
Use your blog to share your compassion, respect, and appreciation for HR drivers and the sacrifices they make each time they hit the road.
Vet your candidates.
Screen your applicants.
Even if you bold the requirements for the job in your posting, people often overlook those and apply anyway. Find the qualified ones by sending out a short email that asks a few basic questions, such as:
- How long have you worked as an HR driver?
- Do you have any demerits on your license?
- Do you have experience driving Heavy Rigid vehicles?
- Are you available to work evenings and over holiday periods?
If you're worried that your applicants may not be responsive to an email, you may want to try delegating someone to make short phone calls to ask these questions.
Conduct a phone interview.
In-person interviews take up a lot of time for everyone involved. You can schedule short phone interviews and quickly learn which candidates are the best to continue learning about.
During these interviews, check that their expectations for salary and benefits line up with yours, and find out why they no longer are at their previous job.
Example questions:
- Why did you leave your last HR driver job?
- What do you expect for salary and benefits?
- What days are you available to work?
- When would you be able to start?
- Do you have any drink-driving offenses?
- Can you pass a drug test?
- What made you interested in this job?
Look for things that would disqualify the candidate; their reasons for leaving their last job and their salary expectations might be problematic.
Keep a copy of the answers to the screening questions at hand when conducting the interview. If the candidate gives entirely different responses, this should be seen as a red flag.
For candidates that meet your standards at this point, be sure to review the highlights of taking the job and see if there are any other questions they have.
Encourage them to ask any questions they may have or raise any concerns about the job.
Keep selling the job, as they may be entertaining other offers.
Do a drug test and license check.
You don't want to go through the whole hiring process only to find out the driver has a violation or drug test result that prohibits you from hiring them.
Do a DoT background check.
Depending on the type of vehicles HR drivers will be using, you should run a license check with the Department of Transport and request a driving record.
These will cover:
- Traffic offenses.
- Pending court actions against the license holder.
- Validity of a license.
- Demerits.
Background checks will have to be done through the transport authority in your state.
Conduct tests and interviews.
Schedule a road test.
Verifying that a driver has an HR may not tell you the full story about their qualifications. You'll want to give them a road test that covers the basic skills they'll need for a day on the job, and in some cases, you'll be required to do this.
Check your local laws to be sure that your road test covers what it needs to, and make sure the test puts them through the real challenges a workday represents.
Conduct an in-person interview.
At this point, you've got most of what you need to know if a candidate will make a good HR driver, but an in-person interview will give you insight as to how well they'd fit into your workplace culture.
It is advisable to schedule the interview directly after the road test.
Introduce candidates to co-workers.
Show them around the office, warehouse, and vehicles.
Encourage the candidate to ask their own questions and to voice any concerns about the job during the interview.
For inspiration, read through our list of CDL driver interview questions. They're perfect for HR drivers.
Hire your new HR driver.
Make an offer.
Once you've found an HR driver who meets your qualifications, you'll want to make them an offer fairly quickly to take them off the job market.
Call the candidate to offer them the job, informally.
Follow this up with a letter or email providing the job description, salary, and benefits information.
Use our job offer letter template to craft a compelling and professional letter.
Onboard your new HR driver.
Onboarding is a key final step in the hiring process that is not to be overlooked. Make a good first impression and get the new hire up and running fast by having a detailed and organized onboarding process.
Be sure to assign driver trainers to each of your new HR drivers. These trainers will help with a smooth transition and ensure that all drivers understand their goals and expectations more fully.