Transcript
About this week’s guest
Max Farrell is the cofounder and CEO of WorkHound, a company dedicated to giving a voice to frontline workers through a real-time, anonymous feedback platform. With a mission to help people love their work, Farrell has led his team to create a platform that empowers workers, improves workforce retention and builds community. WorkHound has successfully helped companies retain more than 35,000 frontline workers.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 00:01
What keeps truckers up at night? Rail workers press for better working conditions. And some key factors driving our supply chains.
Pull up a chair and join us as the editors of DC Velocity discuss these stories, as well as news and supply chain trends, on this week’s Logistics Matters podcast.
Hi, I’m Dave Maloney. I’m the group editorial director at DC Velocity. Welcome.
Logistics Matters is sponsored by Rite-Hite. Rite-Hite vertical storing dock levelers for drive-thru applications help provide environmental control with complete 4-sided perimeter seal to block white light and the ability to open trailer doors inside the facility. Learn more at www.ritehite.com That’s R-I-T—H-I-T-E dot com.
As usual, our DC Velocity senior editors Ben Ames and Victoria Kickham will be along to provide their insights into the top stories of this week. But to begin today: 2023 has not been so rosy for trucking. Volumes are down, and the capacity built up during the pandemic is more than what is needed currently. What’s causing the current problems for trucking, and what might conditions be like for truckers during the second half of the year? To find out here’s Victoria with today’s guest.
Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 01:22
Thanks, Dave. Our guest today is Max Farrell, CEO and cofounder of WorkHound, a software company that is a feedback platform for frontline workers. Max joins us to discuss the key issues and challenges facing the men and women behind the wheel of all those freight trucks you see on our roads and highways every day. Welcome, Max.
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 01:41
Thank you so much. It’s great to be here.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 01:42
Great. Well, thank you. I want to ask you first, just to set us up here, tell us a bit about WorkHound. What kind of a company are you and what do you do?
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 01:52
Yeah, so as you mentioned, WorkHound is a real-time feedback software platform for frontline workers and their companies. And so we started WorkHound about eight years ago with the mission of wanting to help people love the work they do, and we started in trucking because we know there’s a big turnover problem. We saw the turnover’s high, a lot of people don’t feel respected, they don’t feel like they have a voice, and historically the only options had been exit interviews and annual surveys to get the voice of the workforce. And so what we created a WorkHound is a real-time feedback loop where workers can share feedback anywhere, anytime anonymously without the fear of retaliation. But companies can get access to the insights to act and address the feedback so they can be proactive instead of reactive. And so WorkHound’s, what we’ve realized is that getting feedback is easy. The hard stuff is understanding that data and doing something with it. And so WorkHound’s unique in that the platform, you can take action on every single piece of feedback that you get, and that’s enabled companies, in North America last year, they retained 12,000 workers using WorkHound. So, we’re really proud of some of the impact that we’ve been able to have in helping companies better connect with their workers.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 03:10
Terrific. Thank you. And as I understand it, it’s also you also do research, and you recently released a survey-based report about truck drivers’ top concerns. I wondered if you could tell us a little bit about that, and maybe talk about the biggest issues that are affecting truckers in their daily jobs.
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 03:26
Yeah, the — so we, because we’re gathering feedback from tens of thousands of drivers across North America, we aggregated all that feedback to see, what is the pulse of the driving workforce. And what we saw in our Annual Trends Report is that the top theme last year was praise, which was really surprising because, in an industry like trucking, there’s usually this bad habit of wanting to fix what’s broken instead of celebrating what’s working well, but what it showed is that everything’s not bad. Like 33% of our, of the feedback we received is positive, and so for that to be the highest theme, I think was really surprising. But you know, there were certainly the themes beyond that. Pay and communication, they were much more negative, and I could certainly talk about those, if that would be helpful.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 04:18
Yeah, if you could expand on those two a little bit that’d be great.
