Bringing an Outside Perspective to the Transportation Industry

Episode 41: Bringing an Outside Perspective to the Transportation Industry, with Sarah Wilkins

Sarah Wilkins joined Skyline Transportation Inc. in mid-2017, bringing nearly two decades of marketing and public relations experience to this firm headquartered in Knoxville, TN. She manages the company’s website and social media presence, communicates the company’s story, and handles traditional and digital marketing strategies.

Although this is her first position at a transportation company, she brings a wealth of expertise to her employer that she had gained through her work at firms in different industries for the past two decades. Her outreach efforts play an important role in recruiting and retaining professional drivers, reaching out to drivers through digital initiatives, and fostering a culture that encourages employees to become brand ambassadors for the company. She proves that a person with external marketing and communication experience may effectively strengthen internal marketing and retention initiatives.

“Your logo is not your brand. Your brand is the person that answers your phone.”

– Sarah Wilkins

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The marketing and social media experience those in other industries can bring to the transportation industry
Why companies must reconsider best practices as they grow to understand how growth changes the corporation’s culture and influences retention
The importance of having “multiple touch points” with new hires that last beyond onboarding so that we build a solid loyalty to the brand among them
Reasons that reaching out via text first rather than leaving voicemails offers a more effective way to initiate contact with prospective employees
How learning where truck drivers spend time and dollars on their entertainment offers strategic information as we seek to attract the best talent to our firm by reaching out to them
Effective ways to get feedback from truck drivers in your firm that provide higher rates of response and avoid intimidating situations, such as the intimidation that may occur by having a select group of them appear in front of senior management to give their opinions
Successful approaches to build retention plans that keep drivers and other support employees loyal to the company
The value of keeping our retention initiatives fresh and reminding employees that we truly care about them