A Q&A with Santa, and Fleet Manager Mrs Claus, of North Pole Inc
Although there is substantial evidence to suggest that Telematics are a great investment for businesses I still speak with fleet owners who hold back on implementing them due to a possible negative response from their employees.
Here at Navman we work with roughly 17,000 companies across the globe, and it's probably fair to say that every single decision maker within those businesses who has decided to introduce vehicle tracking would have probably worried about how this would be viewed by their staff.
Some people believe installing fleet management software sends a message that employees can't be trusted, but this just isn't true.
In fact, once fleet drivers have an accurate understanding of how telematics can actually help them on the job they don't mind the presence of a GPS tracking unit within their vehicles.
The truth is that telematics protects drivers and can be used as a tool to give them the recognition they deserve. With features such as driver behaviour reports offered by Navman Wireless systems, drivers who operate their vehicles correctly now have a way to document how well they drive. In an era before Telematics, it was a lot harder for staff to show their managers how great they were on the roads.
From what I've learnt during the years I've been speaking with customers, its drivers with the poorest performance on the road who seem to offer the most resistance when their employer is intent on installing GPS tracking software.
However, a lot of your staff will have legitimate questions about the introduction of Telematics and it's important to ensure that there isn't a misinterpreting how real-time monitoring works or what a fleet company does with the information.
By simply explaining the uses of GPS tracking software drivers will have a better understanding of how beneficial the technology is to everybody.
A problem with the "big brother" attitude towards vehicle tracking is that it can be considered as a form of punishment or viewed as the employer wanting to rule the lives of their staff. I believe a way to combat this effectively is for fleet managers to utilise the information from GPS tracking to create calculable goals that come with incentives for drivers.
One idea I recommend is to establish a program that rewards drivers based on their safe driving behaviour, productivity or efficiency and this can be done by using data provided from our systems.
Some of my customers now award a 'Driver of the Month' prize to maintain positive competition amongst their drivers. Fleet managers have told me that they have seen a rise in morale amongst their staff as a result of being able to recognise them for the difficult job that they do.
Another area that needs to be highlighted to your staff is how traffic offences can be contested due to the GPS software that comes with Telematics. It can also work as a shield to a driver in the event of a dispute between the fleet company and a customer. GPS tracking gives staff the ability to say, "I was here at 10am, and my GPS data can prove it!"
So if you're contemplating introducing vehicle tracking into your business but you're apprehensive about how this can be introduced, follow some of the advice above and turn the idea of telematics within your business into a positive one!
Sean Mullooly is the Sales Associate for Navman Wireless in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. His customers come from a wide variety of industry sectors, including haulage and distribution, trade services, vehicle recovery, coach and bus. Residing in Northern Ireland for the last 8 years, Sean serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the BNI Belfast Waterfront business referral group.