Leading through learning — Taking the Hire Road

This week on Taking the Hire Road, Jeremy Reymer, founder and CEO of DriverReach, is joined by passionate and engaging next-generation executive Ashley Kordish, CEO of Michigan-based Ralph Moyle Inc. (RMI).

Recently highlighted in an issue of TSA’s Truckload Authority, Kordish was born and raised in the logistics industry: RMI was founded by her grandfather in 1966. 

“When I say I grew up in the industry, I mean it. Our backyard was next to a fuel station,” Kordish said.

She has had roles in various aspects of the industry and assumed her position as CEO in early 2022.

Kordish recently built on her experience by getting a CDL. Growing up around many people who had a CDL, she said it’s something she had wanted to do for a while. But the key motivating factor ultimately was her desire to understand the working conditions of her employees to the fullest. 

“I feel like it’s important to understand my employees and know what they are going through on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “I’m still learning and training, but I get to see what my drivers are going through.”

As a member of many organizations, including the Women In Trucking Association, that promote recruitment of more women to the industry, she also hopes to use this training and experience to become a more effective voice in that effort.

After struggling with recruiting efforts overall, RMI now offers a couple of unique opportunities for CDL drivers, including a training and finishing school.

“We had been hiring and training drivers straight out of school for a long time, and we noticed that some of these individuals did not have as much training as they needed to have coming out of a CDL program,” Kordish said. “We thought we could do it better so we started our own school and trained the RMI way.”

The company has also been more dedicated to establishing, abiding by and hiring according to a set of core values, Kordish said. RMI has created a culture that values the needs of employees. Company leadership creates a safe place by considering every employee’s circumstances as they happen, including, for example, welcoming kids and pets in the workplace.

All of these things have allowed the company to see major improvements in retention, Kordish said. Small efforts to acknowledge the needs of the people who make the company successful go a long way.

Kordish plans to keep growing RMI and continue the legacy that her grandfather began more than 50 years ago.

To learn more about Ralph Moyle Inc., visit its website.

Click for more FreightWaves content by Britni Chisenall.

More from Taking the Hire Road:

Lessons in leadership and leaving a legacy

A trucking workforce conversation with FMCSA’s Hutcheson

Legal care as a tool for driver retention