{"id":838,"date":"2020-04-20T12:45:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T12:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/?p=838"},"modified":"2020-04-20T13:15:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T13:15:52","slug":"dart-process-seats-drivers-in-hours-not-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/other-news\/2020\/04\/20\/dart-process-seats-drivers-in-hours-not-days\/838\/","title":{"rendered":"DART Process Seats Drivers in Hours, Not Days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Al Muskewitz
<\/strong> 
The recruiting team at DART Transit had been looking for ways to streamline its driver orientation program. They were rolling it out slowly, then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the team decided there was no time like the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DART\u2019s fast-track orientation has reduced an in-house process that had taken as many as three days down to a couple of hours, getting more qualified drivers on the road quicker, allowing them to become more productive for themselves and the carrier faster than ever before. 
 
And in this coronavirus-era age of social distancing, it just might become the standard industry practice.

Where once DART had to reserve a block of days in the middle of the week for orientation classes of 40-50 drivers, now it can seat them any day of the week Monday through Friday.

\u201cWe knew bringing a driver into our building for the three-day orientation that we used to do is just not all that advantageous with everything that\u2019s going on,\u201d DART director of recruiting Adam Williams told Wright Media. \u201cWe\u2019ve significantly pared it down.
 
\u201cWe were working to take it to a two-day orientation and that was about the time all of this hit, and that\u2019s when we really accelerated this. We were working to shorten it. Coronavirus definitely accelerated this.\u201d
 
Much of the preliminary work, of course, is done before a driver even gets to the facility, so no element of the hiring process is lost or overlooked in the expedited approach.
 
Once the recruiter gets a driver’s application, he checks credentials \u2013 six months of verified experience for a company driver, 12 months for lease drivers \u2013 runs the necessary background reports, schedules an off-site physical and drug screen at one of the 200-some associated clinics, then sets up travel arrangements for the on-site requirements.
 
All of the education elements that used to take place on site have been transferred online to the LUMA adult learning platform. Accommodations are made for the less tech-savvy drivers to complete the online learning during their on-site visit, which doesn\u2019t add much time to the process \u2013 and in this industry, time is money.
 
When the drivers do arrive at any of DART\u2019s three operations centers \u2013 Eagan, Minn.; Ellenwood, Ga.; and Lancaster, Texas \u2013 they\u2019ll do a road test, get introduced to an operations leader, meet with safety managers, sign some paperwork and then get on the road.
 
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I make sure I have the recruiters telling these drivers,\u201d Williams said. \u201cA lot of drivers we talk to, a decent amount of them are currently working. One of the biggest things I\u2019ve seen in the recruiting aspect is when drivers go ahead and leave a company they really have potentially a two- or three-week period where they\u2019re out of pay.
 
\u201cNow, this can be a very smooth transition where a driver is not going to lose much because everything we need them to accomplish they can do before they even step in our building. The big thing they do once they get here is the road test and after that it\u2019s all dotting I\u2019s and crossing T\u2019s.\u201d
 
In the first three weeks of its virtual orientation, DART has seated 70 new drivers.
 
\u201cOnce they come into our building there\u2019s a very high success rate,\u201d Williams said.
 
Of course, there\u2019s a lot to be said about face-to-face contact, but DART doesn\u2019t just leave its charges on their own after they leave the yard. During the first six weeks on the job company officials do weekly check-ins with the new drivers to make sure they don\u2019t feel isolated.
 
In this time when getting essential goods to store shelves is critical, it\u2019s more important than ever to get qualified drivers out on the road quickly.
 
One of DART\u2019s biggest customers is a major producer of household goods, so there\u2019s a very good freight base in the current situation to keep its 1,450 dry van company drivers and independent contractors on the road providing for their families.
 
\u201cThat\u2019s really where I feel DART\u2019s going to be able to help separate themselves,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe are in a very fortunate situation right now when you take a look at what\u2019s going on with this country and the world in general. Anybody who\u2019s with DART Transit, they\u2019re able to continually work and make a good paycheck. It\u2019s not affecting us nearly as much as other carriers.\u201d

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at <\/em>musky@wrightmediacorp.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for available truck driving jobs with DART.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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