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Taking the Hire Road is a podcast dedicated to providing tips to help manage the driver recruiting process while addressing the ongoing challenges related to the driver shortage and driver retention. Hosted by Jeremy Reymer, Founder and CEO of DriverReach, this bimonthly podcast shines a light on the challenges that carriers are facing and aims to help companies hire quality drivers with greater efficiency.
Jeremy Reymer (00:07):
Welcome to Taking the Hire Road, the special show dedicated to the trucking industry primarily around the confluence of recruiting, retention, and compliance. In the 50 years, the host of this show, I bring over two decades of industry experience, both on the carrier side as well as the vendor side, and throughout the year I interview industry experts, have thought leaders who bring their insight to the driver lifecycle as we discuss the industry's greatest challenges. I always appreciate your feedback. Good or bad, don't forget to leave a rating and a review. I'd also like to thank and highlight the show's valuable sponsors. Their dedication and commitment to the industry and to the show is greatly appreciated. If you're interested in being a sponsor or joining me for an interview, please email Jeremy at takingthehireroad.com. This week I'm excited to be joined by a great industry friend who's also a fellow podcast host, Chelsea Faulkner, Director of Operations for HandledNow. Great to finally have you on the show here, Chelsea.
Chelsea Faulkner (00:56):
Absolutely, great to be on.
Jeremy Reymer (00:58):
Well, I mentioned that you're a fellow podcast host. I'd love to get into your background, learn what attracted you to trucking, and more importantly, what keeps you here through the ups and downs that we've all experienced. I'd like to learn more about Handle Now and have you share with the audience how you're helping carriers and drivers thrive in this environment. And I'd also like to get into your industry engagement. I know it's something that's important to you so we can talk about the value that it brings, not only you, but to your company as well. And then lastly, we'll answer this episode's industry health question, which is sponsored by Project 61. Does that work for you?
Chelsea Faulkner (01:30):
That absolutely works for me, Jeremy. Let's get into it.
Jeremy Reymer (01:33):
All right. Well, before we do, I have a favorite icebreaker question that I always like to ask, and that is for a book recommendation. So can you share a specific book that has been impactful to you?
Chelsea Faulkner (01:44):
So my favorite book of all time probably would actually be You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero beautiful yellow cover. I even wiped the coffee off of this cover just so you guys know, but your badass has probably been the book that really busted me out of my own shell. It is the one that brought me into the self-help industry and its self-improvement industry, and it is one of those books, it's not the churchy rah rah, here's all the things that really feel good. Instead, it's one of those that gets down to the nitty gritty. It's sprinkled with cuss words. It's definitely littered with real world language, and it really speaks to the soul of what it is that you need to do to break out of the mediocre life that you're living and step into the highest version of yourself and really start to jump out there and become who it is that you were meant to be and who it is that you really want to rock it out into in the next DECAde or a couple DECAdes of your life.
Jeremy Reymer (02:32):
When you say get down to the nitty gritty and stuff, a lot of times it also is there's action. There's required action as a part of that, right? You actually need to do something different. Let that translate into action.
Chelsea Faulkner (02:45):
Absolutely. Jen Sincero really gives you the actual steps, and not only does she give you the actionable steps, her words will light a fire underneath your butt and say, here, if you're going to do it, now's the time to do it. You don't have time to wait until tomorrow because life isn't finite. And if you want to do something, you need to get out there and start doing it now. Or chances are you're going to hit 80 years old and you're going to be looking back and saying, man, why did I not take that first step? Why didn't I get out there and do the thing?
Jeremy Reymer (03:08):
Great suggestion. In January, 2025, I formed a trucking industry book club. You're actually, you're in it, right? So I think we've got close to 90 people in the club so far, all industry friends, and so if you're listening and you're interested in joining the club, please send me a note on LinkedIn or send an email to Jeremy at takingthehireroad.com. I can send you an invitation. It's a lot of fun. Let's get into who is Chelsea Faulkner? I understand that that's a question that probably could take two or three episodes just by itself. So let's the condensed version, the badass version,
Chelsea Faulkner (03:40):
That's really hard. Who am I? Honestly, I'm a powerhouse creative. I'm a mom of three. First and foremost. I have three kiddos. My oldest is 16. I have an 11-year-old and I have an 8-year-old. They are the light of my life. Outside of that, I am the director of Operations for HandledNow, I also am a podcast host for the podcast Drive. I'm a life coach who coaches women, specifically working moms across this industry and several others in order to help them to reignite their passions and rediscover who it was that they are or who it is that they are before society taught them who they needed to be. Aside from that, I have my own blog. I've been running that for well over eight years now, and I tend to dabble in crafts. I've been doing all kinds of crafts for over five years now, running back and forth to craft shows because A DHD tends to keep you up and busy and doing all the things at all points in time.
