Short of three drivers for tomorrow
Two drivers have rung in sick and one is on holiday that nobody put on the rota. The planner texts two agencies, rings a third, and gets a mix of replies: a name, a maybe, a driver who can do nights but not days. By the evening there are two confirmed and one unknown. At five in the morning the unknown does not appear.
At the end of the month the agency invoices arrive, and someone has to work out whether the hours match what the drivers actually did.
Why agency work is so manual
Agency drivers are a normal part of haulage, but the process around them is usually built on phone calls and memory. Each agency works differently, and the information about an agency driver sits in several places.
- Shift requests go out by phone, text and email to different agencies.
- Confirmations are informal and not recorded against the shift.
- Documents and induction for each agency driver are held in a folder, if anywhere.
- Hours on the agency timesheet are not checked against tachograph or clock records.
- Agency invoices are approved on trust because checking is too slow.
What the mess costs
Unfilled shifts mean loads not delivered or planners covering driving themselves. Drivers turning up without the checks and induction you require put the transport manager in an awkward position at five in the morning. And invoices paid without checking will, over time, include hours nobody worked. None of this is because agencies or planners are careless; there is just no system joining it together.
The booking flow we build
- The planner enters the shifts needed: start time, depot, vehicle type, and any requirements such as licence category or experience with a type of trailer.
- Requests go to your preferred agencies by email or their portal, in the order you set, and responses are recorded against the shift.
- When a driver is confirmed, their name, the documents you require and whether they have done your induction are shown. Missing items are flagged to the transport office before the shift.
- On the day, the driver's actual start and finish come from tachograph data or a clock-in, and are recorded against the shift.
- Agency invoices and timesheets are read and matched to shifts and actual hours. Differences go to a short queue for someone to look at.
- Reports show fill rates and cost by agency, so you know which agencies deliver.
| Step | Now | With the flow |
|---|---|---|
| Asking for drivers | Calls and texts | Requests sent and tracked |
| Knowing who is coming | Memory and messages | Confirmed against each shift |
| Documents and induction | A folder, maybe | Checked before the shift |
| Checking invoices | On trust | Matched to recorded hours |
Afterwards
Planners can see at a glance which shifts are filled and which are still open. The transport office knows before the morning whether a driver is missing anything you require. Accounts check agency invoices against records rather than accepting them. And you learn which agencies fill shifts reliably, which is useful when you negotiate with them.
Agency drivers also have a better first morning. They arrive knowing the depot, the start time, the truck and who to ask for, because the confirmation they receive says so. A driver who has worked for you before is recognised, with their induction already recorded, so they do not repeat it. Over time you can build a short list of agency drivers who know your work and ask for them by name.
Is agency booking like this for you?
- Shifts are requested by text and phone.
- Agency drivers have not turned up without anyone knowing in advance.
- Driver documents are checked at the gate, if at all.
- Agency invoices are not checked against tachograph hours.
- You cannot compare agencies on reliability.