Sign Up Bonuses, Are They For Real?

I’ma huge skeptic when it comes to sign on bonuses. It’sa recruiting tool yes but I always have to ask why a companies driver retention is so bad that they’re offering thousands of dollars extra for a driver to last one year. I’m also aware that there are a gazillion answers regarding retention issues but it still leads me to believe that a company that has to make that type of offer probably isn’ta company I’d want to work for.

That was one of my many thoughts while reading it. If you are so great, why don't you have experienced drivers lined up out the door? Not saying it's a bad company, I have no idea. But it does make me think.

hat was one of my many thoughts while reading it. If you are so great, why don't you have experienced drivers lined up out the door? Not saying it's a bad company, I have no idea. But it does make me think.

Right now Old Dominion, Saia, Estes, are offering sign on bonus in certain regions because they are having a hard time finding drivers right now for some reason. Heck OD has even upped the referral bonus to 3k in those regions.

Food service is always offering crazy sign on bonuses because it is physically demanding work that a lot of people cant or wont do.

So just because they are offering a sign on bonus does not a bad company make imo.

Yes they are real. They are usually paid out over one or more years. This is to get and keep experienced drivers.

For example CFI is currently offering experienced teams $20,000. That's $10,000 each team member. They are offering $5000 for experienced solo drivers.

There is no hiring or referral bonus for students. We are a company that trains, hires new CDL grads, and experienced drivers. All trucking companies have high turnover rates. It costs companies thousands of dollars to recruit and hire drivers and a long time to recoup that money. This is why they work hard to keep drivers.

Get with that first company, stay that one year, then if unhappy pick someplace else.

Good luck.

I was paid a $2,000 bonus as a new driver, quarterly over a year period.

I began driving for Schneider fresh out of CDL school. I received a $7500 sign-on bonus, paid out in installments throughout the year, the largest payout coming at the end of that first year. Yes, it was very real. However, I will add that I figured I could have made as much money that first year pulling dry vans, reefers, or flatbeds with anyone else, without the sign-on bonus, as the miles were less than hoped for.

I began driving for Schneider fresh out of CDL school. I received a $7500 sign-on bonus, paid out in installments throughout the year, the largest payout coming at the end of that first year. Yes, it was very real. However, I will add that I figured I could have made as much money that first year pulling dry vans, reefers, or flatbeds with anyone else, without the sign-on bonus, as the miles were less than hoped for.

In case you’re not reading between the lines, ima gonna spell it out: companies that keep their drivers happy, satisfied, and retained, usually do so by keeping their wheels turning as well as offering merit-based bonuses. Consistent, satisfying paychecks are thus the reward, not exorbitant sign-on bonuses.

Yes, they're real. As a new driver you should focus on your training. As Kearsey said, you will know enough to pass the test and that's it. You won't know how to put fuel in the truck! DEF/ComData/TransFlo, what's that? When you do get 100,000 miles under your belt you can worry about signing bonuses.

Historically, bonuses were a red flag. Why are they having trouble finding trouble finding drivers? Why don't they just raise driver pay so all their drivers benefit instead of just luring in new drivers and letting the old drivers settle for lower pay? As more baby boomer retire, younguns are brainwashed into believing, "trucks are just going to drive themselves, why waste my time getting a CDL" - so even good companies are now having to pay bonuses for safe, experienced drivers.

ABF is offering a $7,500 sign-on bonus for road drivers. Traditionally, you'd have to work the docks for a few years, bid on a P&D driver opening when it came up and hope you had enough seniority to beat the other dock workers, drive P&D for a few years until an opening on linehaul came available and hope you had enough seniority to beat the other P&D drivers for a linehaul job. Linehaul can pay $100,00+, get you home every night with weekends off. These jobs have always been in demand. Linehaul usually has turnover <7% / year. Now, they're having to pay bonuses to get drivers for a union job with a pension!