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 04:23
So when it when it comes to pay, that’s that’s been a hot topic in in the transportation space for several years now, and what’s interesting is that the pay feedback that we receive is very intersectional with with communication. Often the pay comments will come in the form of question, where people are confused about reimbursements or pay periods, or even questioning the false expectations that a recruiter may have shared. And so, because of this, this confusion and uncertainty, that starts to create a sense of mistrust between a driver and the company that they’re working with, and if you don’t trust the place you work, you’re probably not going to stick around very long. And so what’s been interesting to see is that companies are taking that data and saying, How do we make our pay simpler and more predictable, because that is, that’s what our people are looking for? Because I don’t think it’s any secret that trucking has the most complicated pay structure of any industry in all of North America, and so it’s about time that it gets simple. So, that’s one of the key aspects of pay. Would it be helpful to also share about communication?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 05:36
Yeah, absolutely, and like you just did, you know, maybe share a little bit about how employers are reacting to this, or what they’re doing about these problems. So yeah, sure.
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 05:47
So, when it comes to communication — again, it was one of the top themes that we saw in the past year — but, a third of the comments around communication mentioned people. And what that tells us is that trucking is still a people business, and drivers rely a lot on people for their job, whether that’s planners or dispatchers or terminal managers. And so where frustration starts to kick in for drivers is lacking timely info, and in the absence of clear information, people are really good at filling the void with the worst thoughts and fears. And in trucking that’s amplified even more because a driver going down the road has hours of windshield time to stew on communication they received or lack thereof. And so what we do see some companies doing around communication, one is operating with empathy more, where they recognize that the driver managers that are supporting the drivers may not have experience in trucking or actually being in a truck, and so they’re either giving them soft skills training of how to be better communicators, especially in a multigenerational workforce. But there are also some companies will even do ride alongs, where they’ll say, Hey, if you’re going to be a driver manager, you need to go see what it’s like for a driver. And then the other aspect is capturing the feedback of the drivers that are out on the road. So instead of it just being a one-way street of dispatchers or driver managers sharing, Hey, here’s where you need to go. Let us know if you run into issues, it’s creating a feedback loop where drivers are able to say, Hey, here’s what’s happening for me out here, here’s what’s working, here’s what’s not, and giving the company the opportunity to figure out, how do we build a better business based on what our workforce is saying? So, I think all those items have really helped some companies build more trust and create a stronger culture by really being proactive and listening to their workers’ needs.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 07:56
It’s tough to find drivers, too, you know? What actions can employers — carriers — take to make the profession more attractive, you know, based on some of this feedback, we’re talking about?
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 08:05
The pendulum often swings for companies between being desperate to bring anybody with a CDL on, to the other side of it, where they’re very targeted in bringing the right people on, and especially right now, where we’re in a moment where it’s a good time for companies to strengthen their culture to figure out who are the right people we want on our team. But more importantly, for the company, asking the question, How do we show up to our workforce? And right now, the the freight market is bumpy, and so companies should be asking, How do we support our people in times of uncertainty and become a company of choice? And so, one of the biggest ways that I’ve seen companies do it is to really embrace this concept of benefits plus. You know, the table stakes are, Here’s your pay, here’s your insurance, here’s your 401(k), but really seeing, what are the other things that you can offer to strengthen you either your relationship with the driver or to help them in their career. So, some people will provide mental-health support, or family planning support, or education reimbursement, so if somebody wants to get a degree in addition to going down the road, that’s, they’re in support of that, because while someone may be a driver, they may not be a driver forever, and that’s okay. So companies encouraging, supporting the full person has been really exciting to see.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 09:39
We often hear about the need to, you know, attract more women to trucking, just talking about recruiting and making the industry, you know, a better place to work. There are obstacles and concerns specific to women drivers, so I wonder, did any of this come up in your report or maybe comes up in the regular feedback that you receive? Can you comment on any of that?
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 09:59
Yeah. We did a separate analysis on what women drivers were saying in the feedback to identify some of the qualitative trends that stood out. And so, one of the — there are certainly a number of issues that popped up, but one of them that that stood out was safety concerns, where, because female drivers are facing unique concerns such as sleeping in truck yards, or maybe they feel unsafe due to inadequate facilities, we saw we saw comments where there was concern about going into a certain area, and that sort of thing. And then the safety actually carries over to training shortcomings that the companies run into, where companies don’t have a lot of, or enough women trainers. And so women will, if they’re new to the industry, will be in a truck being trained by a male counterpart, and so we receive feedback about inappropriateness or maybe sexism, where they’re not focused on quality training. And again, the there’s concern for safety. So, I have seen there is a growing push for companies that are really working to diversify their workforce to say, Okay, how do we get more women drivers to become trainers, to diversify not just our driver pool, but also our trainer pool, so that we can expedite the diversity inside our organization. And so I have been really encouraged to see that, you know, companies are saying, Okay, there is some nuance here. How do we, what are the nuanced things we need to do? Sometimes it’s in terms of providing different benefits, where it’s covering women’s health and home time for childcare. So, companies just need to be more in tune that if we want to diversify our workforce, we have to diversify the way we approach work.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 12:06
Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. While we wrap up here, is there anything else about either the report or this topic in general that you think our audience should really pay attention to keep an eye on?
