Case: Deland Trucking Has a “Recruitment” Problem
David Deland, who has owned his trucking business for 20 years, struggles with the spreadsheet in front of him.
His recruitment specialist sits glumly across from his desk, pondering what kind of response to give to the
inevitable question, “Why are our recruitment costs so high?” Next to the specialist sits James Garrett, a business
research consultant who has been hired by the Deland Trucking Company to get a handle on the recruitment
expenses the company has seen skyrocket over the last six months.
“I just don’t get it,” David sighs in frustration. “We have seen a 45 percent increase in our trucker recruitment
advertising costs, and our trucker intake and orientation expenses are killing us! James, I just don’t understand
what is happening here.”
James and the specialist have had some initial discussions, but there is no easy way to reduce those costs
without reducing the number of truckers that Deland hires. “Perhaps we can find a more efficient way of
advertising our openings,” suggests the recruiting specialist. “Maybe we can reduce the number of orientation
sessions or travel expenses associated with the hiring process.” David counters, “Well, I don’t see how we are
any different from our competitors. We use the same recruitment and orientation approach that they use. I have
no handle on their expenses, but the fact that our expenses are skyrocketing must mean something is going on.”
James stares at his copy of the spreadsheet. “There is no easy way to do this, without hurting your ability to keep
drivers in your trucks,” he says. “Is it that the costs for driver selection and recruitment have gone up?” “No, the
costs have been the same,” responds the recruiter. “It’s just that we have had to do so many orientation and
hiring sessions since the first of the year.”
“David, it might be best if I get a look at some of your hiring statistics, as well as your driver census over the last
year,” comments James. Turning to the recruiter, James asks, “Can you give me some of your driver data to look
through?”
“Sure,” says the recruiter. “We have lots of info about our drivers, and the driver census is updated monthly. We
even have some exit data we have gathered from a few drivers who have left us. I don’t know exactly what the
trend is with those drivers who leave, since we haven’t had a chance to really analyze the data. I will send it to
you through e-mail this afternoon.”
James drives back to his office, reflecting on his meeting. As he passes by trucks on the way, he peeks at the
drivers who are going in the same direction as he is. What do they think about their company? Would they see
Deland as a great place to work? What would make Deland Trucking’s recruitment costs go so high?
On a follow-up interview, the dialogue between James and David may proceed as follows:
James: David, it is clear that your recruitment costs have been increasing since the start of the
year. What other changes have occurred inside of your business within the past year?
David: Just a few things. We have had pressures on our bottom line, so we held back on raising
the cents per mile that we give our drivers. Also, we have had to extend our long-haul
trucking needs, so our drivers are on the road for a much longer period of time for each
trip.
James (probing): Tell me, what led to this decision to extend the driver’s time on the road?
David: It just worked out that way. Our contract just changed to allow us to do this, and our
operations manager felt we could make more money per load this way.
James: Have you noticed changes in your customers?
David: We do see that they are a little irritated due to some of the problems of getting their freight
delivered successfully.
James: Has there been a change in personnel?
David: Yes, we’ve had more than the usual share of turnover. I’ve turned over most personnel
decisions to our new human resources manager. We’ve had trouble maintaining a person
in that role.
Next day at his office, the e-mail with the trucker census and the hiring data has already arrived. Opening the
numerous spreadsheets, James continues to wonder. Does Deland Trucking have a recruitment problem? Is the
problem the company itself? What is going on?
As he examines the hiring worksheet, he compares it to the driver census figures for the last six months. “There
is the problem!” he exclaims. “I think I need to put together a proposal for David on this. I’m sure he will be
surprised about what his company’s problem really is.”
Answer the following:
1. What is the business problem?
2. How does James arrive at the business problem?
3. What symptoms James could identify?
4. What is the decision statement? How does he arrive at the decision statement?
5. Enlist the research objectives.
6. What is the unit of analysis?
7. Determine key variables in the study?
8. Based on the case scenario, prepare a research proposal that addresses this situation
