Truck Topics
Panther II: Helping the new driver learn the ropes
For the new expediting owner/operator and driver, the first few weeks in the business can be a confusing time. For the newcomer to this business who has never worked as a professional driver, there's a boatload of stuff to absorb and retain.
The typical expedited carrier's orientation of two or three days can be overwhelming to the new driver. With all the information about the Qualcomm, Canadian border crossings, logs, DOT regulations, etc., the newbie has a lot to remember in addition to the basic job of pick up and delivery of the freight.
Fortunately, the majority of carriers have years of experience in getting the new driver up and running through their orientation process, but what happens after the driver leaves the company headquarters and enters the real world of life on the road?
Does the company have a real support system to help answer the drivers' questions that invariably arise during those first few weeks?
Or is it a case of just throw the new driver out there on the road, and leave it to him to survive in the stressful opening stages of his new business?
The folks at a special department of Panther II Transportation, Inc. believe they have developed a system that not only helps the new expediter over a lot of the hurdles they will encounter, but also impacts Panther II's driver retention efforts.
The Panther II Transition Team
Jeff Brown of Panther II's Contractor Support and Development says, "We had this program in place about two years ago, but we had to put it on hold due to a staffing shortage. Using the successful model of the original program, we brought the Transition Team back in February of this year and we're very satisfied with the results."
This program gives the new Panther II contractor and driver personalized attention and individual mentoring through those sometimes difficult first few weeks in expediting. The Transition Team will track the new driver's progress for six weeks after orientation as well as contacting him at least once every six-business days.
"Our new drivers, of course, are welcome to call our three-person team at any time," says Brown. "The team members can access the truck's numbers, track their miles, reference their average per mile statistics, and even give them a cents-per-mile breakdown."
The Transition Team works in the safety building in Panther II's Seville, OH facility and reports to Jeff Brown. Part of its duties includes regular searches of Internet freight boards looking for loads to help get the new driver out of a non-productive area:
"Anything we can do to find a load for a driver 2 to 4 to 6 hours earlier and save them the sitting time, it's worth it," says Brown. "If it results in another one or two loads a week for that driver, it's worth it. We want to help these new contractors get their businesses up and running."
Brown states that this program has been very beneficial to Panther II as well.
"We have found that if a contractor remains with Panther II over six months, they will very likely be with us for a long time."
The Team Members
Rick Trusso heads up the Panther II transition team. After a career as a service manager in the food industry for 30 years, he entered the expediting field as a cargo van owner/operator with Panther II. After 3 years on the road, he joined the Panther II personnel in the office about a year ago.
Trusso tells us, "I enjoyed my time on the road, but now I like being home on a regular basis with my wife and family. Actually, I left driving because my wife told me she wanted me off the road. I happened to be looking through the local paper, and one ad that was looking for a 'contractor/support person' caught my eye; no phone number, just a fax number. After I faxed in my resume, I got a phone call the next day and here I am."
"When I came into the office, it was to be as a contractor support and development person. When they resurrected the transition team, they asked me to work in this area, so I said sure."
"I've always enjoyed dealing with people," Trusso continues, "and if I can help one person a day, it makes my day. It means that there is one person who is not upset. I won't sugarcoat what I have to tell them, but the drivers seem to appreciate the honesty. I have to tell them what our company policy is, whether I always agree with it or not."
"We focus on the new contractors who are coming into our system for the first time. "We try to acclimate them to the business of expediting, which, as we all know, is nothing like linehaul or conventional trucking. We try to educate them that, in expediting, we pay more for fewer miles. We have to show them that waiting for a load is sometimes part of the business."
Trusso says that his background as an expediter helps him to relate to the new drivers because he has dealt with so many of the situations that the new drivers are presented with.
One example he cites is an improved relocation "hot map" for Panther II's most active operational areas that he and an associate compiled in their off duty time. It lists the truck stop locations that are the most efficient places for layovers in the Panther II system.
"For example, I received a call this morning from one of our newest drivers. He was worried about getting enough miles, but just before I called him back, he had gotten his best run to date - a 500 plus mile run. He said that he appreciated the fact that I had called him back to check on him, and although I wish I could take credit for securing that good run for him, he was very happy nonetheless."
Transition Team member Teresa Stewart contributes her years of experience in dispatching to the team.
"When Jeff Brown became aware of my desire to leave my previous job with an LTL company, he told me about the Transition Team and it caught my interest."
With a background in both expediting and linehaul trucking, Stewart says that her role in the team quite often involves driver relocations, and moving a new driver to a more productive area.
