By Mike Antich
The best way to control fleet costs is by establishing the policies and procedures that control expenditures before the money has ever been spent. Fleet policy should be a living document that is updated annually. As changes occur within your organization, it is important to revise fleet procedures to reflect these changes. Likewise, you should eliminate fleet policies that are outdated. What was right yesterday may not be right today. The policies and procedures governing the use of vehicles and equipment affect a wide cross-section of constituencies within your political subdivision. Therefore, when reassessing fleet policies, it is important that you solicit the participation of all affected user groups. By involving these departments, you will maximize their buy-in and support of fleet procedures. Also, as part of your annual fleet policy review, it is important that you survey customers to give them an opportunity to express their opinions and feedback about the fleet procedures that govern them.
Communicate & Re-Communicate Fleet Policy
Are your user group customers following fleet policy? Just because you have documented fleet policies and procedures doesn't mean your users are following them. To ensure that fleet policy remains uppermost in the minds of users, it is important to regularly re-communicate it to them. When policy is constantly re-communicated, you will find that you spend less time discussing policy infractions with department heads and users. Not only do you need to communicate it to them, but, more importantly, you need to re-communicate it on a regular basis.
Re-Communicate Service Standard Expectations
Similarly, you must re-communicate service standards to your staff. Ensure everyone in the organization understands what are acceptable levels of service. Use e-mail, staff meetings, and one-on-one conversations to continually reinforce the high customer service standards you've set for fleet operations. You need to constantly re-communicate this message so that it becomes part of fleet's everyday operating procedures. Reward behavior that exhibits a customer-service mentality. When someone does a good job, give them positive feedback. Let others on the team know when someone receives accolades from you. By doing this, you reinforce the service message not only to your team, but also your customers. It is important to re-communicate this to your team on a regular basis
There's Virtue in Redundancy
When it comes to communicating fleet policy compliance and maintenance of high service standards, there is no such thing as being redundant. In fact, the secret to increasing user compliance with fleet policy and maintaining stellar customer service is just that redundant communication.
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