Foreign Policies: Carriers grapple with retaining immigrant drivers
03/10/2008

SASKATOON -- Some cynics in trucking (yeah, they exist) will tell you that carriers who recruit manpower from overseas are just sticking bargain-basement Band Aids on Canada's growing driver recruitment quandary.
But scouting drivers from beyond Canada's borders isn't exactly cheap -- around $7,000 to $10,000 per guy -- once you factor in travel expenses, information sessions, screening, hiring and training, not to mention all the social incidentals concerning family and assimilation once the driver gets here. So, after footing that kind of bill, the sting of losing a driver who's returned to the homeland -- or worse, jumped aboard another wagon in this country -- isn't easy to get over.

There's a delicate balance in treating immigrant wheelmen like Canadian drivers, says Brenda Cuthbert, corporate director of human resources for the Siemens Transportation Group.

The company, which operates 10 carriers, has been one of the larger players in Saskatchewan's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which allows carriers to expedite the immigration of foreign truck drivers.

Losing these drivers is extremely expensive, but the only proven way to mitigate defections is to spend money up front -- and not just on paychecks.

"Of course we do a few extra things for the immigrant drivers because they have to feel settled and comfortable living in Canada," explained Cuthbert. "We spend a lot of one-on-one time with them. They get lots of face time, rather than satellite messaging, and we have a dispatcher dedicated to the immigrant drivers as well."

As a result, Siemens' turnover rate among its immigrant drivers is sitting at 30 percent -- better than most who play the foreign recruiting game.
"Some go home for a number of reasons but it's usually family issues," said Cuthbert. "Some leave because they don't like the company and some leave because they've been in trucking their whole lives and want to try something else. But we're very pleased with that [turnover] number."

The Driver's Side:

Money and training are important, but just as key -- and so many carriers miss this point -- is accessible family and community support, says Phil Marwood, an immigrant company driver with Big Freight Systems in Steinbach, Man.

"It's an absolute must. A driver's got to feel comfortable that if he's gone for a couple of weeks on the road and a situation arises at home, the company will be there to help out," said Marwood. "When you leave your wife and children at home in a strange country, you need to feel comfortable about it."

As a 43-year-old single man from the U.K., Marwood is the type of immigrant that needs less attention than others, but even for him coming to Canada in 2005 was a big move.

"You miss your family and friends. I may be single, but everything is new when you come here and everything is done differently from how it was done at home," says Marwood.
As for the temptation to look for greener pastures now that he's settled, Marwood admits it infects some drivers, but he likes where he's at. "There is a sense of loyalty because they brought us over here … and gave us a tremendous amount of support to help us settle," he says.

"You do have moments of course. But it's never enough to really force me to move. The dispatcher knows me really well and how I like to work, which is a big bonus."

Jim Clunie has seen his share of immigrant drivers move on, but he's still convinced hiring foreign drivers is the best long-term solution to the industry's driver shortage. Owner of 25-truck fleet, Kelsey Trail Trucking in Saskatoon, Clunie has participated in the PNP for three years and imported about 35 Filipino drivers.

"There is no choice for the industry," said Clunie. "Our driver problems haven't gone away, they've just changed.

"Drivers that have left do it for the same reasons Canadian drivers move around," notes Clunie. "Our market of flat-deck Super B's is extremely labor intensive and they think it would be easier to go pull a van."

It's no secret that some immigrant drivers -- especially visible minorities --can be given a rough ride from co-workers. But Clunie says his fleet doesn't have that problem.

"Our [Canadian] drivers would rather work with a foreigner who takes the job seriously, than a Canadian guy who doesn't."

And there's no price you can put on that kind of attitude.