Jeremy Reymer (04:31):
But you're in trucking, you're very, very much in trucking. You touch a very important aspect of it around the drivers recruiting and hiring, managing, et cetera. How'd that happen?
Chelsea Faulkner (04:42):
So honestly, Jeremy, I have this fun story with the fact that everybody that's in trucking was either born into trucking, their fathers, their grandfathers before them did it, or they ended up here by accident. Hi, my name is Chelsea. I ended up here by accident. I actually worked in staffing. I worked in light industrial staffing for a company prior to this, probably I'd say it was about 10, 11 years ago now, and that's where I was working with the owner of the company I've HandledNow Zachary. He was working in the trucking side. I was running my own branch out of Lebanon, Indiana, and I was doing the light industrial side of things. That's where he kind of got to know me a little bit about what I'm about, my work ethic, what that looks like. Fast forward a few years, I had been out of the industry.
Chelsea Faulkner (05:22):
He starts HandledNow he reaches out and he's like, Hey, I started this trucking company. I really need you to come work for me. Like, Hey, I'm pregnant and you're offering a 10 99 position with no insurance. I don't think that's going to work. I did the stay at home mom thing for a little bit, started the blog, ran with that, and then all of a sudden it crapped up on me and I was like, you know what? I think it's time to go back to work. So I reached out to him and I was like, Hey, I don't know anything about the trucking industry, but I do know that I trust you, and if you are saying this is something I could do, then apparently I need to dive in head first and see what this is. So I dove in head first and here I am. I got a little bit curious about the situation and about what trucking was and what the industry could bring me, and it's brought me a lot of really good connections, a lot of insight, and it's let me be introduced to a lot of drivers who have opened my eyes as to exactly what it is that a professional driver is, what it is that they do, and how control they are to everything that happens in America.
Jeremy Reymer (06:17):
Yeah, well, absolutely. I also, like you was not born into it, but an opportunity presents itself. You dive in. I think it's important to your point, but then also if you just apply yourself, you quickly realize how important this industry is, how great it is, and it's the people. And we can get into that a little bit later because that is an important thing to touch on. But you mentioned the podcast. I've actually been on your show. It's one of the longest running industry podcasts that I know. Can you share a little bit about your show and how it's helped you as well as your audience?
Chelsea Faulkner (06:51):
So our audience for Drive is more so the drivers, the ones that are in the truck, and the way that we pose the show is we are really looking to connect those people who are in the office to the drivers, because oftentimes we see that there's a large disconnect between the people who are sitting in the office, be it the dispatchers, be it people who are in the C-suite or anybody in between, and the people who are behind the wheel. A lot of times that's where there's a lot of frustration that comes about in the industry because there's not a clear understanding of what's happening in the office versus what's happening behind the wheel because we're not having those conversations openly. So Drive was created to start bridging that gap, to start being that catalyst between what's happening behind the wheel out on the road and what's happening within the office.
Chelsea Faulkner (07:30):
We can have a better understanding as to where those problems are coming up and where it is that we can better create solutions between those two so that everybody can have a better understanding of what the roles are within the industry, and so the drivers can have a bigger voice. Now, as far as you saying that, it's been one of the longest running. I have specifically been on the podcast for, this will be my third season. The past two seasons I've been a co-host and this is my first season hosting all by myself. So apparently I've been trusted at this point in time to take the reins. I want to say we're on either season six or season seven at this point. So we've been around for a minute now.
Jeremy Reymer (08:02):
Very cool. Yeah, I think I'm anxious to join you again at some point. You mentioned coaching. I want to touch on that too. Before we get into, I want to talk about Handle Now, but tell me a little bit about coaching and why is that a passion of yours and how is that manifesting itself in your life?
