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N eil Smith, transport manager of Alston's, is so disenchanted by

20th February 1997
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Page 48, 20th February 1997 — N eil Smith, transport manager of Alston's, is so disenchanted by
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

agency drivers that he's stopped using them altogether, preferring to leave trucks idle until one of his own drivers is available. He has used a number of agencies but found the whole system useless".

Last year, he says, "at one stage we were using agency drivers every week, or trying to, but a lot of longstanding customers complained about them". Not only were the drivers rude but reliability was poor, he says, with drivers failing to appear on time, or at all. "The load would be sitting there and we couldn't deliver," says Smith.

The agencies concerned never rang to tell him what was going on, and if he tried to get through to them, "99 times out of 100, there was no one available".

Even when the drivers turned up, he adds, the standard of driving was so low that trucks were damaged. The company's fleet of 50 vehicles are mostly drawbars and, despite promises, many agency drivers were unfamiliar with them. In one incident, the driver, who had no experience of coupling, "left the yard with the truck through one gate and the trailer left through another gate".

The same driver then failed to report a puncture on the road for two hours. When he reached his first drop he could not get the truck in and jack knifed it. "There was so much damage to the back of the truck," Smith recalls, "that a local company tried to cut the back shutter off but failed." After four days the driver was back, having managed to deliver only a fraction of his load. This was an extreme case, but Smith stresses that it was not an isolated incident.

Anecdotes

With anecdotes like this flying around the industry it's easy to see where the bad reputation comes from. But the blame for poorly trained drivers does not rest solely with the agencies, says Chris Leonard, managing director of Securicor Recruitment Services, one of the largest employment agencies supplying drivers. "It's all very well to slate agencies for bad drivers," he says, " but the industry is not prepared to pay us to do better."

Leonard acknowledges that many agencies are unprofessional—there are cowboys in every industry—but even good agencies face problems.

For a start, there is a nationwide shortage of trained drivers with more than two years' commercial driving experience, and he reckons it's getting worse.

For agencies, he believes, "the quality and experience of drivers is reducing because the good people are not getting paid appropriately for their skills". And the shortage is compounded by lack of training which is forced to go by the board because agencies are unable to pass these costs on to employers. The problem, as he sees it, is "there are not enough drivers and too many agencies. The customers play one off against the other to force prices down. The drivers suffer because wages are not as good so there's a spiral downwards rather than a progression forwards."

Nonetheless, most distribution companies rely on agencies as the most cost-effective way to cope with variations of work. But while employed drivers have proper employment packages, many agency drivers are not so lucky.

Securicor employs some of its drivers but agencies cannot employ all or they would lose flexibility and the ability to grow, says Leonard. A shortage of permanent jobs also forces many drivers to work for agencies at reduced rates. "We need to look after them better with proper employment packages," he says. "Then the customer would get better value."

Leonard reckons that operators are unwilling to invest in added value. If the relationship between customers and agencies were more of a partnership, he believes that customers would be prepared to pay more for a better service, but now "nine out of 10 buy on price and are not looking at value at the end of the day".

TDG's group safety

director, Ralph Taylor, finds agency drivers "fulfil a very useful purpose" but he believes users have obligations as well. Aware that some agencies do not assess their drivers properly (indeed, many newly qualified drivers gain their experience through agency work), the company takes a pragmatic approach.

Rather than risk letting inadequately trained drivers loose on their vehicles, TDG runs a comprehensive assessment programme which includes in-cab and on the road driving and safety issues, as well as an eye test and licence check.

TDG only uses agencies with established pricing schedules and which comply with requirements such as assessment, licence checks and provision of uniforms, safety shoes and identity cards, says Taylor. In other words, "putting standards into it. We say, don't knock agency drivers--use them better."

Supporter

Leonard is a supporter of the Federation of Recruitment and Employment Services (FRES), which is trying to raise standards in the recruitment industry, The Drivers Section now has around some 200 members across the country; they are bound under a Code of Practice developed with the Road Haulage Association, says chief executive, Christine Little.

This code is to be extended to include members of the Freight Transport Association and will have new disciplinary procedures, she explains.

Procedures required of FRES members include taking up references, licence checks, written tests for drivers, records and identity cards. FRES has forged links with the haulage safety campaign Brake, and is investing in a series of initiatives to raise awareness among recruiters and employers.

It has just published a yearbook, in association with Personnel Today magazine, which is designed to give guidance on good recruitment in transport

Despite the problems, some agencies are also trying to raise standards. Quality Recruitment Services, established last summer, pays temporary drivers holiday pay and, once they prove themselves they are provided with a full employment package, says general manager Peter Hall.

"Holiday pay is the big one," he says. "If an agency treats the driver unfairly he is not going to represent the agency out in the field."

Although the company does not provide on-road driver assessment, drivers have a skills test and the agency discusses the driver with the customer. "We don't send out drivers without a selection process," says Hall. We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves."

Significantly, QRS also gives every customer who books for a week or more, four hours' free time for training. Similarly, if a driver fails to appear, the customer gains eight hours' free credit, although this has not yet happened, says Hall.

Flexible "Agencies must provide a genuinely flexible workforce," Hall stresses. "Not here today and gone tomorrow."

The long established Manpower Driving Agency has a large branch network, supplying drivers to "all major distribution companies".

It provides a service which is "unique", according to national account manager Nick Peligno.

Manpower offers training to all its drivers at its own national driving centre, which provides a team instructor and uses a fleet of vehicles, including rigids, artics and lift trucks, with a simulated warehouse. Classroom training includes best practice and improving fuel economy.

Manpower employs all its drivers directly with a full contract and benefits package, including holiday and sickness pay and the opportunity to buy company shares.

It claims to retain its drivers for around 18 months—three times the national average for recruitment. This enables it to offer continuity and relieves customers of employment liabilities, says Peligno.

The agency also takes responsibility for drivers' rest periods and does not offer secondary employment.

Vetted

Before recruitment, drivers are vetted through tests, an application form, medical questionnaire and references. Manpower will not employ a driver whose licence carries more than five penalty points and licences are checked every month.

A 24-hour service manned by a team of 12, is operated from the driving centre and uses a central database to assign local drivers to clients out of normal business hours. This caters for a shift in the distribution industry towards more deliveries at night and weekends, Peligno explains.

Like QRS, Manpower sees itself as fulfilling a growing need in the industry, as increasingly advanced equipment and more deliveries mean companies rely more on a flexible workforce.

Now that agencies themselves are responding to the difficulties, perhaps it is time for the distribution industry to start working in partnership with agencies to raise standards which would benefit everyone.

0 by Mary Arigho


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