Recruiting and retention leadership – Taking the Hire Road

Sadie Church, president of Recruit Hire Retain, joined Jeremy Reymer on a recent episode of Taking the Hire Road. The duo dove into Church’s trucking industry background and her passion for helping carriers improve their recruiting and retention processes.

Church’s affinity for trucking started at a young age. Church’s father was a driver and owner-operator throughout her childhood, leaving her with fond memories of summer vacations in the truck, as well as a deep-rooted respect for the industry as a whole.

“I always joked that we spent more time at truck stops than we did amusement parks,” Church said of her childhood. 

When Church entered the workforce, the trucking industry was the most natural place for her to land. Earlier in her career, Church spent time at CDLLife, where she interacted with drivers on a daily basis. She grew even more passionate about making the industry better after hearing about the difficult and often unethical situations many drivers face – from bait-and-switch schemes to dishonest recruiting practices.

“[My dad] was an owner-operator contracted with the same company my entire life,” Church said. “I had never seen that side of trucking, and it was really disheartening to me.”

Church left CDLLife and started working to create change on the carrier side, leading multiple departments – including marketing, recruiting and driver relations – for individual trucking companies. From there, she decided to broaden her net through the creation of Recruit Hire Retain.

Recruit Hire Retain is a consulting firm designed to better the lives of drivers by helping carriers create the best policies and work environments possible. Church consults on everything from new driver orientation and onboarding to retention procedures and measuring key performance indicators. 

No matter what company Church is working with, she prides herself on paying attention to the little things. 

“We think big things are the problem, but sometimes the problems are in the details.” 

Seemingly insignificant issues – from cold application follow-ups to time-consuming onboarding strategies – can sabotage a carrier’s chances at getting a driver behind the wheel in the first place.

Church’s attention to detail helps her clients spot and correct small issues and inefficiencies before they evolve into larger problems, leading to optimized recruiting and retention techniques. 

When carriers are prepared to take good care of their drivers, the industry becomes a safer and more ethical place for everyone. 

Other highlights from this episode of Taking the Hire Road

Book recommendations: The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

Sponsors: Career Now Brands, The National Transportation Institute, Infinit-I, Asurint, Transportation Marketing Group, Driver iQ, Seiza, Trucksafe and DriverReach