Culture and innovation success – Taking the Hire Road

On this week’s episode of Taking the Hire Road, Ben Schill, CEO of Wisconsin-based Paper Transport, and Jeremy Reymer discussed the importance of creating a top-notch workplace by leveraging innovative and progressive approaches to achieve success.

“Our purpose is to build a great place to work,” Schill said. “This truly is a people business, and it is about relationships; specifically it is about relationships with your employees and your professional drivers.”

For Schill, building a great place to work starts with hiring great drivers — then taking good care of them. This requires a deep respect for drivers as hard-working individuals. 

“The grit and the grind and what [truck drivers] go through to deliver America every day is pretty awesome,” Schill said.

Paper Transport utilizes a driver screening platform to ensure it hires the right drivers from the very beginning. This means that drivers are assessed before they even interview for the job, streamlining the hiring process for everyone involved.

From there, the company prioritizes training and driver health at every turn. This is how Schill works to combat the growing driver health crisis plaguing the nation. 

“Do something. Sitting back and accepting that the average lifespan of a driver is 61 is ludicrous,” he said. “You can start with simple things.”

For companies looking to better support their drivers, Schill recommends implementing an employee assistance program (EAP) as a first step. This gives drivers a way to access critical resources — including counseling and financial guidance — during times of crisis, improving their overall well-being.

Paper Transport has looked beyond the EAP, hiring a professional nurse to help the company’s drivers prioritize their day-to-day health. This support includes diet and exercise coaching, mental health resources, and financial well-being tips.

Schill and the team at Paper Transport have received multiple awards centered around growth and innovation over the past several years. Schill believes the meanings of those common buzzwords should be expanded. 

“When you think about innovation, people jump to tech right away. That is a narrow view of innovation. We have had tremendous success through technology but also through things like sustainability,” Schill said. “There are times when growth takes a different avenue than you traditionally think.”

At the end of the day, all of these initiatives — from improving driver health to redefining innovation — directly support Schill’s mission to build a great place to work.

Other highlights from this episode of Taking the Hire Road

Book recommendations: “Great CEOs Are Lazy” by Jim Schleckser

Sponsors: Career Now Brands, The National Transportation Institute, Infinit-I, Workhound, Asurint, Transportation Marketing Group, Seiza, Drive My Way, DriverReach, F|Staff, Trucksafe