--- title: How a TMS Supports Driver Retention description: See how TMS driver retention tools cut turnover with real-time settlement visibility, driver-friendly dispatch, and metrics carriers can track over time. image: https://marketing.magnustech.com/hubfs/Imported%20sitepage%20images/deadhead-blog-.jpg --- [![Magnus Technologies](https://marketing.magnustech.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Magnus_Technologies_2024/images/Magnus_logo_black.svg "Magnus Technologies")](https://magnustech.com/) - [Magnus Platform](https://magnustech.com/magnus-platform/) - [Driver App](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/) - [Quick Access to Shipment Details](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#QuickAccesstoShipmentDetails) - [Mobile Document Management](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#MobileDocumentManagement) - [Precise Load Tracing](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#PreciseLoadTracking) - [Clear Dispatch Communication](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#ClearDispatchCommunication) - [Instant Status Updates](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#InstantStatusUpdates) - 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[Instant Status Updates](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/#InstantStatusUpdates) - [Markets We Serve](https://magnustech.com/magnus-platform/#) - [Finished Vehicle](https://magnustech.com/finished-vehicle/) - [Truckload](https://magnustech.com/truckload/) - [Specialty Freight](https://magnustech.com/specialty-freight/) - [Dry Van](https://magnustech.com/dry-van/) - [Flatbed](https://magnustech.com/flatbed/) - [Bulk](https://magnustech.com/bulk/) - [Refrigerated](https://magnustech.com/refrigerated/) - [Brokerage](https://magnustech.com/brokerage/) - [Dedicated Freight](https://magnustech.com/dedicated-freight/) - [Pricing](https://magnustech.com/pricing/) - [Integrations](https://magnustech.com/integrations/) - [ELD](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#Eld) - [ERP/Platforms](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#ErpPlatforms) - [Fuel/Driver Credit Card](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#FuelDriverCreditCard) - [Financial](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#Financial) - [Trading Partners](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#TradingPartners) - [Accounting & Payroll](https://magnustech.com/integrations/#AccountingPayroll) - [Resources](https://magnustech.com/resources/) - [Guides](https://magnustech.com/guides/) - [Case Studies](https://magnustech.com/case-studies/) - [Blog](https://marketing.magnustech.com/blog?_gl=1*1hicz8d*_gcl_au*MTE4MzI3NzQ0Mi4xNzIzNDYwMjYz*_ga*MTg3NDg4MTc4My4xNzIzNDYwMjYz*_ga_M3C0ZWPKH4*MTcyNTAxODIyMS4zMC4wLjE3MjUwMTgyMjEuNjAuMC4w) - [Infographics](https://magnustech.com/infographics/) - [Newsroom](https://magnustech.com/newsroom/) - [About Us](https://magnustech.com/about/) - [Careers](https://magnustech.com/careers/) # Magnus Blog # How a TMS Supports Driver Retention ### **Why Driver Turnover Is a Technology Problem, Not Just a Pay Problem** Driver turnover isn't only about pay. Even carriers with competitive rates lose drivers when the day-to-day experience is frustrating: settlements that don't add up, dispatch instructions that change mid-route, load information that arrives too late to plan around. Turnover in trucking has stayed high for decades, not months. The annualized turnover rate at large truckload carriers averaged 92.7% from the third quarter of 1996 through the first quarter of 2023 (ATA data, cited in National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024). That figure spans nearly three decades: it's the baseline drivers have learned to expect, not a single bad quarter. Pay adjustments move the number for a quarter or two before it drifts back. Visibility and predictability move it for longer, because they address why drivers actually leave. Ask drivers who quit why, and the exit interview rarely says "pay." It usually says something closer to "I never knew what I was going to make until the check hit," or "dispatch kept changing the plan and never told me why." That's why more carriers are evaluating a Transportation Management System (TMS) built for their side of the business, [a carrier-focused TMS](https://marketing.magnustech.com/blog/tms-for-carriers-what-to-look-for-in-a-carrier-focused-transportation-management-system), as a retention tool and not just a dispatch tool. A driver who can see a settlement calculated correctly, get clean load instructions, and avoid unnecessary empty miles has fewer reasons to start browsing job boards. The friction, more than the paycheck, is what this kind of technology actually fixes. ### **Real-Time Pay and Settlement Visibility** Pay disputes and settlement confusion are among the most common driver complaints, and most of them are preventable with better systems. When a driver can't see how a load, a deduction, or a detention charge was calculated until the check lands, every discrepancy reads as a broken promise. [The Magnus Platform](https://magnustech.com/magnus-platform/) gives drivers line-item visibility into settlements as loads are completed, not two weeks later on payday. Drivers see gross pay, deductions, and detention pay accrue as the work happens, and dispatchers see the same numbers the drivers do, which cuts down on the "why is