"If I see an area that's loaded with our trucks, while an adjacent area is empty, I'll reposition some drivers there," Stewart explains. "I work as hard as I can to keep the driver moving, because we understand that all of the contractors and drivers are out here to make money."
"My shift runs from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm. During the last part of my shift, I will access the equipment updates and transfer trucks to the busier areas."
Team member Jerry Casenhiser has been with Panther II for 5 years, working in general dispatch, the backhaul department for 3 years and in Special Services.
Utilizing his experience from years in the backhaul department, Casenhiser says that much of his job is concerned with finding loads for new drivers and older drivers alike.
"The newer drivers may become frustrated when waiting for a load because they don't know enough about expedited freight. We try to instruct them about these less-active areas during the classroom orientation and to educate them about backhauls."
"A team was heading into Canada for the first time, but they had some questions about paperwork. They called me, and we went over the required forms. They had filled out all the forms correctly, but they were grateful that someone was available to check it over with them, saving them potential problems at the border. "
"If you have problems on a border crossing, it's going to leave you with a bad taste about going into Canada and that's not what we want. We want the drivers to have as smooth a Canadian border crossing as possible."
Rick Trusso says that the team has a role in educating new drivers: "In working with the new drivers we help them learn the Panther II way. We teach them about relocation, we help with empty moves; we actively search out backhauls for them."
"We also show them the benefits of getting their paperwork to Panther II on a regular, timely basis. This ties in with the driver keeping his cash flow steady."
"It is somewhat easier to deal with new drivers because they come to Panther II with no bad habits. Many times, driver turnover can be directly attributed to drivers retaining their old habits from other companies, and their unwillingness to adapt to a system that we have found to be effective."
Trusso continues: "I tell our drivers: If you're having a problem, call us. We have people here all day long and through part of the evening. If you have a question about Canadian paperwork or something else that you're unsure of, give us a call; we'll help you through it."
Casenheiser touches on the Canadian issue. "Our orientation trainers are very knowledgeable about Canadian border crossing procedures and they have been very successful in educating the new drivers about the border procedures. We've been able to keep the problems to a minimum."
He adds, "Our new contractors are very receptive to this program, they really appreciate the extra attention and the personal touch. The drivers who have no prior trucking experience tell us how helpful this program has been for them."
Teresa Stewart says that just in the three months of the new Transition Team's existence, there have been a few cases where a new driver would possibly have left the company because he didn't fully understand the necessity of proper positioning.
"There was a new driver who had been in service at home in Southern Georgia. When I saw that he had been sitting at home, I gave him a call."
"I repositioned him to the Atlanta area where he was dispatched on a run. I've been monitoring him since, and by moving him out of less-active areas, he's been able to keep running steadily."
When Jerry Casenhiser's day begins at 9:00 am, he says that his first task is to print out Panther II's truck availability for the US and Ontario. He then highlights all of the new drivers who have been with the company for 6 weeks or less.
Working closely with the Panther II backhaul department located at the company's Medina, OH headquarters, Casenhiser will post straight trucks and tractor-trailers that are sitting outside of Panther II's main service area on Internet freight boards.
Casenhiser says that he has booked loads for cargo vans from the Internet, but load availability for that size truck is limited.
Casenhiser says that the team relies heavily on number crunching to identify drivers who may need assistance from the team:
"Loaded miles, deadhead miles, unaccounted miles and empty miles are all part of the numbers we have for each truck. These figures can give us a pretty accurate accounting of the truck's cents-per-mile for all miles."
"We also calculate availability percentage, load acceptance percentage, on-time percentage, etc. to help us determine those drivers who could use a little help."
"Jerry and I were working with a new tractor/trailer team who had just delivered in the Detroit area when they received word that the co-driver's son had just gotten his deployment orders to the Middle East. The team was from the Sparks, NV area. They contacted us and told us of their need to get home and could we help them."
"Jerry got on the horn and found them a backhaul that picked up 69 miles away from their location and delivered two days later to Reno, NV - 14 miles from their home."
"Jerry and I sat there after the dispatch, shaking our heads and thinking, 'How often does that happen?' That was one of those deals where it made my day. We got that team where they needed to be."
"Panther II treats the drivers with a lot of respect," Casenhiser adds, "and we're concerned about the drivers and what happens to them."
Trusso echoes his team member's thoughts: "Panther II has always been a very driver-friendly company. I have family members who are with other expedited carriers, so I have a basis for comparison."
"Some of the new Panther II drivers who have come to us from other companies have told us that it would have meant a great deal to have a program like ours at their old company."