Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/671356
10 // COMPANY DRIVER // MAY 2016 Feature Story By James Jaillet ANALYST: GUARANTEED DRIVER PAY A GROWING RETENTION TACTIC, REGS TO FURTHER TIGHTEN DRIVER MARKET G uaranteed pay for truck op- erators is becoming a more common driver retention tactic for fleets, says the National Trans- portation Institute's Gordon Klemp. And for good reason, he says: It works. "Clearly we can quantify the fact that there's a growing number of people provid- ing guaranteed pay to improve retention," Klemp says, citing improvement in driver turnover rates at small fleets as evidence. "Guaranteed pay improves turnover and is not expensive, if you do it right," he says. Klemp spoke Feb. 26 in a conference call with investors and reporters in an update on driver pay, hosted by Stifel Transporta- tion and Research Group. Though driver pay increases of- ten are cited as the key compo- nent for improv- ing driver reten- tion, Klemp says evolving compen- sation packages — not necessarily pay increases, per se — are becom- ing more widely used as retention tools. He pointed to hourly pay for truckers and This chart from Klemp shows driver pay's connection to driver turnover rates comparing three fleets