5 habits of a successful fleet manager

Everyone has their own habits. Sometimes they serve you well.  If you’re in the habit of getting things done automatically, life runs much more smoothly.  However, sometimes a habit can prevent us from embracing change and making improvements. It’s worth taking a step back to review your own fleet management habits every so often, to see if you can adopt a better fleet management strategy.

With that in mind, here is our guide to the 5 habits of a successful fleet manager.

Look after your drivers

Your drivers are essential to your business so it makes sense to look after them.  Installing fleet management software could make your drivers feel that big brother is watching them. However, it can play a key role in looking after their health and safety.

Fleet management software can help you to ensure that your drivers take adequate rest breaks. In addition, being able to pinpoint a vehicle’s location will allow you to send assistance quickly in an emergency.

Save money

We all need to spend money efficiently and fleet management software can help. The software can give you an optimised route that will lower your fuel costs.  You can also monitor traffic in real time and guide your drivers so that they don’t waste time in traffic jams.  Using fleet management software can even allow you to monitor how your vehicles are being driven. That could enable you to bring vehicles in for maintenance checks sooner, thereby avoiding excessive down time.

What’s more, if you use the software properly you could make a saving on vehicle insurance. Most insurers offer a discount of around 15% on fleets where management software is used.

Reduce stress

Everyone gets stressed from time to time. It’s how you manage it that counts. Professional drivers spending hours behind the wheel can be particularly susceptible to stress, which can lead to other mental health issues.  Time spent in traffic, tight deadlines and demanding customers can all contribute to rising stress levels. Whilst there are legal implications to consider in using data to monitor a driver’s performance, it can be a useful guide.  If an employee’s driving has become erratic or unpredictable it can be a sign of stress. Early intervention can help to alleviate their stress and keep them on the road.

Of course, an efficient fleet management system can help to make your fleet manager’s life easier as well.

Save time through planning

Your fleet management system can help you to start automating tasks so that they take less time. Your delivery routes can be calculated at the touch of a button and uploaded directly to each vehicle. It means that your fleet manager doesn’t have to spend time working out the best route and transferring information between different systems.

You can also collect data from each vehicle whilst it’s still on the road. That allows your fleet manager to plan routes and driver rotas in advance, with accurate information on each driver’s working hours.

Drive for efficiencies

A key part of a fleet manager’s role is to identify efficiencies.  When time is tied up in data transfer and complex planning that can be challenging. Fleet management software enables the process to become automatic. Data can be downloaded and presented in a way that suits you. Your fleet manager is then able to focus on trends and identifying efficiencies rather than getting bogged down in the little details.

If you’d like to find out more about how fleet management software can make you a better fleet manager, get in touch.