Hiring an owner operator to run under your authority

Recruiting and hiring an owner-operator is very risky and also could be very rewarding for trucking companies. In order to minimize the risk and maximize the profitability, there are few things a recruiter should learn from an owner-operator before bringing him or her on to drive for the company.

Know that an owner-operator is a person, driver, who operates his or her own equipment under your authority, meaning he will be representing your company with his equipment. This is why you want to make sure that he is a good driver, a good person, and that his equipment is mechanically and aesthetically in great shape.

Here are some of the questions you want to ask an owner-operator before bringing him or her on.

1. How much experience do you have? The more experience he or she has the better for the company. We require a minimum of 2 years.
2. What kind of equipment do you have (year, make, model, mileage, and condition)?
   You want to find out as much as possible about the equipment because you will be putting your decals on the truck and you want the best possible equipment to represent your company.
3. When was the last DOT inspection done on the equipment? It needs to be current, and the more recent inspection the better.
   We require our drivers to do the DOT inspections quarterly.
4. Are you willing to perform a new DOT annual inspection before bringing on the equipment to us? We require owner-operators to complete a new DOT inspection at a nonbiased location, such as major truck stops or dealerships. This way we make sure that the equipment is up to DOT standards and it shows if the owner-operator invests time into maintaining the equipment. It also shows if he or she is flexible and most importantly a team player.

These are some of the basic questions that start the conversation and that could lead you to learn a lot more about who you will be working with and who will be representing your company to your customers and shippers.

If you want to learn more about hiring owner-operators to drive for your company, please drop a comment below, send us a message or join our trucking group on Facebook where we promote trucking and help each other!

From all of us at Extra Mile: Stay safe and thank you!