The Heartbeat of the American Supply Chain

Trucking shouldn’t just offer somebody a seat. It should offer them a future, better skills, better opportunities, and more money and choices. That was the premise Werner Enterprises Senior Director of Driver Recruiting Ben Pile brought to his recent appearance on Brake Check with host Charles Gracey.

Pile has spent 23 years in driver recruiting, and his experience has ranged across nearly every pressure point carriers face in attracting and keeping drivers today: equipment quality, trust, the make-or-break first 90 days, and the different needs of rookie and veteran drivers. According to Pile, recruiting only gets a carrier in the door, and it’s everything that happens after that determines whether a driver stays.

What separates Werner’s genuine career path from a shallow recruiting pitch, Pile says, is the sheer range of directions a driver can take.

“There’s over 400 different driving opportunities here,” Pile said, citing multiple regions, local routes, dedicated lanes, and team driving as just a starting point. Drivers can also move into leadership roles mentoring the next generation, become driver ambassadors or Road Team Captains, or get behind the wheel of one of Werner’s Operation Freedom trucks. Being a Marine Corps veteran himself, Pile says that program is near and dear to his heart.

This story was originally published by FreightWaves. Read the full story at FreightWaves →