TECH
Keep on trucking – by app-ointment
Technology – Avail marketing head Steven Rogers
HGV driver recruitment firm aims to change the market
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
“
2022 is going to be the year our HGV driver recruitment solution changes the way the logistics industry works forever ”.
It ’ s a bold claim from Avail Technologies ’ marketing head Steven Rogers . But when you hear how quickly drivers are signing up to Stockton-based Avail ’ s driver recruitment platform and app , which streamlines communications between drivers and employers , it ’ s easy to understand the confidence .
The platform allows operators to communicate directly with drivers - and take-up is growing rapidly .
The firm feels it ’ s the future of HGV driver recruitment , but it ’ s here now - and the figures seem to agree . Last April , 6,000 drivers had signed up - less than a year later , it ’ s 15,000 . And with word spreading fast among the HGV driver community - more than 300 drivers were placed into temporary driver roles last month - Avail is on the road to achieving its goal of securing 10 per cent of the 300,000-strong driver market .
Such impressive figures may not have been on the map just a few years ago when Avail was begun by former serviceman Erin Short in Manchester . Having driven during his Army service , when he left the forces and having been medically discharged in his early 20s , he looked at the UK ’ s logistics industry - particularly how it got drivers - and knew driver recruitment was ripe for modernisation .
Cameras , tracking and tachographs had all been introduced , but the temporary driver supply to the industry remained resolutely old school - traditional agencies with large overheads , charging a lot and frustrating drivers as they did so . Instead , Avail set about developing an app which was efficient and simple to use for employer and driver alike .
Put simply , employers post jobs on the platform , which are sent out to all appropriately experienced and qualified drivers . The driver receives notifications of new work as it comes in and can apply for any they like the look of with just a few taps on their smartphone .
It ’ s cost-effective for operators as it cuts out agency fees , while drivers sign up because it ’ s quick , responsive and transparent - they know exactly what the job is and what they ’ ll be paid .
With financial backing from Mercia - part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund - the app was developed and Avail moved across to Stockton ’ s Level Q complex , on the Surtees Business Park , last April . Founder Erin is no longer involved but the team , led by new general manager Matt Eeles , is now seven strong - much more streamlined than a traditional agency - and is confident driver take-up will continue to grow , especially with Avail
Visit availhub . com / operatorhub
Teamwork – Avail Technologies ’ team is based at Level Q in Stockton
having signed an affinity partnership with Logistics UK , the biggest membership organisation in the industry .
Sales head Dave Roberts told Tees Business : “ Drivers are keen because unlike some traditional agencies , we have a completely transparent fee system on both sides , drivers and operators , so everyone knows what they ’ re getting . And employers like it because it gives them more control over who ’ s in their wagons . “ It has grown like wildfire around the driving community .”
Steven said : “ Traditionally , HGV drivers and operators maybe weren ’ t the easiest people to convince about the benefits of new technology , but this has really taken off .”
And with the HGV driver shortage in the news recently , Avail believes its system can help make the profession more attractive . Dave added : “ We want to be the voice for the driver - we are getting them a better rate of pay and helping improve the conditions they are working in . But for both the driver and operator , it ’ s about control and transparency , and that ’ s what we offer .”
66 | Tees Business