What if we told you a fleet tracking or monitoring solution can greatly boost your fleet manager soft skills?
Can’t be true, can it? I mean, a vehicle management solution basically does your job for you, doesn’t it? Wrong. While a vehicle management device is a great help in boosting overall efficiency, without a fleet manager it’s not much use.
But what it certainly can do is help to hone the vital soft skills that every fleet manager needs. Such as training, handling problems, motivating people, and so on.
Fleet manager soft skills: an introduction
When we’re talking about fleet manager soft skills, the focus is, essentially, human resources management. Or in other words, how a fleet manager coordinates his/her drivers. If you’re looking for a position as a fleet manager, the tips we’ll go through in this post should prove useful. And for those who are fleet managers, then if you don’t have a vehicle management solution, then it’s high time you got one. 🙂
A fleet manager’s key responsibilities
As a fleet manager, you’re mostly responsible for some basic HR tasks such as:
- Hiring new drivers
- Training all drivers
And of course, your routine tasks are mostly arranging shifts, creating appointments with customers if that is case. Also, making sure that the total miles each one of your drivers has covered doesn’t exceed a specific level.
So, with that said, how can a vehicle management solution like Veturilo, for example, help you in fine-tuning your soft skills in your daily endeavors? Try the below points for size:
Crisis management
When the going gets tough, a fleet manager gets going. If you don’t, then things will go awry very quickly. And with a vehicle management solution, you will be able to do the following:
Correct any weaknesses of your drivers
- Driving behavior on the road (by studying the data on excessive braking, harsh turns, stopping, idling, fuel consumption, etc).
- Time management. It can be easy for a driver to lose track of time. By having all the info and data of where every driver is at any given time and what status it is in, you can make sure drivers arrive at their destinations and/or appointments in a timely manner.
Use vehicles properly and only for professional purposes
Through your vehicle management app, you will be able to make sure that your vehicles are parked within your business’ parking area, so they won’t cause any accidents, as well as check up on personal use versus business use.
Drivers vs drivers
Managing your drivers is vital in terms of fleet manager soft skills. You need to ensure you have a good working relationship with all of them.
Among other things that you need to take care of, is your drivers’ relationship with each other. Cooperation and teamwork are basic essentials, and this might something tough to cultivate in what is essentially seen as a lonely job.
Here’s where your connected vehicle management solution comes in. For example, let’s say you have an urgent situation when one of your drivers (health issue) or one of your vehicles needs to be replaced. The driver who is closer will need to take action. And you’ll have to be the go-between to set up the “rescue”.
To be able to monitor your drivers closely is vital. Especially since you can then track them over time, before taking it up with the driver(s) in question, showing them the stats, etc. You can also arrange some healthy competition between drivers to see who is the most efficient. You can do it by showing them league tables of the relative driving data. This will help the drivers be more accountable for their driving ability, making them more motivated. It will also help you keep your vehicles in good condition.
Career development
The above does not pretend to be Fleet manager soft skills 101. But all of the points we bring up can help you in your career path and/or development.
Starting out as a fleet manager of a small fleet, you may be promoted to other senior positions with many responsibilities. As an experienced fleet manager you can move on and become transportation director, vice president or just a manager of a larger fleet. These are some of your options going forward.
Even if you don’t have that kind of aspiration, by focusing on developing all of the above soft skills you’ll make your everyday routine a lot easier.
Don’t have a vehicle management app? Go for it!
If you run a small fleet without a vehicle management app then you should definitely give it a try. You are guaranteed to save on costs and work more efficiently overall. There are loads of solutions out there, and you definitely do not need all the myriad of features that they can offer.
A good starting point – in our humble opinion – is a more straightforward solution like our very own Veturilo. If you’re curious about what a vehicle management solution can do for you. Here’s what we think the key knock-on benefits are – apart from the efficiency factor and cost-savings of course:
- You’ll get the chance to focus on more fundamental tasks and better serve your role as a fleet manager.
- Flexible working hours: using an app means you can easily supervise your whole fleet from distance, even when you’re not at the office.