COVER STORY: Recruiting and Retaining Talent
The Great Resignation created a large vacuum of talent in the transportation workforce. Now, significant changes are being made throughout the industry in regards to recruitment efforts. Diversity and inclusion are taking the lead when it comes to finding new talent. However, the labor shortage and certain stigmas have left the well dry for many companies. The trucking industry has always been a resilient one, and companies are continuing to come up with new ways to attract and retain more women in leadership roles. Roadblocks for Recruitment Shane Keller, Managing Director of Recruiting at Centerline Drivers, says it’s about representation. Oftentimes, there is the appearance that trucking doesn’t appeal to, or welcome, women into the
6 REDEFINING THE ROAD Edition 2 | 2022
field. He says between the low percentage of women in the trucking workforce, safety concerns, and the stigma that drivers are gone from home for months at a time, Shane Keller there are a number of factors that could add to the perception that it is not a womanfriendly industry. “Add that to simple things like imagery that only shows male truck drivers, and it’s easy to see why women may feel like the industry is not for them,” Keller says. Waste Management Vice President of People Solutions Kelly Rooney says safety considerations for over-the-road
