7 Common Fleet Management Errors and How to Avoid Them

Managing staff members and drivers is difficult enough for fleet managers; add in the extra daily obligations, and the management complexities multiply tenfold.

The logistics of running a fleet can be extremely complicated. This is because of the many tasks to juggle. Missteps are more likely to happen because of this complexity. These errors can irritate both management and staff while costing the business time and money.

To assist you in avoiding mistakes in your fleet operation, here are 7 common fleet management errors and how to avoid them despite the number of responsibilities on your plate.

1. Poor Communication

When you ensure every staff member is part of the system, it means there’s proper communication. This is despite the role one plays. It is essential to hold regular meetings to review overall priorities and goals, company news, and high-level items.

You should also schedule one-on-one meetings between the employees and managers to encourage open communication and feedback. Doing this helps the employees feel valued.

2. Bad Route Planning

Taking inefficient routes wastes time and fuel and can lead to late deliveries. Using fleet management software goes a long way in saving energy and time due to efficient planning, tracking, and modifying routes.

Doing so makes customers happy, and this will make them stick with you for a long time. On the other hand, ensure there is regular fleet maintenance.

You can use equipment GPS tracking. This will ensure you are taking the most direct routes to customers.

3. Lack of Enough Training

It is costly to assume that your employees know more than they can do. Therefore, you need to come up with strategies that will make your employees up to their game.

Every employee must be adequately trained and certified. To ensure your employees keep up with the latest technology, offer continuous training programs. Ensure the licenses of every employee are up-to-date.

4. Using a Selector

A selector is not the best way to approach things if the manager has a say when coming up with a vehicle policy.

Some of the fleet vehicles are provided with a selector as part of a compensation package. For that reason, almost all the vehicles are intensely personal to the driver. Hence giving them a choice that the manager has to come up with can result in biasness regarding the cars they drive.

The higher you rise in management, the more chances of dissatisfaction with the choices offered by a selector.

The solution is simple. Make use of a monthly stipend, establish a total vehicle cost level, and allow authorities to select any vehicle that falls under the limits of set policies.

5. Accepting the Policies Already in Place

Most fleet management staff needs to accept the laid down policies. The policy may include using a selector- perhaps even a single model for all teams.

The challenges encountered are similar to those noted earlier. As such, the manager may find it challenging to adopt the policy.

To avoid this error, you need to learn where the policy was set initially. Previous managers or seniors may have developed it and if you find an issue with it, carefully come up with a solution that suits both parties.

6. Not Understanding the Market 

The market for talented individuals capable of managing company vehicles is competitive. Companies spend lots of resources and time to identify the best talents- by paying recruiters, both outsourced and internally-in a bid to fill significant positions.

A significant part of this market is compensation. To lure the best talents, perks, stock, and salaries are all used. A company vehicle is an essential part of the compensation to the fleet managers.

The managers rarely spend lots of time surveying the market when helping the human resource manager develop a fleet policy. The basis of doing so should be based on understanding what competitors for talent are offering.

The answer is simple. HR recruiters are highly versed in areas of compensation. There are available surveys that can help the managers to do the same.

You can research multiple industry publications to identify the types of vehicles right for the job. Fleet managers often do this- benchmarking the business- to develop a regular fleet selector.

Although selectors are not the right way to approach things, types of vehicles will be identified with some detailed study.

7. Not Building Relationships

Relative superior management, heads of departments, such as managers, tend to be levels of authority lower in the company’s hierarchy.

In some instances, the fleet managers rarely attempt to contact the CEO to create a rapport that will aid the fleet policy and decision-making.

Even though they have a tight schedule, it would be better if they contact their seniors and schedule meeting of up to 15 minutes. Doing so is the first step in the right direction.

For this reason, it can be challenging for managers to maintain communication with all the seniors. But it is essential to try and keep them updated on current affairs.

The CEO and other senior members of the company are always ready to meet you. Therefore, you must start mending the communication avenue to achieve better results in the future.

Avoid Making the Above Fleet Management Errors

One of your company’s most valuable assets is its fleet of vehicles. It would help if you adequately manage your fleet, and one way to do so is to prevent these fleet management errors.

By following the solutions listed above, you will cut down the number of errors. Also, the positive changes will be visible for everyone to see in a short period.

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