Chelsea Faulkner (08:17):
So I really got into life coaching solidly. About two years ago. I started working with a woman named Susan Hyatt who is a life coach out of Evansville, Indiana. She has absolutely been a major inspiration to me, but she really opened my eyes to the fact that while I've grown up in small town Indiana, I've always felt the need to grow outside of the box. I've always been that person that was really outspoken, really had this voice that needed to be right. You could never guess that I have always been that person that's had this voice, that has felt that it needed to be amplified because of the fact that I have really strong opinions. I have a lot of things that I want to share, and I have a lot of empowerment that I feel like I can give to a lot of different people.
Jeremy Reymer (08:57):
Can I add that you have a big heart and I think that matters? Thank you. Right? You? That's where it stems from, but I didn't mean to cut you off.
Chelsea Faulkner (09:03):
No, no, you're good. You're absolutely good. I mean, I will always take a compliment, always, always. But no, once I realized that that was a career path and that's something that people were actually doing and they were succeeding with, I was like, okay, wait a second. This seems like a calling for me because I look around and specifically even looking around this industry, when you've got so many women who are working in a male dominated industry who are holding or themselves back in so many areas because it's, oh, well, I need to balance motherhood with my career and what does that look like and can I succeed in both of those areas in a way that I'm successful in both of those areas? Or if I'm giving too much to one or the other, is it that I'm lacking in one or the other because I'm just not giving myself up enough?
Chelsea Faulkner (09:44):
And if I am giving myself up enough to both of those, then where am I burning out? How fast am I burning out? Whereas if they had more of the support behind that and they had the ability to really sit back and break that down and really process what that looks like and have the support and the empowerment to say, you know what? You are not messing up with any of this. You are showing up the fullest version of yourself in all of these places. You are showing up the best and brightest that you have the ability to and the capacity that you have, the ability to exist right now, right here where you are at. And if you would stop letting yourself have these limiting beliefs that are holding you back right now, you could show up even brighter, but you are letting these narratives that have manifested in your head hold you back from what your potential is. So let's sit back and let's see how it is that we could break those down to let you go even further. Once I started to realize that that's something that was a huge need, not only in this industry but in several other industries as well, that's when I realized that was a path that I really needed to lean into just a little bit further, which brings me to today
Jeremy Reymer (10:44):
That's beneficial not just for you, but it's also beneficial just everybody that you touch, friends, but also people that you work closely with, your peers as well as employees. It's a far more effective way of leading them, in my opinion. Anyway. And on that note, speaking of employees and just on the business front, I'm very familiar with the niche of the industry that HANDLE Now operates in. That's my background prior to software and even Project 61 was in the driver staffing space. I'm still super close to a lot of those companies in that space. I'm also heavily involved in a specific association dedicated to that niche that's a group called DECA, and we can touch on that a little bit later, but can you share with the audience what Handle Now is all about and how you're helping trucking companies navigate the challenges of recruiting and hiring drivers?
Chelsea Faulkner (11:33):
So Handle Now is a driver leasing company. So what we do is we really help companies to connect that right fit driver to what it is that they're looking for as far as what their driver needs are and what they need in order to help to move them on down the road. And I know that right now, markets are tight, margins are absolutely brutal, but honestly HandledNow isn't just out filling seats. We're really fueling momentum. So while companies, different recruiting departments are quite frequently drowning in compliance checklists and candidate chaos, we're out here cutting through it, we're killing the downtime and we're keeping those wheels turning. That keeps profitability moving on down the road. As we're cutting through it and we're making those processes a little bit more seamless, we're making sure that those transactions between the driver and the company itself, they're a mutually beneficial transaction.
Chelsea Faulkner (12:21):
So it's not just that it's a good fit for the company and that it's just another warm body in a seat that's holding a steering wheel. It's also a good fit for that driver. We're making sure that it's checking all of the boxes for the driver so that the driver feels empowered to stay themselves. And that makes a huge difference, especially in a market where we've seen so many drivers that have just been sold positions, whether it's a good fight or not, they're told whatever it is worth that they need to hear and order for them to be put through the door. And then they stay for a minute, two minutes a day, they're back out the door. They're mad. You are mad, everybody's mad. And then we're starting all over at square one.