my check short" calls that wear away trust one settlement at a time. Visibility works in both directions. Fleet managers get a clearer read on where margin is going, load by load and driver by driver, instead of discovering a pattern of underpaid detention months after the fact. When a detention claim or fuel surcharge is disputed, both sides look at the same figures instead of two different spreadsheets, and a discrepancy that used to take a week of phone calls to resolve can often be settled in a single conversation. A shared source of truth resolves disputes faster and keeps them from becoming reasons to quit. ### **Dispatch Communication That Doesn't Frustrate Drivers** What drivers quit is disorganized dispatch: late assignments, pickup windows that change without explanation, and a truck routed back and forth across a region while empty miles pile up. All of it reads as a lack of respect for a driver's time. A TMS that pushes clean, timely load and route information directly to drivers, instead of relying on a phone call that may or may not happen, removes a steady source of that frustration. [The Magnus Driver App](https://magnustech.com/driver-app/) puts load details, routing, document capture, and messaging in one place drivers actually check, rather than routing everything through dispatch by phone. Drivers get their next assignment as soon as it's confirmed, submit paperwork from the cab, and message dispatch without waiting on hold. A driver finishing a delivery at 9 p.m. no longer has to wait until morning dispatch picks up the phone to find out where they're headed next. [Hansen & Adkins' experience after switching TMS](https://magnustech.com/top-auto-transporter-hansen-adkins-deploys-saas-based-tms-from-magnus-technologies/) platforms shows what that shift looks like in practice: fewer manual touches per load, cleaner records for drivers and dispatch alike, and dispatchers spending less time chasing information and more time planning routes that cut empty miles. ### **What to Measure Before and After** Retention gains from new technology only count if a carrier can measure them. Before rolling out a TMS, set a baseline: turnover rate by driver tenure, cost per hire, settlement dispute rate, and empty mile percentage. Those four numbers tell the real story better than anecdotes from exit interviews. After deployment, track the same metrics on a rolling basis, ideally monthly, and segment by tenure since first-year turnover is usually the steepest drop-off. Losing a single driver has been estimated at roughly $12,799 in recruiting, onboarding, and lost-mile costs (Conversion Interactive Agency and PDA, 2024), so even a modest reduction in first-year attrition pays for the technology many times over. A carrier running 200 trucks that cuts first-year turnover by even ten drivers a year is looking at real savings before factoring in the freight those trucks didn't lose while sitting empty. Fewer settlement disputes and lower empty miles are leading indicators. Turnover rate is the lagging one. Watch both. ### **Frequently Asked Questions** **Does TMS software really affect driver retention?** Yes. Turnover in trucking is driven as much by day-to-day friction, unclear pay, disorganized dispatch, wasted time, as it is by base pay rates. A TMS that gives drivers visibility into settlements and clean, timely dispatch removes much of that friction, and carriers that make this change typically see fewer disputes and steadier first-year retention. Pay problems still need a pay fix; what this removes are the reasons to quit that have nothing to do with the paycheck. **What does real-time driver tracking and visibility mean for drivers themselves, not just dispatch?** For drivers, it means seeing the same information dispatch sees: load status, ETA, settlement calculations, and detention accrual as they happen, rather than after the fact. That transparency changes a driver's relationship with the numbers, since they know what a load is worth before the check arrives. It also means fewer surprises mid-route, because drivers can see routing changes and the reasons behind them instead of just receiving them. **How does a driver app fit into a TMS?** A driver app is the interface between the TMS and the driver, pushing load assignments, routing, and messaging to a device drivers already carry, while pulling documents, statuses, and location back into the system automatically. Instead of dispatch relaying every update by phone, drivers get it directly and can act on it right away. The Magnus Driver App is built around that exchange, so drivers spend less time waiting on information and more time driving. **What should carriers measure to know if retention is improving?** Track turnover rate by tenure band, especially first-year turnover, alongside cost per hire, settlement dispute rate, and empty mile percentage. Improvement usually shows up first in the leading indicators, fewer disputes and less dead-head mileage, before it shows up in the turnover rate itself. Measuring both lets a carrier see change coming instead of only confirming it after the fact. Driver retention starts with removing the friction that has nothing to do with pay: unclear settlements, disorganized dispatch, and wasted miles. See how Magnus handles all three in one platform. [Request a Demo](https://magnustech.com/contact/). ### Like this article? Pass it on. 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