What impact does a CLEAN vehicle have on your customers and employees? Do you have a clean and green strategy toward your image? If your answer is no, keep reading to understand the impact that neglecting this area may have on your future for retaining employees and recruiting.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 edition, forecast that employment in transportation and warehousing will increase by 10 percent annually through 2018. "Demand for truck transportation and warehousing services will expand as many manufacturers concentrate on their core competencies and contract out their product transportation and storage functions," the report states.

Just when demand begins to grow, trucking will be hard hit by Baby Boomer retirements, and the replacement pipeline is thin. BLS data forecast that between 2001 and 2018, the number of Americans age 55 and older in the general population will increase by 29.7 percent, more than any other age group. At the same time, the 35-to-44-year-old age group growth rate will be a mere 0.2 percent and the population aged 16 to 24 will grow by 3.4 percent, hardly enough to replace retiring drivers.

Making recruitment of new drivers even more complex is the fact that workers without post-secondary education have more career options today in technology and service fields. Drivers laid off during the recession may have found new careers and be uninterested in returning to the hard life on the road, reducing the labor pool further.

How will the impact of reduced labor pool affect your business? Some small initiatives can go a long way. A clean vehicle may be one of your strategies in the future to recruit and retain the best drivers. When your drivers come to work, are their trucks clean? The positive impact on employees when the company shows they take care of the vehicles by having a safe, clean vehicle to drive every day will go a long way. Which company in the future do you believe will attract and retain the best drivers?

Companies that allow their employees to wash their vehicles and show their pride will thrive in the future with better employees. "Some of our driver's are very passionate about our company vehicles and by having the ability to wash every day, we believe this helps in having a lower driver turnover than the average company". – Beer Company Executive

The biggest issue for those that do wash regularly is the frustration of oxidation on the paint and decals. By never brushing while you wash, your paint and decals will build up with the soap film that eventually obscures your graphics and actually hinders your image. A dirty image is one thing, but a worn out graphic can be even worse. This happens by continually spraying soaps and chemicals while never removing that film. Touchless spray can remove dirt and grit, but not that fine dirt film and just like in your shower at home, soap scum eventually builds up over the paint and oxidizes any metal. High pressure spray over time will hinder your image by possibly lifting graphics and even paint. Brush that paint and watch it shine!