VEHICLE TRACKING? NO FEAR HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR DRIVERS OBJECTIONS TO VEHICLE TRACKING
How do I introduce vehicle tracking to my fleet? Duty of care corporate manslaughter the Working Time Directive with a wide range of new legislation already in place or on the horizon, businesses are increasingly looking to the latest vehicle tracking technology to help them fulfil their legal obligations, as well as manage their fleet more effectively. But how do you overcome initial objections from staff over privacy and human rights? The following guide outlines the most important steps to take when introducing a telematics system to your fleet and arms you with 10 key reasons why tracking is good news for drivers, as well as management.
5 steps to a happier workforce 1. Put it in writing Many people feel automatically threatened by change, particularly when it involves technology. But keeping everyone fully informed about what the change will be and exactly how it will impact on them individually on a day-to-day basis is the key to the introduction of any new system. We have suggested content for a letter and a poster, both of which you can customise for your company and print off. Email ben.williams@navmanwireless.co.uk, stating which system you are purchasing, and we will email the relevant documents to you. You should always include an invitation for staff to ask questions and a clear feedback route for them to do so. Invite staff to ask questions and give them a clear feedback route.
2. Explain why Be as open as you can be about the reasons why you are installing vehicle tracking and get the relevant union representatives involved as early as possible. Introducing tracking can often produce a reaction of shock initially and questions about whether you trust the workforce. To counter this, you need to explain the benefits of tracking better fuel economy, safety of the vehicle, proof of attendance at a job etc. You may also like to consider giving each driver a copy of their own run sheet for the day. By letting them see exactly the type of information the system provides, you can demonstrate transparency and take away the fear factor. This strategy has been pursued by a number of our customers with great success. Vehicle tracking can often be accused of breaching human rights, but you need to explain that the tracking is related to the vehicle itself, which is a company asset, not the individual. Tracking technology is designed predominantly to help managers to allocate resources more effectively not to spy on drivers lives outside of work, but this is an important message which needs spelling out to avoid a backlash....demonstrate transparency and take away the fear factor.
3. Support your technophobes Support the technophobes in your workforce and there will always be some of them by giving them proper training in how the system works. Most of today s systems are so intuitive and user friendly that drivers often teach themselves. But 20 to 30 minutes is usually enough to take away the fear factor and demonstrates your commitment to support them through the changes. 4. Focus on fairness When CCTV was first introduced to the UK over 20 years ago, it was met initially with hostility and fear centred on Big Brother accusations. Now, give or take a handful of vocal and persistent opponents, there is a general tolerance of the technology, a widespread acceptance that the benefits it brings outweigh any issues of civil liberties and an understanding that it poses no threat unless you are doing something wrong. Similar parallels can be drawn with vehicle tracking. The vast majority of drivers do the job honestly and to the best of their ability. The message of reassurance must be reiterated clearly that for these, the technology improves the efficiency of the whole operation without having much direct impact on their working day and that the system brings parity and fairness for all. The message of reassurance must be reiterated clearly.
5. Do NOT install covertly We never recommend that our customers install tracking covertly. Doing things under cover simply reinforces the idea that you are snooping on your drivers and you risk a huge backlash if the technology is uncovered by staff at a later date. Be open about your plans to install vehicle tracking. This will help to identify and allow you to resolve negative driver behaviour.
CASE STUDY: Keeping drivers in the loop at Wirral Partnership Housing Wirral Partnership Housing, one of the largest Registered Social Landlords in the North of England, was keen to make cost and time savings on field service activity and introduced Navman Wireless vehicle tracking across the fleet of 129 vehicles and a workforce of 200 technicians. With a strong unionised workforce, the introduction of tracking initially prompted questions about the level of trust between technicians out in their vehicles and the management team seeking to introduce the new technology. Honesty was the best policy when it came to successfully justifying our plans, says Andy Brown, Transport Manager. Our technicians are represented by three different unions which meant we needed to be very forthcoming in explaining what we hoped to achieve by installing the system.
We started by clearly stating the benefits - for example better fuel economy, security of the vehicle and stock, proof of attendance at a job and being able to disprove false allegations against our drivers. We also made it clear that whilst the information available as a result of the tracking system could be used for disciplinary purposes, it would never be the first port of call. If we had any concerns about a particular individual, there are other ways to find out if they are well founded or not. For WPH, using vehicle tracking as a means of disciplining drivers was simply not a requirement. To help with the introduction of the system, after vehicle tracking had been installed throughout the fleet, each driver was given a print off of their individual activity for a day, showing precisely the information available as part of Navman Wireless OnlineAVL reporting system. By being upfront about why we wanted the system, it was very straightforward to introduce tracking and to get buy in from our drivers. We have also been able to defend our staff. Shortly after the system was installed, we had two complaints, one claiming our vehicle had driven into another car and failed to stop. The second complaint accused one of our drivers of leering at a member of the public and making remarks out of a van window. On both occasions we were able to provide solid evidence that our staff were not responsible which meant a lot to the people involved.
