An annual survey of thousands of drivers found that while most are happy with the pay structure their fleets offer, they see room for improvement with how their routes are selected.

Truck drivers are often away from a motor carrier’s physical buildings — where everyone else is located — so they don’t always develop as strong an attachment to the company as other employees do. So if a company doesn’t regularly reach out to drivers and involve them in its culture, that company runs the risk that drivers may look elsewhere for work, to a carrier that they perceive as better.

For the past nine years, we’ve been running the annual Best Fleets to Drive For program in partnership with Truckload Carriers Association. Every year, we learn what fleets are doing for their drivers. We interview fleet management and survey drivers. We learn what works and what doesn’t. And we see trends.