It is fair to that that it’s very rare to set out to want agency PCV drivers – but with recruitment so challenging, do they fill a gap?
Recruitment has always been demanding, the biggest factors being the wider state of the economy and unemployment levels. In previous downturns, people would try driving “for six months,” but many liked it and became our longest serving staff.
In the past, you may have used agency drivers for short periods to bridge gaps where drivers were leaving faster than you could recruit or cover with the usual overtime. However, those gaps are proving increasingly difficult to bridge, and driver shortages leading to unreliable services will cause lasting damage to customer numbers and the risk of Traffic Commissioner action.
So, how do you best deploy agency drivers without upsetting your core staff?
Good communication with all parties is key – being honest about the needs of the business, the risks and problems created by poor services, and the likely duration. Agency drivers will not ‘solve’ the problem, but they can buy you time.
It’s easy, then? No, far from it. How do you make the temporary role attractive without upsetting current staff, or worse still, encouraging current drivers to leave and join an agency? The hourly rate is higher, but they will be on a relatively short-term contract, living away from family and friends and with minimal benefits compared to employees.
With the agency I partner with, we are very clear with our clients from the outset, understand their needs, offer a range of solutions, work hard on the costs (especially accommodation) and agree a Service Level Agreement so all parties are clear.
We never over-promise. If anyone suggests that they can easily find dozens of drivers and even offer temp-to-perm after 13 weeks, be very suspicious. Let’s face it, any reliable PCV licence holder who wants a job could get one almost anywhere in the UK.
We also like to have regular meetings to deal with any issues that arise. Inevitably there will be some. We have a whole range of contract deployments across the UK, and I would say that the success criteria are:
- Rates that are sufficiently attractive but affordable to the client
- Clarity with the agency drivers over duties/shift patterns and other T&Cs
- Quality accommodation
- A good induction process
- Equal treatment to permanent drivers
- Good, ongoing communication.
It sounds straightforward, but much of the ‘invisible’ work will be around accommodation. It is often more difficult than any driving or garage issues, but we have found a cost-effective approach using serviced accommodation. Think Airbnb style. We still hear stories of dreadful but cheap accommodation provided by others, but that has consequences.
I would also ensure that the agency uses an FCSA approved umbrella company for payroll purposes to give you the reassurance that tax/NI, etc, is being correctly applied. Ultimately, the responsibility will be with the driver/umbrella company, but reputational risk is so important.
Handled properly and managed well, agency drivers can keep essential services running, help to provide a reliable service and take some of the pressure off other drivers – but that cannot be instead of the never-ending effort to make bus driving a realistic, practical, enjoyable job with sufficient candidates to fill the vacancies.
About the author
Alex Perry is a consultant who has over 30 years’ experience in the coach and bus sector. He was formerly a Director with Arriva, First and National Express. He also works in partnership with a leading PCV Driver Hire agency. Contact him by email.
This column is one of a series that is published in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
