Kathy, Nakkia, and Tala… Thanks so much for taking time to talk with us! First things, first, which of the three of you has the best sense of humor?
We are all equally hilarious, in our humble opinion! And we are all 3 VERY sarcastic!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and how long you have been with All State?
Nakkia: I’ve been with All State for a year and seven months, I am a mother of my eight year old daughter, I love to read, enjoy the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
Kathy: I have been at All State since July. I had been a stay at home mom for 14 years until then, but prior to thatI was a Kindergarten teacher! I have been married for 16 years and have 3 awesome kids!
Tala has also been at All State as a recruiter since July, but also did an internship here in Operations in the summer of 2017. She graduated from college last spring and recently got married! She is on her honeymoon as we’re doing this interview so Nakkia and Kathy are answering for her! She and her husband have a sweet puppy!
All State Express is one of the strongest companies in our industry today. What are some things you feel have helped establish All State as such a strong carrier?
I think consistently finding what isn’t working for us, and trying our best to make a change to fix it as soon as we can. We do a lot of analysis internally and with our potential recruits AND existing drivers to see which practices are successful and which need adjusting! Basically listening to the feedback that we get and really considering what changes we can make to smooth out our processes for everyone!
What are some things on the horizon for All State that some people might not know about yet?
We are exploring the option of adding some company drivers to our fleet. We are excited about this possibility because it opens up a whole new demographic of drivers for us!
What do y’all feel is the biggest struggle for drivers in our industry and how do you feel All State works to address those struggles?
I think the biggest struggle is many drivers hate being away from home but still love the OTR aspect and its’ financial rewards. We at All State Express take great pride in our “no forced dispatch” policy, that allows our owner operators to be flexible with their routes and schedules. We are a family owned company and we certainly appreciate the fact that our drivers need to have that home time with their loved ones to rest and recharge!
As driver recruiters, what is one of the most rewarding parts of your profession?
Having drivers call us after a few weeks on the road and tell us how happy they are with their decision! We all consider ourselves to be a very driver-centered recruiting team. We don’t just try to bring in volume, we try to search out drivers that will be a great fit with our philosophy and our procedures. Our team strives for excellence and we want to seek out drivers who do the same! One of the most rewarding parts of recruiting is hiring a driver who turns out to be very successful with our company. I love to see drivers happy with the decision of choosing us!
