In my role at Challenger putting people first is a big part of my Job description. Recruiting is important but so is retention and we as an industry need to keep that in mind. I believe that at Challenger we take this seriously and I can tell you for sure that each and every department in the company has goals focused on retention of our People. In these times of an aging workforce the battle for talent is only going to increase. This is why we have a project/initiative in place called Good to Great and this project is entirely based on putting our people first. This project started late last summer and is gaining momentum each and every day. Our people can feel it and its now becoming part of our everyday conversations and a way of doing business. Initially we started with a small team to get this up and running and now each and every department has a representative on the team and each department has departmental action plans on how they can help put people first.

I remember back in 2001 hearing Dan Baker speak and its funny how you recall what people say but Dan ended his speech that day with this statement. “You see Trucking is really a people business. When you take away the rates and the trucks and the maps and the fuel what do you have left, you have people and that is what the trucking business really is a people business.” I think about that often and I also think that we at Challenger have some of the best people this industry has to offer.

About the Author

Geoff Topping is the Director of Recruiting and Retention at Challenger Motor Freight and has worked in many different areas of the Trucking Industry both on and off the Road. Geoff can be reached at geofft@challenger.com