What does it take to keep truck drivers satisfied?

Minimizing employee turnover is critical to maintaining high service levels. That's always been a challenge when it comes to trucking, including private fleets. So how can you make your truck drivers happy and encourage them to stay? According to the results of a recent European survey, the answer is to give them job security, a cell phone, and their own truck.

Those were some of the conclusions drawn from a recent study of 164 German truck drivers, five of whom were women. One of the study's authors, Günter Prockl, an associate professor at the Copenhagen Business School, presented the research findings at the CSCMP Europe 2011 Conference held in Barcelona, Spain.

When asked about their attitudes toward their job, 34 percent of the drivers said they were satisfied, another 27 percent were dissatisfied, and the remaining 39 percent were indifferent. Their biggest concern: "annoyances in working conditions," cited by 34 percent.

Prockl said that the study found no relationship between job satisfaction and the age of the driver, the type of traffic, or the length of haul. The study did suggest a relationship between job security and satisfaction. In addition, 93 percent cited a good relationship with their superiors as important to job satisfaction.

When asked which resources are important for their jobs, 98 percent said a dedicated truck was important and 92 percent said a company-provided mobile phone.