Changing working market in haulage

Working individuals have fundamentally re-imagined their relationship with their employers and the ways in which they work following the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, the haulage industry has been isolated from changes in the working relationship, but to continue attracting new talent to the industry haulage operators must be mindful of employees expectations and make receptive adjustments.

Evidence compiled by Forbes has suggested that 63% of all employees work from home in 2024 on either a full-time or hybrid basis. Clearly, a HGV driver cannot work from home but reasonable adjustments can be made to the working model and haulage operators must consider young individuals' expectations in order to continue attracting them to the industry. Evidence from the PwC Youth Employment Index has noted that young people in the UK expect their employers to be receptive to the demanding nature of contemporary life by being flexible. Typically, a long-haul HGV operator can expect extended periods away from home and their usual environment which could result in absences from family events and activities alongside other missed appointments. A long-haul operator may subsequently attempt to schedule these activities into a period of rest, but evidence has suggested that younger working individuals find this to be unacceptable and prefer periods of rest to be dedicated to rest.

A method in which operators could attempt to re-imagine their models to reflect this expectation is by offering flexible local routes. Under this model, an operator may collect a load at a warehouse close to their home, deliver the load locally and return to the warehouse with either an empty load or a return load within the same day. As such, the driver is offered a more typical 9-5 role. Operators may resist adapting pre-existing routes and methods to this model as it requires both a strategic re-thinking of both warehousing capabilities and routes to a chain method in which goods are sequentially distributed. However, to continue attracting younger drivers to the sector, hauliers must carefully review the cost of a strategic re-imagining against a prospective driver shortage.

The PWC Youth Employment Index further noted that young workers tend to be attracted to ‘green’ jobs  and employers may wish to consider ‘greening’ more traditional roles to attract new talent. A method through which a long-haul operator could do so is by renewing their fleet with zero emissions vehicles or replacing traditional fuels with greener alternatives. An operator whose green values are aligned with that of its employees may be more attractive to younger drivers than a less environmentally conscious competitor. The process of ‘greening’ can further extend to support roles. For example, the position of ‘Logistics Manager’ could be re-invented as ‘Sustainable Logistics Manager’ and the employee be mandated to consider the most sustainable routes and fuel options.

The haulage sector must closely evaluate traditional working models to attract younger drivers and support staff. This can be by implementing flexible working schedules that prevent the need for extended periods away from home and ‘greening roles’. Any failure to evaluate changing demands may lead to a worsening of the driver shortage.