Ongoing research shaped by conversations with drivers and fleet leaders, examining how the driver relationship forms, where trust strengthens or erodes, and what influences a driver's decision to stay or leave. Explore the Driver Relationship Lifecycle™, Research Guide Series, and the findings emerging along the way.
Most retention research begins at the exit interview, long after the decision was made. Our work begins at the other end of the relationship — in recruiting conversations, orientation, dispatch calls, and the first weeks on the job — through ongoing conversations with drivers, fleet leaders, and operational research into how driver relationships develop, strengthen, and sometimes begin to deteriorate long before turnover occurs.
The driver relationship develops across a series of experiences, from the first recruiting interaction through everyday operations and retention. Drivers experience those moments as one relationship with the company, and each interaction can strengthen trust, weaken it, or shape how they interpret what happens next.
Where expectations begin
How the relationship stays connected
Where expectations meet experience
The outcome of the relationship over time
Every stage either builds trust or spends it — there is no neutral interaction.
Most turnover is decided several stages before the driver gives notice.
The research traces where in the lifecycle the relationship actually changed.
The research looks beyond turnover rates to the experiences, interactions, and operational moments that shape the driver relationship over time. We compare what drivers experience with what fleet leaders see to better understand where expectations, interpretation, trust, and behavior begin to shift.
Follow the research as it develops. New findings, Research Guides, and insights from conversations with drivers and fleet leaders are shared as the work evolves.
Follow the ResearchThe Research Guide Series turns emerging findings into focused, practical resources for fleet leaders. Each guide explores one part of the driver relationship, drawing from driver conversations, fleet-leader perspectives, Driver Experience Audit findings, and recurring patterns identified through the research.
Guides are released as the research develops, giving fleet leaders practical ways to examine what may be happening inside their own operations.
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The Driver Experience Audit™ applies the same research-led approach to your fleet, examining where expectations, everyday experiences, and trust begin to break down and which issues deserve attention first.