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Breaking the Rules: Hundreds of CPX o-o’s see big raises from profit sharing program 08/10/2006

SURREY, B.C. — A progressive B.C. carrier is shelling out more than $400,000 in profits to its drivers and owner-operators this year.

Surrey, B.C.-based Coastal Pacific Xpress, a 300-truck long-haul TL and expedited carrier, is paying 475 employees and drivers the bonuses in recognition of their role in helping the company generate revenue of $100 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2006 — a 41 percent ($71 million) increase over 2005.

And here’s the important part -

"It’s easy to just say ‘thank you’ to your employees and owner operators for a job well done," said Jim Mickey, general manager and partner at CPX. "We believe in giving back to our people what they have given to us — committed, loyal and hard work through the past year that led to tangible results."

Adds Glen Parsons, partner and vice-president of marketing at CPX: "We didn’t achieve these results alone. That’s why we feel so strongly about sharing these good fortunes. Every single person played a role."

Of course, the ROI is more than just a positive company culture.

In an industry where the qualified driver turnover rate hovers over 120 percent, CPX’s turnover rate is now 20 percent — down another two points from 2005 — which is dramatically lower than the industry average.

In an interview with Today’s Trucking recently, Mickey said his company has grown 500 percent in the last few years at a time when other fleets are forced to downsize because of a lack of quality drivers.

One last quote -

Realizing that premium service needs premium drivers, Mickey and Parsons set out to make CPX the employer of choice.

"Trucking has this ludicrous idea that we can get away with a cavalier disregard for a worker’s time," he says. "That’s not the way the world works. You wouldn’t get away with the way we treat drivers anywhere else."

People–Service–Profits — that’s the company’s motto, literally in that order. So far, it’s paying off in full.

What else is there? If I worked at a company where the corporate offices were nicer than the drivers facilities or my company was paying for a racing sponsorship or the owner had a yacht or two, I would seriously wonder where the fruits of my labor were going to.