WHAT S IN IT FOR ME? 10 reasons why your staff should welcome vehicle tracking 1. No more tedious paperwork Field sales staff no longer have to fill in laborious mileage sheets to get paid or re-claim expenses and can send appointments straight to their own inbox back in the office from on the road. A tracking system also supplies independent verification that they have attended a job in cases of dispute by the customer. For example: an electrician spends an hour going to the warehouse to get necessary parts for the job; this can be proved when the customer queries the hourly rate invoice.
2. Safer working conditions Tracking can also actively protect employees. Panic buttons are often integrated into tracking systems, triggering an automatic email or being converted into a text message. They are particularly valuable for lone workers in remote areas or drivers delivering high value goods. Unauthorised vehicle alerts show when a vehicle has been stolen when parked outside a driver s house at night (more often than not with several of the employee s personal possessions left inside). For example: a driver delivering pharmaceutical goods is hijacked in a rough neighbourhood. Hitting the panic button means the police can successfully intervene as he is being marched to a cashpoint at knifepoint. For example: a driver has a heart attack in a motorway layby. The stationary vehicle alert catches the attention of office staff who send for medical help.
3. Safer driving conditions Integrating tracking with messaging technology also means that drivers no longer have to pull over to answer mobile calls from the office all day. 4. Better training Vehicle tracking data also enables managers to identify high risk drivers who speed regularly and to address such problems and ultimately stop accidents through driver training. 5. Less stress New technology is also available which integrates satellite navigation with vehicle tracking, offering drivers a popular employee benefit to sweeten what may be perceived as a bitter pill. Staff get sent job instructions and when they click on screen to accept the job, it automatically launches an on-screen map with directions with no need for planning or maps and none of the stress of getting lost or misinterpreting instructions and going to the wrong address. (We have even had one scenario where a driver requested that his vehicle be tracked so he could benefit from the in-cab satnav.)
6. More money For drivers who get paid by results or get a productivity bonus, being able to allocate the nearest driver to the job means they can get more jobs completed in less time. Sales staff can also be offered a mileage savingsrelated bonus to encourage acceptance of vehicle tracking. If mileage efficiency is improved (by taking the shortest route and not speeding, for example), a sales workforce could be remunerated annually as a percentage of these savings. 7. Less tax The annual benefit-in-kind tax charge on company vans for employees has soared recently from 500 to 3,500. The move means that van drivers will be forced to pay significantly more income tax - unless their employers can prove that the van is only used for business and not personal use. Vehicle tracking gives unequivocal proof of business mileage, with no extra effort required of drivers. For example: a drains cleaning company introduces a bonus for staff completing and exceeding a certain number of jobs following the introduction of vehicle tracking.
8. More breaks Vehicle tracking ensures that drivers comply with the demands of current legislation, giving alerts when a break is needed and stopping drivers from working too many hours and falling asleep at the wheel. 9. Happier customers With vehicle tracking, if your drivers are running late for any reason, the office team can warn the customer in advance, improving standards of customer service and making sure drivers don t have to deal with aggressive or disgruntled customers.
10. Fairer distribution of work As tracking distributes jobs as efficiently as possible, it means that diligent drivers no longer have to fill in the gaps for the less committed ones. Management can also see which drivers are working the hardest and can reward them accordingly. For example: a driver working for a courier company is struggling to cope with an unrealistic work schedule, forcing him to speed regularly to hit deadlines. The tracking system alerts management to the pressure he is facing and they adjust the schedule accordingly. For example: a haulier in Scotland can see that the same driver is due to complete two particularly difficult routes on the same day while another has landed two of the easiest jobs he swaps them around to ensure fairness and safeness. Please note: Examples are included as illustrations only and do not always represent real life scenarios.
We re here to help We ve already helped many of our customers to introduce vehicle tracking with minimum fuss. We have suggested content for a letter and a poster, both of which you can customise for your company and print off. Email ben.williams@navmanwireless.co.uk, stating which system you are purchasing, and we will email the relevant documents to you. Any more questions? Please call Navman Wireless on 01782 557950 and we ll do our utmost to answer them.
To find out more about how Navman Wireless could help you and your fleet, call the sales team on 01782 557950. Navman Wireless UK Limited Innovation Centre 2 Keele University Science Park Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 5NH info@navmanwireless.co.uk www.navmanwireless.co.uk