Attendees at Hargreaves road show heard how it values its
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subbies and wants to bring drivers into the industry Words: George Barrow/ Images: Tom Cunningham About half of our workload is covered by our subcontractors;' says Andrew Spence-Wolrich, Hargreaves Transport Services general manager, at an informal event for existing and prospective subcontractors in lbstock, Leicestershire. Spence-Wolrich is speaking at the third subcontractor road show event organised by Hargreaves to entice drivers into the fold and engage with some of the many subcontractors the company uses.
With more than 100 dedicated subcontractors working alongside 200 staff drivers, Hargreaves has a sizeable workforce at its disposal. It also has 400 ad-hoc subcontractors on its books. "We pay £2m a month to our subcontractors;' says Spence-Wolrich, "and pay 14 days before we are paid by our customers. That's part of the commitment we have to our subbies:' Ahead of agreeing price increases on contracts with its customers, Hargreaves also put its subcontractor rates up in December 2012, which increased pay by 3% and added £750,000 to its annual costs. "It's really difficult for you guys to negotiate;' Spence-Wol rich tells his audience. "By putting all of you together [as Hargreaves subcontractors], we can negotiate with our customers for better rates. We know what it costs to run a truck, and we think you need it, which is why we have given it out before our customers have agreed to it'.'
With maintenance costs and fuel prices rising, the assembled drivers were understandably interested in receiving a higher rate, but despite Spence-Wolrich confirming that many of the dedicated subcontractors could be earning as much as £3,000 a week from Hargreaves, conversation afterwards focused on making a profit. "There are plenty of owner-drivers working flat out to earn £3,000;' one attendee tells CM, "but it's no good if they have to spend £2,500 doing it. I don't mind investing in my truck or equipment if I know I can earn that much. But there are a lot of busy fools out there. You've got to think about where the work takes you. If you tip up north, you've got to get work back. You need to use them like they use you if you're going to make any money" Hargreaves' response is that it tries to accommodate its subbies, not only with back loads, but also in making allowances for any existing obligations. 'There might be a driver who does a local A-to-B job once a week, and we can fit work around that. We also publish a first-come-firstserved list of work, sometimes up to three times a day. The phone usually rings within seconds of that going out. We're looking for new ad-hoc subbies, rigid or artic, (tippers and walking floors) and want to bring some more guys onto our list of dedicated subcontractors."
One of the main benefits, Spence-Wolrich says, both to customers and subcontractors, is the volume of work and the number of drivers available. "Customers ring us because we have a critical mass of vehicles and the drivers come to us because we have a constant supply of work. Our job is to keep subbies busy and, in the unlikely event that work is quiet, we have parked up our own trucks. It's happened twice in the past 15 months where we've parked up seven or eight trucks to keep our subbies in work': Local operator Joe Bartlett of JJ Bartlett Haulage, who runs a mixed fleet of 18 tippers and flat trailers, was interested in the idea of filling the gaps in between his contracts with work for Hargreaves. He tells CM that ad-hoc work would help keep his drivers on the road. 'We have a couple of contracts coming to an end because the customer wouldn't take a slight increase in rates. From looking at the figures they've been talking about today, it seems to be fair and something we could look at. We'll look at the pence per mile and make a decision," Bartlett says.
The session also gave drivers a chance to receive some site-specific accreditation with a health and safety video from Cemex, giving access to its Rugby depot. Future training courses, particularly surrounding vulnerable road users, were also discussed, and there was an interesting discussion about forward-facing cameras that Hargreaves is trialling.
Spence-Wolrich also outlined the company's new policy of having all its dedicated subcontractors undergo an independent audit of their driver training as well as tachograph and maintenance records.
As the session came to a close, and more current and curious drivers filter into the room for an evening session and a few catch-up drinks, Hargreaves' parting message was that it is recruiting for quality, and wants drivers who communicate and who can deliver on their promises.
The road show is presenting hardworking subbies with an opportunity to maximise efficiency and their income, and several owner-operators who attended earlier events are now on the books and some have even moved from container and retail work to join the ranks. • • Hargreaves next subcontractor road show will be at Elton Liberal Club, Bury, on 13 ApriL For details, call Brian Colman on 07710 195586