The need to be a responsible employer is something that companies can no longer easily ignore with the advent of the Internet—corporate information is now increasingly under scrutiny. Websites that originally just used to look for employment opportunities now also report on corporate environment and initiatives, and company rankings have started to fall under the spotlight. Many, many companies now recognise the need to be responsible employers, which led to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becoming the subject of devoted discussions, reports and company meetings.
Fleets are certainly no exception to this, and the responsibility of the employer does extend to fleets as their operation has a direct impact on the global environment, on the safety of not only drivers but all road users, and, generally speaking, on the well-being of staff. According to CSR principles, companies running vehicles need to minimise the impact they have on a number of factors; but what are these? How can companies running fleets manage them, and which situations do fleets typically face?
#1 - Road safety
According to health and safety legislation, all companies have a duty of care to their drivers, and should address road risk. Road risk measures might include assessments with training based on the level of risk; licence reviews and regular maintenance; telematics or fleet management solutions implementation and grey fleet measures to mention just a few. It is necessary that the company spreads the safety message and drivers are encouraged by their employer not to adopt a safe driving style not only in order to improve fleet and global safety but also to reduce fuel consumption. Consistently explaining the benefits of good CSR practises to drivers can have a notable impact.
#2 – Emissions
Fleets should be committed to reducing their environmental impact, and this might include CO2 emission reduction targets along with the adoption of ecodriving, not as best practice but as a daily routine. This attitude can be realised by means of fleet management solutions and certainly leads to savings as well as being environmentally beneficial.
#3 - Customer appeal
In today’s market place the customer has a lot of options regarding purchasing options, so they can be much more discerning. There are an increasing number of people who want to work with companies that care about the environment, global safety, best practices and also their community. Acknowledging that you use fleet tracking to reduce emissions, avoid general waste and improve safety can be the difference between a customer choosing you or your competition...
4 - Brand perception
Organisations ought to be savvy nowadays both with regards to managing incidents and also successes, and not only because of financial or legal consequences—these events might have a considerable impact on brand reputation. Companies should be savvy enough to enhance their reputation through PR and media and protect themselves from scandals; and fleets are certainly no exception to the rule.
#5 - Driver shortage
In the current global driver shortage situation, CSR certainly appeals to personnel and can help retain or hire the best driving talent. The vast majority of employees want to work for a company with a social performance that is consistent with their own values, and in the case of fleets and drivers, it seems employees above all value the importance that the company attaches to safety when driving. If you have solid CSR principles, it would help solve even this issue.
