Making employees more accountable without infringing on their rights
On: 01/05/2012 10:30 In: Vehicle Tracking
Any business with a fleet of vehicles could benefit from implementing Remote Asset Management trackingthroughout their entire fleet. This change can help to make drivers more accountable, leading to decreased fuel and staff costs. It can also be helpful from a driver safety point of view, and it can contribute to environmental considerations. As well as improving driver safety and accountability, tracking can also help to reduce losses caused through theft and car-jacking by using vehicle movement and location detection settings.
A good vehicle tracking system will provide the fleet manager with real-time information on mileage and speed, as well as engine idling. Monitoring of this type means that drivers can be held accountable if they break the law, whether by speeding or not taking the prescribed number of breaks at the correct time. Mileage indicators can provide information on whether drivers are adhering to the correct routes and can ultimately help to improve route adherence and delivery times.
The management information provided through GPS tracking systems is very easily accessible and it can be provided across a number of platforms. For example, it is possible to access it through standard office desktop computers, but it is also available through mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. This enables the fleet manager to be on top of the entire fleet?s movements, irrespective of the time of day or whether they are in the office or on the move.
Of course, there are ethical considerations to bear in mind when implementing a tracker system. For example, in the case of any drivers who are allowed to use the company vehicle outside of work time, the tracker should be disabled in order to avoid any unwelcome invasion of privacy.
Staff can feel threatened by what can often be perceived as management snooping, so it is vital to ensure a transparent implementation process. Accordingly, it is important to bring in any tracking system in conjunction with effective communications to staff. This will help drivers to understand why the system is being put in place and what the benefits are to the company and also to drivers. These communications might include a newsletter or a face to face meeting where drivers can feel free to ask any questions they might have.
Although drivers may initially have negative feelings about being tracked, it is possible to explain the advantages. For example, those drivers who exemplify best practice can be rewarded through staff incentive schemes and this may encourage other drivers to aspire to better driving practices.