As anyone who has ever tried to hire a CDL driver in the Dayton area can attest to, it isn’t easy. Think about trying to hire a part to full time CDL driver that meets certain character requirements: impossible. When VAP recognized the need for a part time driver, we contacted twenty five individuals, only to be told time after time that part time work wasn’t an option. Even the unemployed drivers wouldn’t take part time work. We were able to get three people to agree to come in for an interview, and out of those three, only two showed up. The future was looking bleak for finding someone that was a good fit for our team who was willing and able to start slow. So, it seemed that Value Added Packaging was faced with two options: compromise our excellent customer service standards by requiring a longer lead time in order to plan for only having one driver or compromise our integrity by hiring someone who was not a good fit for our team just to get the orders out on time. Really, neither of these options was feasible for VAP.
One of the things the HR department at Value Added Packaging strives to do is “hire for character, train for skill”. This motto is backed up using application and interview methods that first screen for VAP’s 6 critical character attributes before a technical interview is done. Dontay Sheffield, a machine operator turned CDL driver is living proof of this standard. Dontay possessed the exact character traits important to VAP, although he was not screened for that during the hiring process when he became part of the team. However, he proved it every time he jumped in the straight truck and ran an order to a customer. Or every time he worked in Assembly because he was done with his machine work. He became trained on the forklift and had expressed an interest in moving to the logistics department. Fortunately for him, VAP soon became faced with a conflict of values and had to find a way to maintain its excellent standards with regard to the situation that had presented itself.
The solution presented itself after we began looking for candidates that were recent trucking school graduates (another dead end, in a sense). A local school was kind enough to post our job description, and I answered a couple of phone calls from people inquiring about the position. However, recent graduates were just as opposed to part time work as seasoned drivers; they wouldn’t do it.
But, there was a nearby school. That’s when I realized we were going about this all wrong. We had a great team member who would probably love to spend his Saturdays and Sundays for the next ten weeks sitting in a classroom learning everything there is to know about driving a truck. Once the idea was approved by the owners (who embraced it immediately) it was presented to Dontay, who also embraced it immediately. Now it’s twelve weeks later, and Value Added Packaging has a new driver. Not only was Dontay one of the only two people in his training group to pass the driving test on the first try, he wants to donate even more of his time to go back to the school and help with the new classes. Dontay worked incredibly hard, working Monday – Friday and taking classes on the weekends, and his hard work paid off for him. The investment Value Added Packaging made in him also paid off; Dontay is happier and more engaged with his work than I’ve ever seen him, he learned a skill he can keep for the rest of his life and our customers have someone to deliver their material, on time and with a smile.