Solutions emerging for driver recruitment and retention challenges
Fresh approaches to employee welfare, including good compensation and benefits, are having a positive effect on the shortage of drivers, which is not as acute as it was a year ago, says International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters (ICEFAT) chairman Jonathan Schwartz
Attracting and maintaining a roster of talented drivers in the specialist fine art logistics industry has always been a challenge, but many agents within our global membership of 79 shippers have been experiencing clear shortages in recent years. These have been felt most acutely by shippers in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia.
Our sector employs drivers with specialist handling skills, where the driver can both transport and install for a client. Member agents either employ individuals with a background in art and train them as drivers or employ experienced drivers and provide them with art-based training. In recent years we have seen less individuals with art-backgrounds interested in art handling as a career and less drivers considering a specialist role, where there may be more initially attractive generalist opportunities elsewhere.
On the other hand, hiring from a pool of professional lorry drivers rarely works out, says David Preston of London-based ICEFAT member Crown Fine Arts. They’re often not interested in the non-driving aspects of the assignment.“So, we look for candidates who are able to handle artwork, understand it, install it, pack it and drive a heavy goods vehicle,” he explains. “Reliable, respectable, client-facing, who don’t mind a long day. (Meet ‘Neil Delinahaystack’).” We discussed blending these demographics, cross-pollinating from graduates of art schools and career drivers, hoping that a hybrid arises. “Sometimes it’s necessary.”
At our 2022 Convention we conducted a panel on driver recruitment and retention issues. Representatives from Singapore, USA, UK, Europe and Australia reported on the unprecedented levels of staff turnover they were experiencing. ICEFAT members from Italy and Australia noted a trend that new employees are often trained but then leave before this investment by the company pays its dividends.
Driver welfare is the solution
Our Convention panel agreed that the solution is to put welfare at the heart of our approach. One colleague in the sector, Oliver Howell of UK-based ICEFAT agent Gander & White Shipping, noted what had succeeded in his company’s case, telling me: “What keeps our drivers motivatedis variation. They are not just drivers but art technicians, installers. We don’t just send them constantly from A to B doing the same routes, we give them time away from the vehicles to undertake different projects.” I can attest to this benefit having started my own career as an art handler and cross-country driver.
Perhaps the most powerful industry initiative for driver retention is our recently codified ICEFAT Standards to which all our membership must adhere. This includes recruitment and employee welfare, going beyond only considering the quality of service and facilities. All ICEFAT members will be assessed against these Standards by an independent auditor, ensuring each agent is an industry leader in service quality, security, safety and training. By protecting employee welfare as part of our Standards, we are aspiring to make our sector one of the most attractive places to work within the entire freight industry.
Our membership’s approaches to employee welfare, including good compensation and benefits, are having a positive effect on the shortage of drivers in our industry, and thankfully the issue is not as acute for most of us as it was a year ago. With approaches tested by our agents and the introduction of our ICEFAT Standards, we want to ensure that drivers are not only attracted to work for a specialist fine art shipper but will stay with us too.
Jonathan Schwartz is chairman of the International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters (ICEFAT)
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