Having the power of GPS technology at your fingertips is an incredible advantage for any fleet manager. Once a capability limited only for use by the government, GPS fleet tracking software is now a powerful tool that businesses, schools, and municipalities can use to make significant improvements to the efficiency of their vehicle and equipment fleets. In fact, the benefits of GPS tracking for virtually any fleet of vehicles or equipment are well-established.
However, not everyone within your business or organization is going to want to immediately jump on the bandwagon supporting the use of GPS tracking. Your employees, especially your vehicle drivers or operators, will likely be less enthusiastic. They may require some convincing of the benefits of using GPS technology to track and monitor the vehicles they drive.
The issue some fleet managers run into when introducing fleet tracking to their employees is that the employees may perceive the news about the tracking system as a personal intrusion — or, simply put, that you're implementing GPS technology because you don’t trust them. No fleet manager wants their employees to see an efficient GPS fleet management solution as an impediment to their work or a threat to their livelihoods.
In light of these concerns, Rastrac’s team of fleet management experts thought it would be great to share a few tips on how to successfully gain employee buy-in and effectively help them to understand the benefits of GPS fleet and employee management.
Employee concerns are understandable. After all, who wants to feel like they’re being watched all of the time? That can create an atmosphere of distrust. That’s why it’s so important to address these concerns early on to prevent them from growing out of control.
By providing a clear explanation of your company’s GPS tracking policy, employees can be made fully aware of the policies of the business or organization regarding the GPS trackers in the fleet vehicles. Some of these key points to address include:
The more detailed you are about the specific benefits of GPS tracking and how you plan to use the GPS tracking devices and live tracking software, the better off you’ll be.
When employees are informed about the benefits to them and not just the company overall, they may be more accepting of the system, which makes its integration less stressful for them and less disruptive to your business.
While all of these benefits sound like a win-win situation for everyone involved, your employees may not feel the same way and may push back against the idea of bringing a GPS fleet management system online. Their concerns may be founded on the perception that, simply put, you don’t trust them.
Although some of the key advantages of using a GPS system is that it can help to eliminate fraudulent timecard reporting and fuel theft, it may be wise to avoid making any kind of statements that could be misinterpreted as accusing any employee of such fraud.
For example, making a general announcement to employees that you’ve decided to use GPS software to combat potential fraud or theft issues could be construed as an accusation that your employees are dishonest. Instead, reinforce the benefits to the company, to them as employees, and why this is a smart move for your organization. That it’s about making fleet operations more efficient and not to micromanage them or invade their privacy.
The above are just a few recommendations that you can keep in mind when introducing a new GPS fleet management solution to your employees. We hope this information is helpful and makes the transition for you and your employees.
To learn more about how Rastrac’s GPS fleet management solutions can make your fleet more efficient, be sure to check out our new free guide “An Introduction to Fleet Efficiency.”