Jeremy Reymer (12:58):
Yeah, the concept of staffing is amazing. Leasing, staffing, I use those terms changeable. That was my past for 15 years. Sold that company in 2017. But leading up to that, I got very involved with a group that I found out just sort of by happenstance called DECA Driver, employer Council of America, specifically for that driver staffing, driver leasing space. And I'm still very involved in that group. Actually, I was on the staffing side, so I was a staffing member and then now more of an allied member, sort of a provider of services and so on. But that said, you found out about it. I think I might've been the one that introduced you. You found out about it, you came and joined. Just if you could share a little bit about your thoughts, the benefits of that group, because specific for the staffing industry, for drivers specifically.
Chelsea Faulkner (13:48):
And I feel like DECA became one of those conferences. I went in February and that was my first DECA event that I ever went to. And honestly, it was one of those conferences that held a very unique space because it didn't just bring a group of people to the table, it brought a group of competitors to the table, which is not something that happens very often, especially in this industry because it's such a cutthroat industry that when you get that many competitors at one table, oftentimes it's not something that everybody's smiling about. And yet we brought all these different competitors to the table for one reason, to better the industry, to start looking at the ways that we could advance things forward to make this a better experience for the drivers that we're serving. That is huge, and that movement in and of itself speaks volumes because when you are able to take that many different companies who are willing to say, you know what, yes, I understand that the space could be uncomfortable for me to show up in, but I'm still going to do it because my drivers at the end of the day are my priority.
Chelsea Faulkner (14:45):
And making this a better experience for them is the most important thing for me. Because without them, I wouldn't be sitting here. And so DECA really was that catalyst, if you will, for me, that spoke to the fact that this industry is so unique in that way that you have people who are passionate enough to say, you know what? We're going to do it. We're going to all show up. We're all going to put a smile on our face and we're going to fake it till we make it. And then once you got in there and everybody had the smile on their face and they realized that they really were having a good time getting to know each other and getting to find out exactly what it was that we could do to make this industry better, that was a turning point. And it was pivotal and it was absolute magic.
Jeremy Reymer (15:22):
A lot of great education content specific for this specific niche. And that's just one of a lot of different events that I see you at a lot of various events. And so I know at Matt's we got to spend some time together, had some good thoughtful conversations there. And like I said earlier, super passionate, big heart. You're constantly learning and growing. And I know we talked a little bit about some of the stuff that drives you, but I'm curious, just the past few years have been really, really tough. How do you maintain that energy and that passion when the last three years and counting we're going like, when is this going to end? This sucks. How do you maintain that energy and passion?
Chelsea Faulkner (16:01):
So two things that really come to mind. The first of which is the burnout cycle, mostly because of the fact that it is so easy, especially being a mom within this industry or a parent within this industry, it is so easy to burn out because logistics never shuts off. And then on the other side of life, parenthood never shuts off. So your kids are constantly needing something else. And then on the other side of things, logistics is constantly needing something else because those wheels never stop turning. So learning exactly where it is that you need to set those boundaries where you need to figure out what exactly is a heck yes for you and what exactly is a heck no for you, and where you can start to set those hard boundaries and then those soft boundaries again on the other side of that and be able to say, you know what?
Chelsea Faulkner (16:41):
It's five o'clock. If it's not something that is absolutely on fire, it can wait until tomorrow. There's always going to be something at the end of the day in trucking that you are not going to have accomplished because there is no way to accomplish every single thing on your to-do list in trucking because there's always going to be something that comes up that's going to take priority. And being able to acknowledge that very early on, but you don't end up in that consistent or that consistent burnout cycle is crucial. Now, on the other side of that, what comes to mind is the curiosity factor of it. I have always been a very curious person, and I've started to really introduce this concept to anybody that I'm coming up into interaction with of just how curious can you get about it? Because what you see a lot of is this ego death in people where they just get to the point where they refuse to ask the questions for fear of being seen as not being knowledgeable enough.
Chelsea Faulkner (17:27):
So rather than them getting curious about things and saying, okay, well this isn't working, and obviously the market is flailing and we haven't seen a market like this in years, and oh my goodness, what are we going to do? What's tomorrow going to bring? They don't start posing the questions of, okay, well, what if this just doesn't work out and I don't know what to do with this, but what if it doesn't work out? And what if we have the opportunity? Then once it doesn't work out to look at a different avenue, what if it isn't a problem? But what if it is an opportunity to say, okay, but how can we pose this differently so that we can come at the problem in a way that could fly next time? What if this could be better than what we created the last time? And what if we could then take that and pivot and turn it into something completely different that's going to serve the industry in a way that's going to elevate everybody, not just us where we sit. When you start to get curious about those things, and when you start to dive headfirst into it, you start to invigorate what it is that you came into this industry for, and you start to rediscover your passion. And when you start to rediscover that passion, you start to find fires that have been lit back within you that you didn't even realize had been burnt out.
