by Mary Lou Jay
Jeremy Reymer knows from experience how frustrating the driver recruitment process can be; he owned a driver staffing company for 15 years. “At our peak, we had 500 full-time and part-time drivers and the demand was extremely high,” he said. But Reymer came to realize that the existing driver recruitment systems were based on outdated IT platforms, and did not take advantage of modern technologies like mobile phones. “There was a lack of innovation and progress. So I started building software to maximize our efficiencies and to try to leverage technology in the recruiting process.”
The result was DriverReach, a technology-based recruiting and compliance management system and services. Reymer started DriverReach in 2016 and began introducing the program to the trucking industry on a wider scale a year later, after he sold his staffing company.
“Since that time, we’ve grown significantly. It’s really exciting to see how the industry is embracing technology. That’s been especially important since COVID-19,” Reymer said. In just three years, DriverReach has added nearly 200 customers who are served by the company’s 24-member staff.
EASIER WITH AUTOMATION
DriverReach helps companies hire drivers faster and more efficiently, Reymer said. It starts with the state-of-the-art mobile app for CDL driver applicants. Candidates find it easier to apply for a driving position through this app because they’re using familiar and immediately available technology, i.e., their cell phones. They’re less likely to abandon the application process.
Recruiters benefit because DriverReach automates part of the qualification process. It also features a modern, easy-to-navigate interface that lets recruiters efficiently manage applicants through the hiring process.
DriverReach partners with more than 30 different lead generation and marketing companies. Any applications a trucking company receives through those sites funnel directly into the DriverReach system. In a tight driver market, trucking companies gain a competitive advantage when they can receive and act upon those applications immediately.
DriverReach streamlines the candidate qualifying process through its integration with background screening providers. Their data is delivered directly into the system, without recruiters having to do any manual entry. It also eliminates much of the cumbersome and time-consuming work required for verification of employment. As soon as an applicant hits the submit button, DriverReach searches its growing database of employment history information and delivers the results into the system.
“We partner with two other background screening providers, HireRight and Driver IQ, which both have a previous employment history database,” said Reymer. This cooperative approach benefits the entire trucking industry.
Throughout the recruitment and hiring process, companies can use DriverReach’s built-in email and texting functions to keep in touch with driver candidates.
CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT
DriverReach keeps adding capabilities to its toolbox. One new option is Cadence, which enables recruiters to create automated drip marketing campaigns. With just a few clicks, a recruiter can select from various email templates, choose which database recipients it should go to and select the timing of each message. The ongoing communication is one way to remind prospective drivers of the job opportunities that the company is offering.
“One thing that I’m really excited about this year is our new e-doc and e-signature solution,” Reymer added. While this was always on the roadmap, DriverReach expedited its delivery to assist companies with hiring during the pandemic.
One use of e-docs would be to have new hires fill it out and sign all the necessary paperwork using their phones before they come in for orientation.
“That helps keep the driver engaged for those few days, and reduces the risk of them not showing up for orientation,” Reymer said. It also allows companies to significantly shorten their orientation period, because their new hires aren’t spending a lot of time during the session filling out paperwork.
“It’s just more efficient for everybody,” Reymer said.
DriverReach will continue to grow and evolve over time to take advantage of all the advances in technology. “It’s a constant evolution, because you really have to look at things from a driver’s perspective and continue to make it as easy as possible for them,” Reymer added.
Both large and small companies can take advantage of the DriverReach technology, because the cloud-based system requires no new computer hardware and is easy to set up and operate. Recruiters can access DriverReach from any internet-connected device.
“We also have a client success team that works with customers to make sure they are set up for success and that they know how to manage and navigate the system as efficiently as possible. I want them to think, ‘Wow, this is a game changer for me,’” Reymer added.
“We want our customers to have all the tools that they need to hire a driver as quickly and efficiently as possible, because there’s a lot of competition. The driver has applied to multiple companies, so speed to hire is really important.”
ASSOCIATION INVOLVEMENT IS KEY
Reymer has been a strong and active participant in the ATA and other national trucking associations, and in the state associations where his previous staffing business operated – Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Now, because DriverReach is available to companies throughout the country, he has become active in many other state associations as well.
He joined GMTA two years ago.
“My goal is not just to help generate growth for the company through that membership, but to help grow the association. As we talk to companies in Georgia that are not members, we want to promote GMTA to them,” Reymer said. GMTA members do receive a 10 percent discount on DriverReach’s monthly subscription, and that discount might even pay for their GMTA membership, he added.
Companies benefit most from associations like GMTA when they attend meetings and participate in its activities, and Reymer said he or his members will do that. “You have to get involved and be engaged,” he added.
