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T o e question rumbles n: are there now more jobs out
Page 72
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there than drivers to fill them? HGV driver agency Temps North West reckons the jobs market is the healthiest that it's been for two years. Sunday opening of shops has been one of the factors that has increased demand for drivers: "We like to offer drivers with at least two years experience but companies are having to lower their expectations," says Jayne Haworth, one of two directors of the Warrington-based agency.
Her partner Loretta White agrees: "If a load's got to be moved it's got to be moved," she says. The agency specialises in providing drivers for general distribution and food distribution to large operators in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. The shortage of drivers means that companies frequently offer permanent jobs to good temporary drivers, placing pressure on the ability of agencies to maintain driver numbers.
It works the other way round too, with some drivers giving up permanent jobs for an agency job where they have more control over their hours. The greatest demand is for Class 1 drivers—particularly those with experience. Haworth and White say the agency business is cut-throat, with companies willing to undercut each other for 5p to 10p an hour. But margins are comfortably high. They charge clients 30% on top of the driver's wages and say operators are happy to pay that: "We are quite cheap compared to some," says Haworth.
Despite their youth, the two women combine 26 years experience in the recruitment business and were rewarded this year with a glitzy night in Downing Street when Chancellor Kenneth Clarke presented them with a DHL International-sponsored prize from the Women Into Business Awards. The prize itself was not to be sniffed at: holidays in Los Angeles and Hawaii worth L15,000...
But how do the two partners build confidence in an industry where most of the people they are dealing with are men? Before starting their own operation in 1994 White and Haworth had worked for a Manchester agency finding jobs for drivers and they insist on the importance of getting to know not only the transport manager but his staff too, as they are more likely to deal them on a day-to-day basis.
It's vital to know clients' preferences for drivers: many like to get the same ones back. And a 24-hour service ensures they can supply drivers in the middle of the night if necessary. They each take home a list of available drivers and if a distribution company hits the panic button they can say straight away how many drivers can be supplied: "It's the fact that they can always get hold of us and and not just an answering machine," says White.
FACTFILE: TEMPS NORTH WEST BASED: Warrington and Preston. FOUNDED: 1994. CONTACT: directors Jayne Haworth and Loretta White. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: HGV driver agency specialising in general distribution and food distribution. TURNOVER: £1.5m.
The roster of clients includes the large northern depots of Exel, Christian Salvesen, BOC, BRS and Eddie Stobart so it is important they do not send a driver along with an attitude problem or the wrong skills. A screening process attempts to filter out wrong `uns, includi:rg drivers with pending convictions. They are tested on drivers' hours and other regulations and must achieve an 85% pass rate.
But it is not just drivers that have to be watched: "We won't allow our drivers to be forced to run illegally or drive a vehicle they are not happy with," says Haworth, "After all, it's their licence at the end of the day."