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 12:17
Yeah, I would say, keeping an eye on what benefits companies choose to prioritize is key. You know, it says a lot about the company culture, and we’re seeing more companies emphasize their feedback and communication strategies in their job descriptions on the website to show that they’re listening to their people, and that they have a process to act on what their workforce says. And so, it’s really encouraging that you’re seeing more and more companies out there in transportation, and even in the broader supply chain, operate with a culture of curiosity, instead of saying, with their arms crossed, This is the way it is, they’re really saying, Okay, we really want to understand and listen to our workforce so that we can build a better business and be that company of choice for people in a very competitive market. So that, I’d say, has been a really fun evolution that I’ve seen in the industry since I’ve been a part of it.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 13:17
Terrific, Max, thanks very much for joining us today. We really appreciate it.
Max Farrell, Cofounder and CEO, WorkHound 13:21
Yeah. Thank you all. It’s been fun.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 13:23
Yeah. Thank you. We have been talking with Max Farrell of WorkHound. Back to you, Dave.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 13:29
Thank you, Max and Victoria. Now let’s take a look at some of the other supply chain news from the week. And Ben, there was more news this week about the men and women who go working on the railroads and their continuing disputes with management over working conditions. Can you share some of the latest?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 13:46
Yeah, I’m glad to, Dave. Many of our listeners will remember that we nearly saw a nationwide rail strike in December, about six months ago, after those rail worker unions and the railway companies couldn’t reach agreement on extending the contracts that had to do with pay rates, of course, work schedules, number of sick days, they’re allowed to take. The rail companies and labor unions had actually reached a proposed deal back in September. It was mediated by the White House, given the importance of keeping freight moving, but it ended up being rejected by four out of the 12 labor unions involved. This is complicated stuff. And it raised the prospect then of shutting down a huge amount of national freight movement. In the end, Congress actually passed a bill that imposed that earlier agreement and Biden administration signed that, so a lot of big forces moving here. But this week, we’ve come to learn that that wasn’t actually the end of the story. So on Wednesday, we heard that Union Pacific Railroad had made a tentative agreement with a union that’s called the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and a couple days before that, on Monday of this week, actually, CSX had reached, likewise, a tentative agreement with a different union, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. And, a week ago, Norfolk Southern Corp. had agreed to provide a paid sick-day policy to that same Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen group, so, a flurry of action.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 15:22
Yeah, that is a lot of agreements nearly all at once. Is this a case of just the railroad companies giving into worker demands?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 15:30
Not necessarily. For sure, the railroads were under pressure to make a deal, both to avoid a strike, especially with fears of recession and sort of economic turmoil going on, and also to deal with, not really related, but still public relations pressure, some of the fallout from the chemicals that had leaked after that Norfolk Southern derailment back in February in Ohio. So, who knows what discussions happen behind closed doors, but what we do know, the, we remember that the original deal, the one that was imposed by Congress last year, was not just about pay, it was more so about flexible work schedules. In fact, that deal included pay hikes. So the railroads were already willing to meet the unions on that score, but the recent deals were, like I say, more about scheduling, more freedom to pick and flex work days — particularly sick days; that was a big one. But the recent Union Pacific deal offered a predictable schedule, so they’d have 11 days on and four days off, as opposed to pretty much on-demand work, which is what it has been. So that approach, though, could actually be constructive for both sides at the negotiating table, looking at the different statements. So, Union Pacific said that that deal would let it better manage at staffing levels, and that leads to more consistent and reliable service. And likewise, that Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen made a similar point. They said that, they said, quote, “This significant change in scheduling will not only make life better for locomotive engineers and their families, it should also help Union Pacific to retain and recruit employees.” So, that kind of makes sense if you’re offering more attractive working conditions, and especially in our economy right now, where we’re at a 40- or 50-year low unemployment rate. So, this could be a legitimate deal that helps both sides, but as I mentioned, these are tentative agreements right now, not signed in ink, so they have to be ratified by worker votes. So that’s something that we’ll keep tracking as well.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 17:36
Yeah, we certainly will. Thanks, Ben.
