As the Florida trucking industry continues to grow, so does the challenge of retaining staff. Given the intense competition for talent, what is your organization doing to keep its best employees?
Florida is one of the top states in the nation for trucking, with more than 35,000 trucking companies. That makes the state even more vulnerable to the national shortage of truck drivers that has skyrocketed in recent years. According to the latest report from the American Trucking Association, the industry is short around 50,000 drivers.
Yet, most organizations rely on outdated, traditional HR and training strategies for their drivers. Not only do these tactics fail to keep employees engaged or motivated, but they are also costly. Across the nation, more than 5.6 million drivers carry a CDL license, for example, with an estimated cost of $5,000 for hiring and training a single truck driver.
That’s why more and more companies are turning to modern simulator training for their drivers. Simulators can make a huge improvement in employee retention and reduce costs for your business.
Reduce Employee Turnover With Simulator Training
Leading companies know that retaining good drivers is less expensive in the long-term than hiring—and training—new drivers. One way to retain good drivers is to invest in truck simulation training. According to Training Magazine, investing in employee training makes employees feel more valuable to the company. They are given the opportunity to learn new skills and develop existing ones they bring to the table. The employee will have a greater sense of “self-worth” as they become more valuable to your organization, and your company will likely see increased productivity, a decreased need for supervision, and a reduction in employee turnover.
How NextGen Truck Simulators Can Help With Employee Retention
NextGen truck simulators look and feel like the real thing, including seats, doors, and mirrors. Drivers can feel the weight of the vehicle and the engine as they control a simulated journey. This comes complete with a range of instruments including brakes, gears, indicators, gauges, and switches.
Our simulators realistically mimic the experience of difficult driving situations, giving drivers full control over their own learning. Each high-fidelity simulation produces a range of data to help drivers understand how they responded to each scenario. They can experiment with gridlock, collisions, suddenly changing traffic and road conditions (such as rain, wind, hills, road and bridge closures, and flooding), and health supply distribution emergencies.
Drivers can modify, pause, and replay scenarios over and over. They can use real-time data from each session to fine-tune their responses and even track how well they improve over time.
Successful companies are finding that this kind of individual learning experience can boost morale, job satisfaction, and ultimately retention.
Benefits of NextGen Simulation Training:
- Simulation training saves time. Simulation training requires few written materials and very little staff oversight. Trainers don’t have to be “in the room,” and many other administrative requirements can be cut in half.
- Simulation training saves money. Simulation training doesn’t require a vehicle, fuel, or room to drive around. That means cost savings as well as less risk to trainees, equipment, and the environment.
- Simulation training is better. NextGen driver simulation creates experiences that build skills and confidence. Better trained drivers have fewer accidents, spend more time on the road, and are easier on equipment. That can even translate to better CSA scores.
Simulation training also signals that an organization is comfortable with leading-edge technology, which can help attract a new generation of qualified drivers.
Please contact us to find out how you can use NextGen simulation training to save time, save money, and improve staff retention.