Research Hub

Ongoing Research Into the Driver Relationship.

An open record of what we're learning from drivers and fleet leaders — the Driver Relationship Lifecycle™, the Research Guide Series, and the observations that keep surfacing along the way.

The Research

Retention Is Studied Backwards. We're Studying It Forwards.

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 Framework

The Driver Relationship Lifecycle™

Drivers don't experience recruiting, dispatch, payroll, and operations as separate departments. They experience one relationship, moving through stages — and trust is either reinforced or quietly spent at each one.

1

Recruiting

Who enters the relationship

2

Orientation

Where the promise is tested

3

Communication

What keeps it active

4

Operations

What makes it endure

5

Retention

The outcome

1

Every stage either builds trust or spends it — there is no neutral interaction.

2

Most turnover is decided several stages before the driver gives notice.

3

The research traces where in the lifecycle the relationship actually changed.

Inside the Research

What We Study, and Where the Findings Come From.

What the Research Examines
The recruiting process and the promises made in it
Candidate communication and response times
Orientation and onboarding
Day-to-day driver communication
Dispatch and operational interactions
Payroll and expectation alignment
Where trust breaks down, and when
Where the Findings Come From
Interviews with drivers across fleets and tenures
Conversations with fleet leaders and recruiters
Driver Experience Audit engagements
Operational research into the driver lifecycle
Patterns tracked across engagements over time

New findings, guides, and driver interview insights are shared with the research community first.

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Research Guide Series

Practical Guides, Published as the Research Develops.

The Research Guide Series turns what we're learning into something a fleet leader can actually use — one focused guide at a time, each built on driver interviews and audit findings rather than industry commentary.

Guides are released to the research community first. Once published, each one is added here as a free download.

Guide One — Coming Soon
The Driver Relationship Lifecycle™, stage by stage
Where trust is built, and where it quietly erodes
The questions to ask at each stage of the relationship
What drivers say about the gap between promise and reality
Also in Development
Recruiting communication: what drivers hear versus what was said
The first thirty days and why they decide the next twelve months
Dispatch interactions as a retention signal
Reading trust breakdown before notice is given
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Get the Research as It's Published.

Future Research Guide Series releases, new research observations, driver interview insights, articles and frameworks, and FleetGrowth Partners updates — sent as the work develops, not on a schedule.

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Research Notes

What We're Learning From Drivers

All research notes →
Apply the Research

See Where Your Fleet Sits in the Lifecycle.

A Driver Experience Audit applies the same research method to your fleet — mapping where the driver relationship is built and where trust erodes, stage by stage.