Big Brother stigma is usually what springs to mind when managers begin looking into introducing fleet telematics. But there are also a number of other unfounded fears that put off companies that are thinking of acquiring this type of technology. Both workers and managers could easily share erroneous ideas on what they think would happen if they finally decide to install fleet telematics. But what is the real truth of it? What is really going to happen and what is NOT going to happen if you go ahead with introducing fleet telematics?
“Drivers will never accept this”.
We know the first suspicion of people who implement the technology would be that drivers won’t like it. You might find a bit of resistance from drivers as new processes still take time to be digested and accepted before they become reality. But it is your responsibility to make things work as well. Our advice is to
- openly talk to the staff—never hide the fact that telematics is going to happen,
- have a look at our implementation kit,
- properly plan the implementation together with your telematics provider.
If you adopt the right practices, drivers will not only accept this, but as soon as they start to enjoy the benefits of the technology for themselves, you will gain their buy-in together with increased participation.
“I will spend so much time learning how to use all this technology rather than actually doing things”.
If you think so, you probably don’t know how much time your fleet is spending on manual or admin tasks that demand quite a lot of time. There is no need to view a fleet management system like it’s really, really complicated, because it isn’t! What it does exactly is to automate processes and reports (some of which, you would not even be able to create manually). The system collects real, complete data, and converts it into reports. You can also customise the system and adapt it to your fleet, vehicles and scope.
“I am not getting as many advantages as I expected from this”.
This depends partly on how your fleet management solutions provider deals with you. Before acquiring the technology you should look in depth into the features of the system and the activity of your fleet. With the proper preparation and dialogue with your provider, you will see just where the technology can drive your business forward. When asked by your fleet management solution team, provide as much context as possible and answer the questions they ask—from there, it is down to them to find out the perfect solution for you!
