The world of logistics doesn’t stop moving, even when a CDL driver leaves. Routes still have to run, customers still expect service, and trucks still need trained drivers.
In industries like waste and recycling, turnover is common and the cost of replacing drivers isn’t cheap. A 2025 presentation from the National Waste & Recycling Association put turnover rates at about 18% to 25% and the cost to recruit and replace a worker was estimated to be around $25,000 per hire.
Searches like these can become even more complicated and expensive when you add additional requirements like tanker or hazmat endorsement or experience with flatbeds, vacuum trucks, and other specialized equipment. Add in physical labor requirements, customer interaction, night work or long trips and the search starts to become very narrow.
If you’re waiting for a driver to quit to start looking for a possible replacement, you’ve already put yourself at a disadvantage in a competitive market. Companies that create a continuous pipeline for CDL driver replacements give themselves a headstart on an already difficult search and have the upper hand when it comes to brand recognition with drivers who may be looking for something new. Instead of starting every search from scratch, you can call on a pool of drivers who are already aware of your company and have the skills you’re looking for.
Why Reactive CDL Driver Recruiting Starts Too Late
Despite about 82% of heavy-duty drivers in for-hire trucking staying in the same line of work from one year to the next, data shows many of these drivers will jump between jobs because they want better pay, local delivery work or a job with a heavy-truck operator.
Local and home-daily jobs can draw drivers who want a steady schedule, but those jobs still compete with regional, long-haul, waste hauling, tanker, and delivery work. In fact, our Vice President of Client Engagement, Greg Thorpe, noted that local and home delivery jobs are often the most competitive roles we help companies hire for within the trucking industry.
Competition gets even more heated when companies require additional skills such as client interaction or physical labor demands that may be part of delivery/service driver roles.
The point is, CDL drivers have options, and it takes time for companies to build interest with these potential candidates. Even after you have interest, details like CDL class, endorsements, equipment experience and shift preference must be gathered and assessed for fit. In the time it takes you to begin this process, the best drivers could be taking jobs with competitors who were more prepared.
So, what’s the better approach? We suggest creating an ongoing hiring campaign that creates a continuous pipeline of CDL drivers that could be potential hires.
What an Ongoing CDL Driver Campaign Changes
The goal of an ongoing hiring campaign for CDL drivers is to identify and prequalify individuals that fits the qualifications for your driver roles while establishing a relationship and creating interest with the potential candidate.
This process should gather information such as:
- CDL class and endorsementsÂ
- Tanker, hazmat, flatbed, or specialized equipment experienceÂ
- Interest in local, regional, overnight, or long-haul routesÂ
- Home location and acceptable commuteÂ
- Willingness to unload freight or do other physical tasksÂ
- Customer-facing delivery or service skillsÂ
- Current job interest and likely timing for a moveÂ
These details help sort drivers by the work they may accept. One driver may want only home-daily routes, while another may have tanker skills but wants to avoid touching freight. A third may accept overnight work and know the required equipment.
Interest can change quickly when a driver moves, accepts another job, or changes the type of route they want. Regular contact helps keep the list useful.
When a driver leaves and a job opens, the team can return to drivers whose skills and needs already line up with it. This process shortens the first stage of the search and gives the fleet a better starting point.
How an RPO Partner Can Help Build Your Pipeline
Recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO, lets a fleet hand off some or all hiring tasks to an outside partner. WorkRocket offers flexible RPO-style help for logistics and transportation fleets that need a steady flow of qualified applicants.
We Create Clear, Detailed Job Advertisements
Drivers need clear facts about the job. They want to know the route, home time, hours, pay, and equipment they’ll be using. They may also need to know about travel, physical work, and customer contact.
We help companies clarify each of these details and use them to write custom targeted job ads for your hiring campaigns. With better clarity comes candidates that are more aligned with the skills and traits you’re looking for.
Targeted Consistent Outreach for Active and Passive Candidates
Job ads reach drivers who are looking for something at that moment, while direct sourcing and outreach can reach drivers who may consider the right move.
With RPO services like interest calls, we can help target passive candidates who might be willing to change jobs for the right situation. WorkRocket will reach out to these candidates to gauge their interest level and see what it might take for them to make a move.
Steady outreach also gives our team useful feedback about the type of jobs that are drawing the most interest and which requirements cause drivers to step away from companies. These insights give your company the chance to create an offer that beats the competition and attracts the people you need.
Standardized Screening Process
Our resume and phone screening services can save your team time and ensure you’re only spending time on the drivers that fit your needs. A phone screen can confirm the details that matter most, including CDL class, endorsements, equipment skills, route choice, travel preferences, and physical work capabilities.
After we confirm the details align with your needs, we pass the drivers off to you for further interviews or assessment. You maintain control of final interviews and all required driving-record, safety, background, and compliance checks.
WorkRocket can also help set up interviews and keep drivers updated on the status of the hiring process. These services are meant to help alleviate the pressure on your internal team so they can focus on making the right decisions for the choices that matter.
Case Study: Our Work with Excel Truck Group
Our work with Excel Truck Group shows how this model can work across many sites. Our team writes job ads, manages job posts, supports Excel’s careers page, and handles front-end sourcing.
Over the 8 years of our relationship, we’ve helped Excel fill an average of 15-20 jobs per month while saving their internal team over 20 hours each month.
For driver hiring, the case shows the value of a steady process. Recurring openings get ongoing front-end support, so each new job doesn’t force the team to rebuild its search from scratch.
What Type of Fleets Can Benefit from Ongoing CDL Driver Recruiting?
An ongoing hiring campaign makes sense for companies who typically face high turnover rates, can’t afford downtime for their routes, or have an extremely small pool of candidates due to the nature of the work. For fleets that are planning to add trucks, routes, sites, or service areas, a campaign like this can help you get ahead of your hiring needs.
Common examples of companies we work well with are:
- Waste, recycling, trash, and roll-off fleetsÂ
- Rendering and by-product collection firmsÂ
- Vacuum truck and grease-trap service firmsÂ
- Environmental and industrial service fleetsÂ
- Tanker, hazmat, flatbed, and special carriersÂ
- Freight, logistics, and multi-site delivery fleetsÂ
- Service fleets that require physical work and customer careÂ
- Fleets with overnight routes, long trips, or hard-to-fill shiftsÂ
Start the Relationship Before the Route Opens
By continuously building a pipeline of drivers, you’re giving yourself an advantage when it comes to replacement hiring. You’re able to start the hiring process with current contacts, useful facts about fit, and a way to reach the right drivers when you urgently need a driver.
WorkRocket’s services help build a base through job campaigns, direct sourcing, outreach, resume/phone screens, and interview setup allowing your in-house team to focus on final review, compliance checks, and hiring choices.
If your fleet hires CDL drivers often or struggles with hard-to-fill driver jobs, talk with our team about building a more consistent recruiting process.
