LAS VEGAS – Amidst a conference featuring hundreds of presentations on telematics, in-cab capabilities, and other tech-focused topics, a panel revisited one of trucking's most fundamental issues: How do you care for – and retain – the driver behind the wheel? And in keeping with the conference's theme, how can technology be leveraged to achieve greater stability in a field plagued by massive, continuous turnover?

A three-person panel at Insight, the annual Trimble technology conference, offered a blend of technological solutions alongside practical, down-to-earth recommendations for retaining drivers and curbing alarming turnover rates.

Tim Crawford of Tenstreet presented statistics illustrating the challenges carriers – who constituted the largest segment of Insight attendees – face in stabilizing their driver numbers. Tenstreet, a company specializing in driver recruitment, onboarding, and compliance, noted that the average individual in their network is on the job market every four months, though Crawford acknowledged that "some drivers are looking to see if there's another job every week."

Three Million a Year

The figures underpinning this calculation are substantial. Crawford stated that Tenstreet processes applications from approximately 3 million individuals annually.

"The best indicator of whether a driver will be here in 90 days is simply asking, 'Hey, do you see yourself driving for us in 12 months?'" Crawford said.