Team Driver: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire a team driver?

Team drivers can be more expensive and have varying effects on your bottom line. A great team driver can help your business by:

• Decreasing the time goods spend on the road by increasing the hours the truck is in motion
• Reducing delivery times, allowing you to charge a premium rate to customers
• Moving the company to a 24-hour operation, enabling you to operate in any time zone

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance team driver

Businesses can hire a freelance team driver to work with one of their full-time drivers in order to get the delivery to its destination as fast as possible. They can also hire a pair of freelance team drivers to fully take over a delivery if the original drivers scheduled for it need coverage. Companies that have one-time deliveries may be able to hire a pair of freelance drivers who have their own truck. Some businesses may depend entirely on freelance drivers if they only have infrequent deliveries.

Companies that have consistent delivery requirements typically hire full-time team drivers. Due to lower hourly costs for full-time employees, this can save the company money overall.

What are the types of team drivers?

There are a few types of drivers that work for different kinds of companies. These types include: 

• Company drivers: Company drivers work for a company that has its own fleet of trucks. The trucks are only used to support the main product or service of the company. 
• Carrier company drivers: Like company drivers, carrier company drivers work with a company that has its own trucks. The companies that carrier drivers work for, however, are solely devoted to transporting goods. 
• Lease-purchase drivers: Lease-purchase drivers are drivers who enter into an agreement with a carrier to pay off a truck over time. The driver uses the truck to perform deliveries for small companies that don’t own trucks. 
• Owner-operator drivers: Drivers who own their truck and use it to run an independent driving business are called owner-operator drivers. 
• Team drivers: Team drivers, sometimes spouses who drive together, are pairs of drivers who switch off driving so they can arrive at the destination faster. They can also belong to any of the other types of drivers. 

Where to find team drivers

To find the right team driver for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Use a recruitment agency. A recruitment agency can provide you with several options for your team driver position.
• Work with a temp agency. If you only need a team driver for a short period, a temp agency can send you an employee to cover the job.
• Search online. Both individual drivers and pairs of team drivers may be advertising themselves online. Reach out to them to see if they’re interested in your job. 
• Post signs. Hanging help wanted signs is a time-proven method of bringing in candidates for an open position. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your team driver job on Indeed to find and attract quality team driver candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Team Driver

A great team driver candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

Hard skills:
• CDL certification
• All appropriate insurances and licenses to move your cargo
• Comprehensive understanding of logistic and supply-line systems

Soft skills:
• Teamwork and collaborative working style
• Personable demeanor – for both the team driver and any customers they may encounter
• Problem-solving skills
• Ability to handle and repair most minor mechanical problems

Writing a team driver job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified team driver candidates. A team driver job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your team driver job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting . These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on team driver jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Driver
• Truck driver
• Delivery driver
• CDL driver
• Hiring immediately
• Non CDL driver
• CDL
• CDL truck driver
• Transportation

Interviewing team driver candidates

Strong candidates for team driver positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Comfort driving overnight and long distances
• Ability to drive in tandem with other drivers in the cab

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of team driver interview questions for examples (with sample answers).