Why Your Driver Onboarding Process is Taking Too Long

Onboarding automation and driver qualification file management software are just two of Foley’s many programs that can help grow your fleet quickly and compliantly.

It takes about 28 days to turn an applicant into an official hire for the transportation industry, according to research by the DHI Group. If your employee onboarding process is taking this much time (or longer), you need to address what’s slowing down your process of getting new employees behind the wheel.

In addition to taking up more of your HR department’s valuable time, the longer it takes your company to onboard new employees, the less likely they are to be satisfied with their decision to join your fleet.  

Cutting down the time it takes to onboard new employees majorly impacts the rest of your company’s ability to stay productive, meet deadlines, make customers happy, and welcome the recruits to your fleet.  

How can you do this? One word: automation. 

Now that you're thinking twice about your onboarding process, you should consider the following:

• The impact of a longer onboarding process on your employees' productivity and long-term satisfaction
• The consequences of a manual onboarding process
• How improving your onboarding process can have positive long-term effects on your business
• How Dash can shorten and streamline your process

We'll cover each of these topics below, and then you'll be well on your way to a better employee onboarding experience — both for you and your new drivers.

What happens when onboarding is NOT automated?  

We’re all human, and humans make mistakes. That’s why manually onboarding new employees can take so much extra time – fixing any data entry errors or finding missing documentation really adds up if it happens every time a new driver needs to be added to your roster.  

A CareerBuilder report showed that 42 percent of HR managers who don’t capture onboarding information electronically spend three hours or more per employee manually collecting and processing onboarding information, while 16 percent spend five or more hours.

If you’re thinking about your bottom line – and who isn’t – this is a severe waste of resources that should be addressed no matter the size of your company or how many HR employees you have to dedicate to this process. 

Those who go through the grueling process of collecting onboarding information manually (simply to do their jobs) also face these struggles: 

• 37% reported heavier workloads for HR 
• 35% reported higher stress levels for HR 
• 28% reported missing required documentation, including compliance-related forms 
• 17% reported a lack of any records showing employees read and acknowledged company policies 
• 9% reported the candidates decided to walk away from the positions because the process took too long 

Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, said it right: “Employers need to establish a comprehensive checklist for every new employee and incorporate more automation to provide better, more efficient experiences for employees, their managers, and HR.” 

Improving and automating your onboarding process will not only make new employees happy, but it will also make your HR department’s jobs easier, which then leads to a boost in morale. It’s truly a win-win scenario. 

Taking Another Look at Your Employee Onboarding Program  

Automated onboarding is a great first step in the right hiring direction. Switching to this type of process gives you the opportunity to fill any gaps in your program as well.

CareerBuilder found that employers using a structured, well-thought-out process experienced numerous advantages, such as: 

• 49% of employees are more engaged 
• 46% of employees feel more confident in their roles 
• 45% of employees trust the organization more 
• Employee productivity increased by 42% 
• Morale increased by 38% 
• Employee turnover reduced by 31% 

The long-term effects of a better onboarding process shouldn’t be ignored; the sooner you prioritize automating and improving your approach, the better. 

Let's think about everything your new recruits need to be trained on, like hours-of-service (HOS) rules, for example. Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to spend weeks getting drivers up to speed on your company policies and values, and focus on making sure they know how to work compliantly (like following the short-haul 16-hour exemption) instead?

Automated onboarding allows you to make time for what really matters when it comes to welcoming new drivers to your fleet.

Dash Automates Employee Onboarding for Companies of Any Size

Whether your driver count is just reaching double digits, or you surpassed 100+ employees years ago and are continuing to expand, Dash could be the remedy to your onboarding blues.

When you use Dash to hire, screen, and onboard new employees, you'll experience these advantages:

• No paper applications - ever. The digital, mobile-first job application available in Dash is designed with today's drivers in mind. It's short, easy to complete, and can be saved at any point during the completion process so they can come back to it later. 
• Faster candidate connections - As soon as an application is submitted, you'll receive a notification. If their qualifications make them a good match, you can initiate a phone interview directly in the platform.
• Consolidated Essential Features - Every step of the onboarding process can be fulfilled in Dash, from official disclosures and authorizations to background screens and drug tests.
• Instant, Step-by-Step Notifications - Just as candidates are guided through the application and screening process, so are you. You'll always know where candidates are in the process thanks to immediate platform and email notifications.

When you’re ready to reduce your time-to-hire, get in touch with us here at Foley. Our compliance specialists are here to help you get started with our hiring, screening, and onboarding software.

Get a free demo of Dash today and you’ll see why Foley is the right choice for onboarding new employees quickly, efficiently, and compliantly.