Hire for Behavior to Avoid CSA 2010 Intervention

May 14, 2010 - PRLog -- Hire for Behavior to Avoid CSA 2010 Intervention



Gig Harbor, WA- Job-specific truck driver assessments developed by JOBehaviors provide carriers with the tools to consistently hire and retain the best drivers possible.

Are you counting down the days until the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association’s CSA 2010 initiative takes effect? If so, you’re not alone. Most carriers are still trying to understand the scope of the program and how it will affect operations.  Read the CSA 2010 outline and you will be struck by two words that repeatedly appear. Those two words are 1) behavior, and 2) intervention.

According to the report, the “behavior” of a company’s drivers will lead to an “intervention” if it’s determined they will “reasonably lead to crashes.” Go to YouTube and type “domino effect” to get a sense of what an “intervention” will mean for the average carrier.

CSA 2010 is designed “to develop and implement more effective and efficient ways for the FMCSA, its state partners, and the trucking industry to reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes, fatalities, and injuries.” The initiative will provide the means to track all aspects of safety violations by transportation companies, segment them by peer group and “apply a wide range of interventions to reduce high-risk behavior.”

There is no doubt the program will lead to improvements in safety.  The question is, will your company effectively manage safety on its own, or be subject to an intrusive intervention from a government agency?  

The April 2009 report issued by the FMCSA states, “CSA 2010 will tackle these behavior problems by applying driver-specific interventions to poor safety performers to change this behavior. Through the measurement of an entity’s safety performance by behavior, and the targeting of an intervention to the entity’s specific behavior, the CSA 2010 operational model provides an integrated approach to measuring and improving CMV safety.”

CSA 2010 is an extension of what many, if not most, transportation companies are currently doing to track safety incidents and driver performance. The new system portends increased transparency for federal regulators to take invasive action with carriers determined to be at risk of causing a disproportionate number of safety violations and/or accidents.

In anticipation of CSA 2010, successful carriers must begin looking for accurate methods of identifying top performing safety behaviors in the driver applicant pool.

The question is, is it better to hire drivers who already possess the right safety behaviors, or to attempt behavior modification after an incident occurs?

What if it were possible to assess driver candidates for the right behaviors before they’re hired?

JOBehaviors offers proven job-specific online assessments for both Long Haul and Delivery Drivers (among many others) that give carriers the ability to identify candidates with the right behaviors before they’re hired. Following is a small sampling behaviors identified by JOBehaviors with the help of top drivers that are, in their judgment, extremely important for long-term success in the industry:

•   Acts as an effective representative of the employer.
•   Takes responsibility for tractor, trailer, and cargo.
•   Shows courtesy towards all drivers at all times.
•   Shows respect for customer at all times.
•   Makes every effort to improve the image of the truck driver.
•   Comes to work well rested.
•   Maintains self-control in difficult or stressful situations.
•   Respects and follows customer's regulations and safety procedures.
•   Looks ahead to anticipate problems and hazards.
•   Follows company alcohol and drug policy at all times.

JOBehaviors research with top drivers identified several hundred behaviors like these that top performers bring to the job. The resulting assessment enables carriers to consistently identify candidates, with proven 95% accuracy, who will stay in the job, drive safely, don’t abuse worker’s compensation, act as an effective representative of their employer, treat dispatchers with respect, and understand that their paycheck comes from serving customer’s needs.

It turns out that good drivers love what they do for a living and take pride in their work.  While it may be possible to modify behavior (given enough time and resources) few would argue against hiring candidates with the right behaviors…from the start.

A recent study of 16,659 inexperienced drivers conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute found “more than 25% of new driver entrants were no longer employed by the carrier that initially hired them by the 60th day of employment. At 100 days, more than 50% of the new entrants had left and less than 3% worked for the original employer on the one year anniversary of the date of hire.”

In contrast, the retention of new drivers that passed the JOBehaviors Long Haul Truck Driver assessment for entry into the Rapid Road to Recovery Project training program, a U.S. Department of Labor funded initiative in the state of Arkansas to train and place new truck drivers, was 75% at 14 months from the initial date of hire.  In addition to staying in the job, they are also outstanding performers who understand their paycheck comes from servicing customer needs. According to Terry Barrett, Transportation Consultant and Lead Instructor for the Rapid Road to Recovery Project, “These are the type of people you want to bring home for dinner.”

Assessing candidates for the right behaviors at the applicant stage has proven to be the most effective way to improve your driver workforce, reduce turnover, improve safety and prevent costly interventions.

Now that’s behavior modification the entire transportation industry can support.  



Mark Tinney
Is co-founder and CEO of JOBehaviors, a company that specializes in online, job-specific assessments for the transportation industry, including assessments for Long Haul Truck Driver, Delivery Driver, Warehouse, and Diesel Technician.

For more information:

Call
1-253-857-5687
Or
mtinney@JOBehaviors.com

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JOBehaviors provides job-specific pre-employment assessments that enable companies to consistently hire and retain the best employees possible.