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 17:39
Glad to.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 17:40
And Victoria, you are working on a column for the June issue of DC Velocity about how conflicted consumers are driving our supply chains. Can you explain what you mean by “conflicted consumers”?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 17:52
Absolutely, Dave. This all about belt-tightening and a simultaneous demand for service, as it turns out. So, continued high inflation, interest-rate increases, and a general slowing of the economy are affecting businesses and consumers alike as 2023 marches on. We’ve all seen that and keep reading about it. And these sentiments were echoed in an industry report released this spring that showed new trends in consumer buying habits, trends that reveal an increasingly cost-conscious consumer who nevertheless continues to place high demands on retailers, logistics companies, and others across the supply chain. The report is from international e-commerce and mail-delivery company Asendia, and it revealed what leaders there are referring to as “the conflicted consumer,” as you noted. And these are shoppers who are becoming more price conscious and tightening their belts on the one hand, but who still want to consume in line with their values on the other, by making environmentally conscious decisions about product choice and fulfillment methods, for example. And these are things that are often typically more expensive in the purchasing process. So, the survey, the company surveyed 8,000 consumers worldwide this past February, and found that more than half are placing price as a top consideration in their buying decisions this year. And at the same time, three-quarters of consumers said they remain, and I’m quoting, “sustainability-minded” in those decisions, and that they’re willing to pay the price for that. More than 20% of the respondents said they would pay more for 100% carbon-neutral deliveries, for example, and 23% said they’d pay more for greener fulfillment options, even if that meant the item took longer to arrive. So, some mixed signals there, for sure.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 19:33
Right. What effect is all this having on the supply chain?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 19:37
Well, it’s forcing companies, particularly retailers, to have to cater to both sides of the consumers’ value spectrum. The study found that 70% of U.S. consumers in particular expect to cut back on their spending this year, and that those same consumers are re-evaluating how and what they buy to minimize their environmental impact. So on the one hand, retailers have to deal with those shrinking purchases while off offering some of the higher-end services they’ve developed in response to consumers’ demands for sustainability. And just to give you a few examples of what that is, you know, those services, more than a third of shoppers said they expect retailers to ship with reusable-only packaging; more than 20% said they expect carbon-neutral delivery on international orders; and nearly a quarter said they expect retailers to use electric vehicles for domestic fulfillment. And as you said at the outset, Dave, I wrote about this for DC Velocity‘s June issue, so our readers can can learn more when that issue is out next month.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 20:34
We look forward to seeing it. Thank you, Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 20:37
You’re welcome.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 20:38
We encourage listeners to go to DCVelocity.com for more on these and other supply chain stories, and check out the podcast Notes section for some direct links on the topics that we discussed today.
And again, we would like to thank Max Farrell of WorkHound for being our guest. We welcome your comments on this topic and our other stories. You can email us at [email protected]. We also encourage you to subscribe to Logistics Matters at your favorite podcast platform. Our new episodes are uploaded each Friday.
Speaking of subscribing, check out our sister podcast series Supply Chain in the Fast Lane. It’s coproduced by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Supply Chain Quarterly. We have a new series on transportation tech starting on June 6, so check that out and subscribe to Supply Chain in the Fast Lane wherever you get your podcasts.
And a reminder that Logistics Matters is sponsored by Rite-Hite. Rite-Hite vertical storing levelers for drive-through application help protect your employees by allowing them to open trailer doors inside the facility versus outside on the dangerous drive approach. Its exclusive Safe-T-Pit sensors also prevents leveler operation if any movement is detected in the leveler pit for an additional level of pedestrian safety. Learn more at www.ritehite.com.
We’ll be back again next week with another edition of Logistics Matters. Be sure to join us. Until then, have a great week.
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