“When sustainability is viewed as being a matter of survival for your business, I believe you can create massive change.”
- Cameron Sinclair
If many years ago, being sustainable was just a nice idea, it is the fastest-growing trend today. In the case of the transportation industry, sustainability is a competitive advantage. Research shows that 88% of customers align with sustainable and ethical trucking companies. This means that people look at sustainable companies as responsible and leading ones. Furthermore, people who look for jobs in companies always stick to sustainable ones. This is common in the transportation industry. You may be surprised, but even though truck drivers don’t really care about working sustainably, they do care to work for a sustainable company. But what stands behind such a contrasting viewpoint? Let’s continue and uncover the reasoning behind this.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Drivers consider the trucking company‘s sustainability as a motivator because of increased employee satisfaction and engagement. Working for a sustainable company doesn’t end with environmental sustainability – it goes beyond that. Sustainable companies tend to develop a culture that satisfies employees. Especially in the case of the best trucking company to work for with no experience like AJR Trucking, employees feel that the company does everything to sustain their work-life balance. One of the most important things for truck drivers is maintaining a work-life balance while being on the road for more than 11 hours. The number one indicator of increased employee satisfaction is knowing that the company will schedule work in a way that the truck driver will never worry about being far from his/her family.
Additionally, sustainable companies implement strategies and techniques, such as fleet tracking and regular fleet maintenance, to eliminate any additional challenges truck drivers may face on the road. Let’s go one by one and find out how.
- Fleet Tracking
This is a technique that raises the environmental efficiency of the trucking company. Tracking the fleet and following each vehicle’s route aids the business operations, cuts gas usage, and decreases greenhouse gas emissions. While keeping track of the fleet, the best trucking company to work for allows drivers to optimize routes and cut on idling – the time spent nonproductive while being on the road. Accordingly, the reduction in idling decreases unnecessary emissions within the environment. This means that fleet tracking leads to optimizing the routes, so that truck drivers can avoid traffic patterns where idling is at its max and drive efficiently without wasting time, energy, and fuel. It is a huge advantage for truck drivers to feel that the company works really hard to make the workday as productive as possible – a vital indicator of increased employee satisfaction.
- Regular Fleet Maintenance
Truck drivers care about how healthy their vehicles are because they don’t want to encounter maintenance issues while being on the road. Regular maintenance of the fleet relieves their stress before hitting the road. Like the best trucking company, AJR constantly conducts check-ups of its vehicles. The reason behind this is to ensure that the trucker will have a safe and successful route.
Otherwise, when even the best truck driver encounters maintenance issues on the road, that person stresses a lot. It becomes a physical and psychological burden for truckers. Imagine having to drive more than 11 hours and still having the responsibility of fixing the vehicle. Moreover, no one knows how much time it will take to fix the vehicle in such situations. That’s why sustainable trucking companies who care for their employees always conduct regular fleet maintenance, ensuring that truckers are all set to hit the road.
Regulatory Compliance
Legal standards require trucking companies to operate sustainably. Consequently, truck drivers prioritize working in companies that align with legal standards. While working in such companies, truckers are guaranteed to be legally compliant without risk of losing their job because of company failure. Even though regulatory compliance differs from state to state, those companies that follow sustainability standards automatically offer job security to their employees.
Furthermore, following legal standards regarding sustainability make trucking companies competitive in the trucking industry. Because of the rivalry in the trucking industry, most of the trucking companies operating unsustainably sooner or later get out of the game. That’s why establishing a sustainable image in the trucking industry ensures a long-lasting presence. Also, a sustainable image provides a competitive advantage to compete even with industry giants.
Job Security
Truck drivers who work excessively throughout the week and sacrifice the most precious thing on Earth – family time, need to be sure about high job security. Being dedicated to a company that will fail sooner or later is not an option for any employee, especially truckers. This creates the difficulty in finding job vacancies in the trucking industry and sustaining day-to-day needs with the new job at the new company.
Plus, when acknowledging that the company secures employees’ spots in the long-term regardless of circumstances, employees dedicate all their energy and skills to work without having a second thought. In the meantime, the trucking business leaves out the additional responsibility of regulating the employee turnover rate. Seems like being sustainable to provide job security is a safe place for both the company and its employees.
Good Public Image
Employees that work in a company valuing sustainability are perceived as responsible members of society. Such companies tend to follow Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards that signify leaving a positive footprint on the planet. Both environmentally and socially being inclined toward CSR provides the company with an excellent public image. Accordingly, those who work there also gain a good public image.
For example, it would never be the same impression when someone talks about their job at Apple versus when someone talks about their job at a start-up. A company with good brand awareness and a solid public image would never be compared with a company just making its entry into the industry. Likewise, an employee from a company with a good public image is perceived differently from others. The best trucking company for new drivers like AJR Trucking that strives toward sustainability, employee appreciation, and service excellence is perceived as a locally trusted one. However, those trucking companies with no concept of sustainability, employee appreciation, excellence in services, and similar aspects will never have a good public image.
Final Note
There is a popular opinion that truck drivers never care about sustainability. That is true to a minor extent. Indeed, the reality is that they care about the reputation of the company they work for. Such a contrast comes from the clash between truck drivers’ personal and professional preferences. From a personal point of view, attitude towards sustainability differs from one individual to another. However, from the professional point of view, all truck drivers want their companies to be sustainable. Outcomes from working at a company embodying sustainability include:
- Increased employee satisfaction
- Regulatory compliance
- Job security
- Good public image
Arturo M., one of the truck drivers of AJR Trucking, mentions, “Great company to work for, new 2020 trucks, and the best part – they have set routes. They are contracted with the US Post Office, which means a steady job throughout the whole year.” Another employee, Ray M., says, “I enjoy working here at AJR because of the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis. I am looking forward to growing with AJR Trucking and working with Management and employees to ensure it remains one of the top mail contractors around.” While Jeffrey O., another trucker of AJR Trucking, says, “Great company to be part of! Benefits, pay & equipment are great. AJR trucking being contracted with USPS has given me the comfort of knowing I’ll always have work to provide for my family.”
All these reviews indicate the employee perspective regarding companies that value sustainability. Enjoying work, maintaining work-life balance, receiving great pay and equipment, being in comfort while working for more than 11 hours, and many more are outcomes of aligning with sustainability standards.
Regardless of everything, the truth is that sustainability is the future of trucking industry. The more people specialize in the trucking industry, the more they feel how important sustainability is. Many trucking companies take up the sustainable business model because they understand that it’s not just about the environment – it’s all about increased employee satisfaction, legal standards, job security, good public image, and much more!
