“People don’t leave organizations. They leave bosses,” says leadership expert David Irvine, highlighting a long-standing issue in the trucking industry, where driver retention has been a persistent challenge.
Irvine argues that poor management and a lack of genuine care from direct supervisors are often the real reasons employees leave. “If you don’t have time to take care of people, don’t expect them to stick around,” he says.
Fleet managers can foster a workplace where employees – from office staff to dispatchers and drivers – feel genuinely valued and motivated. This can be achieved by discussing values during the hiring process, maintaining regular connections, setting clear expectations, and investing in leadership development.
Irvine, who has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, speaker and advisor to executives, says the key to thriving in trucking – much like in any business – lies in authentic leadership, where company values and connections are prioritized, and employees are empowered to contribute to the company’s mission. He shared some of the best practices that trucking leaders can implement to foster such an environment.
Hire for values, not skills alone
Effective leadership in trucking begins with the hiring process. Irvine says some of the best companies he worked with often spend five to 15 hours interviewing candidates.
While skills are important, they can be taught, whereas values, attitudes and cultural fit are harder to change. When employees’ personal values are aligned with those of the company, they tend to be more engaged, motivated and productive.
“Your top leadership team needs to decide what kind of values they want to operate from, what kind of values and attitudes do [they] need in the people that they hire. I would rather have [fewer] people with the right attitude than more people with the wrong attitude. And so, hire carefully, hire slowly, and make sure you’ve got the right people on board,” says Irvine. “That’s the first step. Then, make sure that you take time to connect with them and find out what their values are, and how you can support them as best you can.”
Connect before you expect
Once the right people are on board, maintaining strong connections with them is key to sustaining their motivation and commitment.
“Learn how to listen to them, learn how to value them,” Irvine says. “Connect before you expect.”
In the trucking industry, where drivers can spend days or weeks away from the office and where safety and compliance managers are under high pressure every day, regular check-ins are vital.
This means more than just an occasional exchange – it’s about building genuine relationships with employees.
Angela Splinter, president and chief executive officer of Trucking HR Canada, highlights the necessity of that. “I think that is so important today,” she says. “Especially with hybrid work models and a lot more remote work. Having that connection with people is that much more challenging.”
This is why Irvine advocates for ‘servant’ leadership style. “It’s not about pleasing and trying to make them happy all the time, but about [serving], giving them what they need to do their job.”
Avoid ‘seagull’ management, reinforce values
Establishing a servant leadership style helps avoid what Irvine calls ‘seagull management.’
“A joke about this is that some managers just flap around and crap on people,” he explains. “You come in and criticize, rather than catching them doing things right.” Instead, building trust through conversations and recognizing when employees meet expectations fosters accountability and better performance.
Recognizing good performance is about more than just accountability — it’s also about reinforcing the values that guide your company. Irvine believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for embedding these values into daily operations.
“Let’s suppose you want to build accountability,” Irvine suggests. “Usually what happens is we build it with a stick, and we watch people being unaccountable, and then we blame them for being unaccountable. Every meeting that you start in the next three months, we’re going to tell a story where somebody on that team was accountable, and we shine a light on what somebody did right, and we help them feel good about what they’re doing. That’s a simple little habit that you can start with.”
He recommends the Managing While Walking Around concept, which suggests leaders spend at least 50% of their time out of the office connecting with their teams.
“Get to know people enough that you can tell those stories in those meetings.”
Measure success beyond traditional metrics
Traditional metrics like safety records and delivery times are often used to gauge success in the trucking industry. But Irvine suggest that these numbers, while important, don’t tell the whole story when it comes to evaluating performance efforts. “You measure success through conversations,” Irvine says. “Ask your employees how they’re doing, how you’re doing as a leader, and how the company can support them better.”
In transportation, where the workforce is continuously diversifying in terms of culture and background, this approach is increasingly important. Regular conversations help leaders understand what respect and engagement mean to all, ensuring that company values resonate across the board. In a multicultural industry like trucking, respect might look different to different people, Irvine says. “It’s about having those conversations and making sure everyone feels valued.”
Upcoming THRC & David Irvine webinars
In an industry characterized by tight margins and high turnover, investing in leadership development might seem like a costly and time-consuming commitment. However, both Irvine and Splinter argue that it’s a necessity.
“When you’ve been promoted to being a boss, you can’t actually get promoted to being a leader,” Irvine says. Leadership development is what helps managers make that transition from managing tasks to empowering teams.
Splinter adds that top fleet employers who invest in leadership development are seeing tangible benefits, particularly in employee retention and overall performance. “And it’s what will help you stay ahead of the game when the industry starts to rebound…We need to use every tool in the toolbox to ensure we’re doing the right things to keep our employees engaged and motivated.”
Trucking HR Canada has partnered with Irvine to offer a three-part webinar series this fall, starting Oct. 23. Designed to provide practical insights tailored to the trucking sector, the series aims to help companies build a more resilient, purposeful, and engaged workplace.
“The industry connected strongly with Irvine’s keynote at the Women with Drive Leadership Summit in March, telling us they want more,” says Splinter. “That’s why we’re making it easier for organizations to invite their entire teams to this series — no matter where they’re located across the country.”
