Back in the day, I use to run this start-up called Supir,(now Transit Gigs) which was a staffing/recruitment service for bus companies. Ups and downs like any business, but for the most part, all of our managed contracts were always fully staffed. Recruiting, give or take was iffy because we had to work under a client's established parameters, but if I could create my own...it was easy.
Here's EXACTLY what I use to do to recruit and how you can do the same.
Minimize Union Influence
Understand the world is changing, and change with it. "This is the way we've always done it, and unions" are not an excuse. The union is a business, which means it has to compete. The simple workaround for Unions is and will always be to provide a better business alternative. I haven't been in a Union since 2015 and the agency didn't randomly fire me like many operators are told.
The Union profits off of the fear culture YOU install during training with all of your rules and policies. Not to mention even with one, the job still sucks. Unsuck the job🤷🏾♂️ and stop giving them ammunition to shoot you in the foot with.
Market To Younger People
My entire marketing focus was always targeted toward young people. Why? Because at the pace the industry is going we're going to drive our retirees into the ground, LITERALLY. The name Supir( or Transit Gigs) was cool and trendy. So were all of the logos. It was great for SEO purposes.
I would easily transition to the front page of any hiring platform because I'd get the most engagement and interest and it didn't cost me a penny. I was a transportation company presented like big tech. It's much easier to get to the front page of the internet as a hipster-named company that's probably spelled incorrectly, as opposed to random first/last name and sons transportation.
We simply aligned closer to what the world was doing in the realm of marketing. Use influence. People follow what people say in this society. I don't know why they just do lol.
Influencers NOT HR are the way to go. Who are your influencers? The operators with a following who LIKE their job and have charisma.
Leverage Social Events
The new wave prefers happy hour-inspired coffee-type events. Again, I'm 3 but I'm 45 in my head so I don't get it. However it's not about what I think, it's about what my customer/ candidate wants.
We would throw rooftop parties at our office space. Pizza, drinks, and jokes. Those events were never presented as job fairs but acted as one. In short, we wanted to position ourselves as a cool company, because we knew if we could do that people would come to us. We wouldn't have to recruit. This new generation needs an odd mix of business with pleasure and relationships. Give it to them from the start.
Location Location Location
Our office space was dope. Easier to leverage a cool office downtown vs a trailer in a parking lot. Not being judgmental, I'm just letting yall know what worked for us. I didn't like working inside of trailers in parking lots, so when I started my company I knew that would be a competitive advantage because I could market to other people who *drum roll* didn't like working inside of trailers in parking lots. Rooftop, shared workspace, cool building. It sells itself. We have parked a few buses here, but you can still leave buses in a parking lot. Just leverage calling things campuses, locations, etc etc
Through relationships, we would end up with multiple offices and even have access to a few business centers with hotels. Our drivers could chill anywhere. It made the company seem massive though we were small.
Run/Shift Freedom
Amazon has mastered this. Though they may be a warehouse, they are transparent about shift choices. People know what they get when they sign up. They let you pick and choose your shift before you fill out the application. I've gone on the record saying I would have come back driving full time if someone could have promised me a 12-8 with Sundays and Mondays off.
Every run is perfect for the perfect person. Do some of our shifts suck? Of course, but it depends on who you ask.
A split is perfect for a kid in college but bad for a husband with a family. Yall gotta start connecting the right people with the right shifts and you'll decrease your turnover. Imagine training from 6 am-2 pm for months, then getting a 9-9 split with Tue/Wed off. Oh, and you can't pick your division/depot either so now you're stuck at the base during your break because going home ain't worth it because gas is $1M a gallon now.
Not to mention because this job pays you for your ability to not get fired(seniority) as opposed to your actual performance, newer drivers get stuck with the worst shifts. Ya'll never consider that we put the most mailable operators (the rookies) on the crappiest shifts and then act surprised when they lose faith in the company and leave?
It's like dating yall, save the red flags for later on in the relationship.
My wife didn't know that I will leave my clothes at the door when the hamper is right there UNTIL we were already 2 years in 😅😅😅
Give operators more work (crazy right)
At the end of the day, people want to be seen. Stop RFP'ing everything and give those tasks to your drivers. If it's their talent/gift, they'll volunteer I promise. People are looking for purpose nowadays it's not enough to just "drive and go home".
This doesn't mean having them sweep more buses, Nah bruh. Give them real tasks that help the company move forward. You can do this by creating a "teams model". We had teams here that would cover the other parts of any company. I would give those drivers dominion over those areas to create the result I wanted. For example, social team...we need 200 followers. No profanity, or politics. Off you go. Just provide the framework and let people's natural talents work.
I got more, but I'm running outta time, but Yo! Last thing
Let them wear earbuds.
I don't even have time to unpack how yall think we can move a massive vehicle in major cities protecting the lives of thousands on and off the bus
P.S They are wearing them anyway
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