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Hiring Delivery Drivers: A Complete Guide

by College Life
Updated on October 15, 2023

Are you looking to hire delivery drivers?

Delivery driving continues to be a vital component of the hospitality sector. Companies that can offer delivery services must hire reliable people to drive their delivery vehicles and ensure a great delivery experience with all packages and goods arriving on time and in tip top condition.

There are many types of delivery drivers from parcel delivery drivers to food & beverage delivery riders.

So how do you make sure you hire the only best delivery drivers out there? What are the essential qualifications a delivery driver should possess? Should you hire part-time or full-time?

These are just some of the questions this guide will help you answer.

Define the Delivery Job

Begin by creating a clear job description accompanied by your company’s rules. 

You will want to define a complete list of delivery driving responsibilities prior to hiring any new drivers. Some common responsibilities may include:

  • Delivering parcels, boxes, food, or other goods to the correct recipients;
  • Replenishing delivery vehicles with the correct number of packages, boxes, groceries or other goods;
  • Driving delivery vehicles to designated drop off locations within a specific period of time;
  • Safely operating delivery vehicles while on the road;
  • Ensuring delivery vehicles are well maintained and kept clean at all times;
  • Driving delivery vehicles between different cities or countries.

Additionally, do not forget to consider specific logistics, rules and regulations of the delivery company. 

For example:

  1. Delivery tip policy: Your delivery company will either allow or restrict delivery drivers from accepting tips during deliveries which will be a factor in delivery salary rates.
  2. Vehicle policy: Your delivery company may require delivery drivers to use their own vehicles to complete their deliveries. If this is the case, drivers will need to meet the delivery company's vehicle safety, maintenance, and cleanliness standards.
  3. Hours of operation: Check if your delivery company is open 24/7 and if delivery drivers are required to work on weekends.

Once you have defined all delivery driver responsibilities and understand the logistics of working with a delivery company, clearly explain this information in the job description you will publish later on.

Define the Delivery Driver

Based on your company's needs, describe what you are looking for in a delivery driver.

Vehicle

As noted, some companies may require employees to have a personal vehicle, whereas some delivery drivers may be allowed to use delivery vehicles provided by the delivery company.

Physicality

Due to the nature of delivery driver responsibilities, an employee needs to possess a good level of physical fitness. This means delivery drivers must be able to carry out delivery duties which may require moving bulky or heavy packages, boxes, and goods short distances such as from the delivery vehicle to a building.

Driving Record

Delivery drivers should also be considered reliable with a clean driving record. And since they will be operating delivery vehicles, they must have a valid delivery driver's license and be able to drive safely at all times (riding bicycles is an exception).

Communication Skills

Another important trait of a capable delivery driver is having effective communication skills. Delivery drivers who lack these skills may struggle when it comes to effectively delivering parcels or boxes to their correct recipients.

Thus, delivery drivers should be able to communicate clearly with delivery recipients as well as delivery building staff.

Some of the most important qualities in delivery drivers include:

  • Ability to work under pressure;
  • In possession of a valid driver's license;
  • Reliable despite long hours, poor weather, and difficult road conditions;
  • Physically fit;
  • Ability to communicate delivery duties with delivery recipients and delivery building staff;
  • Strong communication skills overall.

Part-time vs Full-time Delivery

Do you want your delivery drivers employed on a full-time or part-time basis? This is an important question to ask yourself when hiring delivery drivers.

To determine whether a part-time or full-time delivery driver is right for your company, consider the pros and cons of both types.

Full-Time

When delivery drivers are employed full-time, they tend to expect benefits such as paid sick leave and paid vacation time. These perks are essential for delivery drivers who want to maintain a balance between their delivery schedules and other responsibilities such as school or family life. However, this means delivery companies would have to pay a higher delivery salary rate to their delivery drivers since these benefits are factored into delivery pay rates.

Part-Time

When delivery drivers work part-time, they only work for the delivery company as needed, so delivery companies must hire a greater number of delivery drivers to ensure their deliveries run smoothly. This will increase delivery salary rates.

A plus is that part-time delivery drivers tend to have flexible schedules which allow them to balance their other obligations. For this reason, students and graduates make excellent candidates since they may be seeking delivery jobs with flexible working hours and a way to make some pocket money.

The best delivery companies encourage both full-time and part-time delivery drivers to communicate about their delivery driver schedules so they can work together to ensure delivery service runs smoothly.

Hiring Delivery Drivers

When hiring delivery drivers, consider some key aspects to the recruiting process such as the candidates’ expectations, your company’s contribution to their benefits, and ideal target audience.  

Expectations

Let delivery drivers know what they can expect when working with your delivery company. For example, delivery drivers should know how much they will be paid and the type of delivery vehicles they will drive.

Benefits

Consider providing delivery benefits to your delivery drivers if you want them to stick around long term. Benefits like paid sick days, paid vacation time, and delivery accident insurance will attract delivery drivers to your delivery company.

Young Talent

Consider hiring young talent. In Europe specifically, international students turn to delivery jobs to help cover their financial needs and school costs. This is because many of these jobs offer flexible schedules and some may only require knowing how to ride a bike — a more accessible means of transport than other delivery vehicles.

Sharing your Job Posting

Once you have a delivery position description and delivery application form ready, consider your posting options. Where is the best place for you to share your call for quality candidates?

College Life Work

College Life Work is a global career platform with over students & graduates across 66 countries. Since this particular target audience usually seeks flexible roles, the platform provides you with direct access to qualified candidates.

Other Job Boards

Other delivery driver job boards worth considering include the following:

  • Indeed
  • Monster
  • CareerBuilder

Social Media Job Boards

You can also consider advertising delivery driver positions on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. Facebook is especially ideal for small businesses advertising delivery driver positions by using targeted ads.

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