Page 24 - ATR 3 2022 digital

“TRANSPORTATION IS LOOKED AT DIFFERENTLY IN
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. WHEN YOU SEE HIGH RISE
BUILDINGS SITTING OVER THERE AND THOSE ARE
TRUCKING COMPANIES, [IT MAKES AN IMPRESSION].”

—BUTCH RICE,
STALLION TRANSPORTATION GROUP, PRESIDENT AND CEO

Rice

Gronbach said it’s important to are other equally important tools that riers boosting the image of trucking
recognize that, “Generation Y millen- build a healthy and productive work in northwest Arkansas. Having large
nials won’t work for mean people.” He environment. Especially for the driver private fleets like Tyson Foods, J.B.
said, “Take human resources as seri- employees, it’s important to find ways Hunt, and Walmart is likely a reason
ous as you do your finances.” And he to show them how they make a differ- Arkansas is one of two states already
further recommended making it a top ence to the company, to focus on keep- in the early stages of piloting the Safe
priority to hire the highest quality mil- ing them safe and to provide quality Driver Apprenticeship Program (SDAP)
lennial available for HR, because high equipment to drive. approved by the Federal Motor Carrier
quality HR directors tend to hire higher Building a culture of professional- Safety Administration as part of the
quality employees and drivers. ism also helps attract quality employees Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
and draws young people to trucking. signed into law last year.
CARRIER PERSPECTIVES ON Rice pointed out the difference between Up to to 3,000 18- to 20-year-old
CULTURE, DRIVER APPRENTICES, community attitudes toward the drivers will undergo supervised train-
AND EX-OFFENDERS industry in different parts of the state. ing in vehicles equipped with advanced
Improving company culture and “Transportation is looked at differently safety technologies. This program will
adapting training and feedback for in northwest Arkansas. When you see make these trained younger drivers eli-
a millennial workforce is something high rise buildings sitting over there gible to operate as their older counter-
many carriers are already doing. Butch and those are trucking companies, [it parts with some additional training and
Rice, president and CEO of Stallion makes an impression].” technology until they turn 21.
Transportation Group, a for-hire car- “We’re at the phase where we have
rier based in Beebe, said he adopted PILOTING YOUNGER DRIVERS the approval to start hiring, so now the
some of the same practices of Maverick Patrick Simmons is vice presi- next phase is figuring out how we go
Transportation, like eliminating the dis- dent of transportation for Tyson recruit, pay and retain those drivers,”
tinction between employees and drivers, Foods, one of those large private car- Simmons said.
to create a positive work environment. In March, Tyson began the pro-
“They’re all employees,” Rice said. cess of the applying for SDAP approval,
“When you separate them, you’re put- which requires audits of safety records
ting them in a caste. At our company, and evidence of the capacity to imple-
we don’t separate.” ment the mentoring of younger drivers
Rice said culture isn’t something by older, experienced drivers.
that improves quickly. “It’s nothing Simmons said, “It’s got the poten-
you’re going to gain in four or five tial to pay dividends, but the key is what
years.” Butch [Rice] said—how do we attract
Raising wages is one of the most them?”
obvious ways to boost morale. It’s a
strategy many carriers have used during 
the pandemic, but Rice believes there Simmons

24 Issue 3 2022 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT