4 Methods to Increase Your Recruiting Conversion Rate

By: Molly Jones, Digital Media Strategist, Conversion Interactive Agency

Posted: Jun 28, 2019

Categories: Digital, Analytics, Marketing, Retention, Conversion Interactive Agency, Employees

The world of truck driver recruiting continues to grow tougher each year. There are more openings than drivers to fill them and because of that, your positions must stand out from the rest. Not only do you need to gather enough applications, your recruiters must also convince applicants why they should pick your carrier over the countless others in the industry.

If you have a healthy applicant pool, but struggle to make the hires you need, it’s likely you want to improve your recruiting conversion rate, sometimes called your apps to hire ratio. Let’s say you get 1,000 applicants in any given month to your ATS and of those 1,000, you’re able to hire 35. That’d give you a recruiting conversion rate of 3.5%. That rate could account for any number of reasons you can’t hire drivers (no responses, no shows, declined offers, etc.). Because more realistically than not you can’t hire every applicant, you need to make sure you work your applicant pool as effectively as possible.

But with cost per application growing pricier, how do you make the most of the applications you’re getting, and increase hires from your own pool? Here are a few strategies to improve your recruiting conversion rate:

Act fast and contact applicants early. As soon as someone applies to an open position, make sure they know their application’s been received. Automate a response via email and text. Then once you’re able, go ahead and call them to make sure their application’s complete. The quicker you can get to the applicant, the better. Chances are they’re applying to multiple positions at once, so make sure you can get ahold of them the same day their application comes in.

Think outside the box of how the driver can work. Let’s say you get a driver with too little experience, or they don’t have quite the endorsements you’re looking for. What about other divisions at your company? Or a student training program? Drivers are all too rare nowadays. Instead of looking for easy ways to disqualify candidates (there are plenty), find a different fit for them at the organization and show you’re invested in their career growth. Think about how your carrier can work for the driver, not how the driver can work for your carrier.
Work your database routinely. Let’s say you previously had a driver not qualify because they didn’t have the right driving experience. As time passes, they can quickly become eligible for a re-apply. In your database, make sure to use statues of “Future Qualified” to reach out to these candidates later. Also make sure to use “Unable to Contact” or “Not Interested” statuses in case those leads become interested later on.
Train your recruiters monthly. Make sure your team trains often about best practices for reaching out to candidates and answering their questions. The team should communicate regularly with applicants and when possible, use automation so that drivers always feel like they know what’s going on. Make sure the recruiters stay diligent about apps and are held accountable for the hires they make.

With these 4 steps, you’re likely to increase your recruiting conversion score and better reach your hiring goals with your team!