For fleet management departments, team growth is crucial to overall operational efficiency. Business can grow on solid ground if its team and drivers are satisfied and happy. Meanwhile, the foundations may begin to shake if retention is low and spirits are down.
Let's investigate five steps and how Cartrack's fleet management solutions can help you grow your team, transform your fleet, and ultimately develop your business in Singapore.
Making team growth an essential part of your fleet strategy can improve logistics and meet growing demand. With a predicted annual growth rate between 2023 and 2028 of 14.2%, the global fleet management market is increasing year by year, meaning that if you are in the fleet management business, you need to be a strong competitor.
Improving team growth strengthens motivation and your team’s ability to do their jobs more efficiently. Truck drivers, responsible for transporting goods from one location to another, will be more likely and more consistently reach their destination on time, with goods arriving in a quality state–leading to customer satisfaction. Following good behaviour practices can also strengthen their motivation.
With improved logistics, your drivers can keep up with growing demand. They effectively speed up and deliver within quick timeframes, leaving more space and time for more customers.
Applying the following steps can help you achieve these standards.
Team growth can improve a fleet management department’s overall finances from maintenance costs, budget planning and fuel costs. It can help develop a workplace culture that promotes positivity and productivity and helps speed up smooth operations. Read below to learn how to grow your team and optimise your fleet in the process.
The importance of effective cost management
Effective cost management is essential for a company’s financial state and its team of drivers. Financially, cost management can help companies lower costs, maintain a budget, and plan effectively for future projects.
Effective cost management can also result in identifying extra funds that can be used to invest in truck drivers' professional growth.
These investments can include incentives and bonuses. These investments can include incentives and bonuses, leading to potential team morale and retention growth. More financial benefits come in as higher retention leads to lower turnover, and fewer costs must be spent on training new drivers.
The importance of proper shifts and managing driver fatigue
Ensuring your drivers work fair hours will help them stay productive and implement quality work such as quality service delivery and safe driving. Effective service delivery not only leads to retaining customers but, overall, creates a sense of wellness among drivers, leading to positive attitudes in the workplace.
Positive, well-rested drivers lead to a more productive workplace, allowing them to do more in less time. This productivity saves fuel and all expenses used in the service delivery process.
The Ministry of Manpower outlines recommendations for dual-road drivers, which could be applied to truck drivers, considering that they tend to spend the same amount of time on the road. Dual-road drivers are workers whose primary role is not driving; however, they are authorised to transport workers via truck.
The Ministry outlines that drivers should work no more than 12 hours per shift and take 15-minute breaks every 2 hours. They should also not be required to work without a break for more than 6 hours at a time.
Why effective communication is essential
Consistent, clear, and timely communication can help drivers understand what they must do so they can implement it efficiently and without delay. Clear expectations keep operations running smoothly and the drivers happy. If workers are given vague instructions, they will feel demotivated as they struggle to understand and perform their duties, which can lead to unfair or inaccurate performance feedback, effectively snowballing the issue.
Managers and dispatchers should also encourage drivers to communicate so that all parties can understand what is occurring within the business and use that information to work in cohesion.
Frequent catch-up sessions with everyone in the department can build trust, collaboration, and strength of bonds within the fleet–all aspects of the job that help truck drivers do their work efficiently.
With a grasp on what needs to be done and when it needs to be done, truck drivers can plan their time accordingly and keep customers happy by delivering goods on time, especially time-sensitive goods such as cold-chain cargo and medical supplies.
Dispatchers and truck drivers have an especially essential working relationship as they work closely together, and good communication is necessary for proper workflow. Dispatchers are responsible for drivers' schedules, including arranging goods pickup and delivery and overall logistics management. On the other hand, truck drivers perform these deliveries and pickups and report back to the dispatchers.
Dispatchers and truck drivers should follow these effective communication guidelines. However, dispatchers should focus on promptly communicating route changes, job assignments, or any issue that truck drivers are directly responsible for.
Ensuring that vehicles remain in perfect condition is crucial for business stability and growth. Detecting faults early and implementing preventative maintenance can ensure minimal unplanned downtime.
Unplanned downtime occurs when a vehicle suddenly needs repairs without any preparation. This can result in loss of time or revenue, overuse of other trucks or cars and interference with smooth operations.
Many factors can cause unexpected vehicle downtime, such as poor road conditions, accidents and neglecting maintenance. Reducing vehicle downtime can have multiple positive effects, such as saving on costs and elevating customer satisfaction.
In terms of team growth, it can enhance driver morale. A pattern of unplanned breakdowns and downtime can bring down their motivation as it gets in the way of them performing their jobs smoothly and on time. Frustration can create a lack of enthusiasm in the workplace among your drivers. Any unexpected issues relating to unnecessary maintenance, from vehicle breakdowns to unplanned downtime, can have a domino effect on operations, which, once again, can cause frustration among the drivers as their routes and operations are unclear and constantly changing. It also enhances safety, providing drivers with a sense of security and feeling cared for by the business, ultimately inspiring improved productivity.
Cartrack's fleet management training sessions are aimed at fleet managers, administrators and job dispatchers. These sessions will assist professionals with implementing our fleet management solutions with the most impact and efficacy. Book a session now to elevate your fleet management department's performance.
Q: What is a fleet management strategy?
A: A fleet management strategy is an overall plan to improve fleet operations from every angle by a business or company's overall goals. These angles include cost reduction, driver safety, compliance, growth, and efficiency.
Q: What are some statistics on fleet management?
A: There are many interesting statistics relating to fleet management, including:
Q: How can you motivate your team to achieve success in fleet management?
A: There are many ways to motivate your team that can lead to their success and fleet operations' success. Two of these include praising and rewarding their achievements and setting clear and well-defined goals.
By praising and recognising your driver's achievements, especially when rewarded with bonuses or even something as small as coupons, you make them feel appreciated and more motivated to go the extra mile.
If they are not performing at the expected level, it is always better to provide them with constructive feedback with clear guidelines on how to approve it. This way, the employee will feel confident and motivated.
Listening to your team, implementing their ideas, and taking an interest in their complaints and suggestions is a great way to motivate them.
Once again, it is linked to appreciation—a core approach to inspiring your team to do their absolute best.
Q: Are there benefits to incorporating environmental sustainability into my fleet management strategy?
A: A sustainable approach to fleet management not only has a positive effect on the environment. One of its common techniques, fuel management, reduces fuel costs. A concern for the environment also warrants respect from many individuals, such as your customers.
Cartrack is dedicated to making our Fleet Management and Workforce Optimisation solutions more accessible for small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs). If you own or run an SME in Singapore, you could qualify for up to 50% support via the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG).
Contact us for more information on this empowering opportunity.
Grow your fleet management department team by employing these five valuable steps and amplify their impact with Cartrack’s effective solutions.
