Heavy Duty Trucking, May 2019

HDT MAY 2019 62 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM SPONSORED BY Dan Wirkkala traces his ideas on driver retention back to when he started working at Smokey Point Distributing in 1979 at age 19 shortly after his friend Matt Berry started the company Berry died as the result of a welding accident less than a year later but before he died Wirkkala made a commitment to his friend to do what I could to carry on the business A few months later he shook hands with John Berry Matts brother on a partnership deal that for the next 23 years guided the carrier he today heads as president and CEO Over the years I eventually held virtually every position in the organization he says Along the way he helped Smokey Point grow into a fleet of some 300 tractors and 600 flatbed open deck and specialized trailers including retractable curtain sided units to protect cargo from the weather Operating out of nine terminals across the country the company specializes in hauling high value and one of a kind parts assemblies and machinery with a primary focus on serving the aerospace industry Smokey Point holds the distinction of being the first carrier to join the Daseke family of companies back in 2008 Because he recognized early on that drivers are critical to the carriers success and learned what they are up against while working in the trenches Wirkkala strives to give drivers the best working conditions possible with a focus on them being able to enjoy a balanced life Im an operational CEO he says That means I stay connected with what we need to do to conform to the needs of our 400 drivers We pay by the mile and maybe more than some others But we realized the issue was about more than the pay rate For example we know that trucks are status symbols So we outfit our trucks more like owner operators would and let our drivers pick the color and that of our logo to coordinate with it and we put their names on their trucks Making drivers feel connected is part of our culture Building further on that theme Smokey Point developed a new opt in guaranteed salary program designed to smooth out the highs and lows of mileage pay for drivers The annual salary for drivers which we launched a year ago has really stabilized turnover caused by financial concerns We credit it with taking us from 17 turnover in 2017 down to 6 in 2018 and so far this year no driver has quit us over financial reasons Under the new program a first year driver starts with a guaranteed salary of 65000 per year and is eligible for an annual increase of 1188 per year on the anniversary of joining the program Up to 11 years of tenure allows the driver to reach an annual salary of 78532 The program also allows drivers to cash out their paid time off if they choose Drivers are also eligible for additional mileage based accessorial pay for things like oversize overweight loads hauling hazmat etc Accessorial pay provides our drivers an opportunity to earn more for transporting loads that may require additional challenges compared to legal loads Wirkkala says The topper is an annual bonus reward for additional productivity We think this can help contribute to changing the mindset away from job hopping he explains Our guaranteed salary program pays them for doing a certain number of miles each month By contrast their annual bonus is a bucket of mileage they drove over the miles required to be in the salary program Every mile that goes into the bonus bucket is multiplied by their tenured mileage and can be viewed on driver dashboards Their dashboard allows them to watch their money grow and see the current value of their bucket as well as the projected amount expected to earn at their annual anniversary date Wirkkala says Wirkalla says the salary with bonus solution is typical of how Smokey Point tries to focus on those things we can control to improve the operation both for the company and its employees Smoothing the road to success Dan Wirkkala President and CEO Smokey Point Distributing Arlington Washington The annual salary for drivers which we launched a year ago has really stabilized turnover caused by financial concerns We credit it with taking us from 17 turnover in 2017 down to 6 in 2018 Dan Wirkkala