Whether you’re an eCommerce company, a brick-and-mortar store offering delivery, or a transport company, you’ve likely noticed a worker shortage as a result of the pandemic, particularly a shortage of delivery drivers. Hiring has become more difficult during these tough times, and it seems like it may get worse in the coming months.
In this article, we will first take a look at the different elements and events that led to this driver shortage; then, we will propose an innovative solution that will allow your company to hire more workers and increase their productivity.
Why is it so difficult to hire delivery drivers?
Driver shortages were a problem before the pandemic, but they have gotten worse in recent months, causing disruption in the supply chain. It's becoming a real struggle to hire and keep drivers, and here's why.
Drivers leaving the profession
More job opportunities in different industries. Since the onset of the pandemic, many delivery drivers have left the profession to start new ones. As the market is currently offering more job opportunities and being a delivery driver is considered a difficult job, some drivers have switched to the construction, warehouse, or manufacturing industries.
Workers are needed in many different industries, so some drivers are choosing jobs that are less physically demanding or that offer a better salary.
An aging workforce. While the pandemic has made things worse, worker shortages were an issue even before COVID-19. As we mentioned earlier, being a delivery driver is a tough job that doesn’t pay much; therefore, fewer and fewer people are willing to do it these days. Furthermore, many drivers are doing it temporarily and don’t stay long enough to replace the ones retiring.
Vaccine status and people getting sick
Another reason for the driver shortage could be related to vaccine requirements. Since Canada requires international drivers to be fully vaccinated, those who are unvaccinated will not be able to make deliveries anymore.
The American Trucking Association estimates the driver shortage was about 80,000 last year. Companies are concerned that they will lose more drivers. According to Lakowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, in an article for CP24, “Trucking companies will lose 10 to 15 percent of their workforce.”
Besides, with more and more people getting sick because of COVID-19, companies are finding it difficult to deliver orders. "As of the New Year, we have so many people having to quarantine, there are days when we are oversold by 20%," Kriska General Manager Tammy Cryderman said in a CTV News article.
A difficult job for most drivers
Physically demanding. Being a delivery driver is not an easy job nowadays, and fewer and fewer people are willing to perform a physically demanding job if the salary is not worth it.
Few to no tips. Customers usually don’t have cash to tip drivers, and since drivers used to get a lot more money from tips, this is a real loss for them.
High expectations from available drivers
Noticing this shortage of drivers, the ones that are still willing to work may have more demands. They understand that companies are struggling to find workers and that they will have no trouble finding work, so they don't hesitate to impose their own rules, telling companies, "I want this and this, and if you're not willing to give me that, I'm not taking the job."
How can you hire more workers during these difficult times?
In order to recruit drivers, companies have to change their approach and review their offer so they can attract the attention of skilled drivers. Companies want to hire experienced drivers for safety reasons, which makes it more difficult to find workers.
While being a delivery driver might not always be easy, making more money is usually what drivers care about the most and what could significantly increase their motivation to work. However, not every company can afford to increase their drivers’ salaries.
This is why, at CIGO Tracker, we’ve come up with an innovative solution that will allow you to attract more drivers without having to increase their salaries. We’ve recently launched CIGO Pay, a platform designed for drivers to earn more tips. Here is how it will benefit your workers and your company:
#Making up to 30% of their salary in tips
Tips are important for drivers as they can make up to 30% of their salary, a significant amount that would definitely increase their motivation.
Talking to our customers, we’ve learned that drivers used to make more money as they used to receive more tips from customers.
In a world where people are barely using cash anymore, it becomes more complicated to tip drivers when they deliver orders. As a result, many drivers have lost an important part of their revenues, making it less worthwhile for them to work as delivery drivers.
Therefore, we have launched a platform that would allow customers to give themselves digital tips upon delivery.
Therefore, if you want to enhance your delivery service and reduce bad experiences, you might want to look at the elements that are essential to improving your performance. Read on to learn the different ways you can help them and take full control of your operations.
