Taking steps to institute more efficient, forward-thinking business practices is a decision that will have a positive (and striking) ripple effect across your entire organization. Finding newer and innovative ways to handle not only your workers, but the vehicles they drive allows them to come together as one, functioning as a whole that is far more powerful than any one element could home to be on its own.
This is absolutely a proactive process, however – it’s less one major decision and more the result of a series of smaller-yet-critical ones. If you really want to improve your practices in terms of your employees, your fleet and ultimately your business, there are a few important things that you’ll need to keep in mind.
Use Technology as a Strategic Enabler
In order to gain better visibility into both your workers and your fleet in general, you should also be willing to embrace technology in terms of generating mission-critical data on a regular basis. GPS tracking deployed across your fleet is more than just a way to always know where your trucks are, for example. When applied properly, it can also be so much more.
It’s a way to monitor your driver’s safety practices, letting you know who is doing just what they should be and who could use a little more training. It’s a way to recognize opportunities for fuel savings and more efficient driving practices as quickly as possible. Depending on your industry, this data could even be leveraged to create an additional revenue stream – what clients wouldn’t love a chance to get an insight into your relationship in a real-time capacity?
It’s About Acting, Not Reacting
Another essential best practice when it comes to more efficient running your business comes down to the difference between reactive and proactive management. Consider it from the perspective of maintenance. Why wait until something breaks down and pay for a $1500 repair when you could do preventative maintenance today for just $800?
These are the types of things you need to be thinking about, but they don’t stop there. Don’t wait until one of your drivers gets into an accident to invest in additional training. Do it now. Make an effort to understand what your drivers are doing when they think you’re not looking. Get ahead of a problem today to mitigate risk tomorrow and possibly avoid it altogether.
You Don’t Operate in a Vacuum
Another one of the most essential ways to create a more efficient business is to break down the barriers between decision makers and employees. Don’t let your staff operate in a silo, locked away from the rest of your business. Stay engaged with your employees. Ask questions about what they need to do their jobs. Ask what the phrase “working smarter, not harder” means in the context of their daily lives.
In essence, stop looking at employees as line items on a balance sheet and start looking that in terms of the true pillars of your organization that they really are.
The Importance of the Long Game
Finally, planning. When it comes to creating a better and more management process, the importance of actively working to create a measurable long-term strategy is something that cannot be overstated enough. Always keep one eye fixed towards the future at all times. Renovate your work trucks for further added resale value. Use today to come up with a rock-solid method of funding the purchasing of replacement vehicles or the embracing of new technology tomorrow. Make an active effort to stay abreast of new technologies that might make your job easier, or pertinent regulatory laws and industry standards that are constantly evolving.
Above all, understand that building a more efficient fleet is not something you are able to do once and abandon. It’s a complicated process that takes time – and something that you should think about progressively on a daily basis.