Jeremy Reymer (18:29):
Well said. And I'm glad that you keep the coals in the oven and you're always present, you're always engaged. And in fact, I know last year, 2024, you spoke at the Women in Trucking Accelerate Conference, and I've heard that you'll be on stage again in 2025. How excited are you about that?
Chelsea Faulkner (18:50):
I will. I am very excited about it. I am so stoked for the opportunity.
Jeremy Reymer (18:53):
Is that okay? Is this public information?
Chelsea Faulkner (18:55):
I mean, I think it's public information. I got an email, so it's at least public to me at this point.
Jeremy Reymer (18:59):
And now it's public to the whole ecosystem of trucking.
Chelsea Faulkner (19:03):
Yeah, I'd say this is probably the first time it's being announced publicly. Publicly, but you got that insider information.
Chelsea Faulkner (19:08):
But no, I'm super excited about it. And again, that's another one of those things that Curiosity kind of leans you into, because last year in 2024, that was one of those opportunities that I was sitting there going, okay, but what if I just get curious about it? I hadn't been in public speaking in any capacity since high school, and I was like, okay, I've kind of got an itch to do it again. What if I just get curious about it? What if I just apply for it and see how far I can get? And then all of a sudden I landed this public speaking position, and then I said, this year, I was like, okay, but what if I try it again? What's going to happen then? And now here I am going back for it again, and we're going to see what it brings this time and what opportunities and what doors that opens this time.
Jeremy Reymer (19:45):
Well, that's exciting. I'll be there. I'm looking forward to it, and I'll make sure to know what day that you're speaking. So I'm not one of those, well, I had to leave early or something, so I want to make sure that I'm there and supporting you. Before we go, I want to be sure we take a minute and answer a question during the show's industry health segment, which is sponsored by Project 61. And the question is, how do you get more drivers engaged in a company wellness program? I know this is not something that you were prepared for necessarily, so it might be coming out of left field a little bit, but I know that you care about the health and wellness of your drivers. So from your perspective, how do you get more drivers engaged in a wellness program?
Chelsea Faulkner (20:23):
I think a lot of it starts with meeting the drivers where they're at. I think a lot of it starts with not coming at them with a program that is prebuilt to be something that's going to be intimidating to them as soon as you walk in the door. I think it starts with meeting the driver by having that first conversation saying, Hey, listen, we have a wellness program that's in place, but I want to know specifically where you sit today. What are your personal goals? What does that look like for you? Because I don't want to hand you a prepackaged program and say, oh, here, this is what I want you to do, because that works for nobody. I'm here to tell you I've tried that myself, and I don't like doing that. I don't want something that's already structured and that's built out. That's not something that's tailored to me because I'm going to get bored of it real fast.
Chelsea Faulkner (21:02):
I'm going to hang it up. I'm going to say no three days in. That's not what I'm excited about anymore. But yet, when somebody takes the time to actually invest in me, to hear me, to validate me and what my concerns are at that point in time, I feel like they've invested enough time in me that now I want to go ahead and I want to pursue whatever it is that they're handing me. So when we take the time to actually sit down with the driver and understand their specific needs and meet them in that space, I feel like we're going to have a whole lot better return on what it is they want to do in order to meet their own wellness goals.
Jeremy Reymer (21:33):
And again, the end result, hopefully being them more engaged involved for the longterm, right, really making some decisions that are going to improve their life's outcome. Well, thank you so much for joining me, Chelsea. Always look forward to seeing you, and I look forward to seeing you at some upcoming industry events including Women in Trucking.
Chelsea Faulkner (21:51):
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me on.
Jeremy Reymer (21:54):
Thank you for Taking the Hire Road with me once again. Special thanks to the sponsors of this show. We really appreciate you. If you're interested in being a sponsor or joining me for an interview, please email Jeremy at takingthehireroad.com. Until next time, thank you for Taking the Hire Road.