Improved communication vital in overcoming driver objections to fleet technology

Research carried out by Emedia on 460 UK businesses operating vehicle fleets for TomTom suggests that almost half of UK businesses face resistance from drivers when attempting to introduce new technology to their vehicle fleet. The most frequent complaint made by drivers is that technology represents ‘big brother’, cited by 43 per cent of businesses as their staff’s primary concern.
August 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Research carried out by 6427 Emedia on 460 UK businesses operating vehicle fleets for 1692 TomTom suggests that almost half of UK businesses face resistance from drivers when attempting to introduce new technology to their vehicle fleet.

The most frequent complaint made by drivers is that technology represents ‘big brother’, cited by 43 per cent of businesses as their staff’s primary concern.

Other common problems included trouble adapting to a change in systems (21 per cent) and a lack of clarity surrounding the benefits offered by new technology (18 per cent).

TomTom believes these perceptions could be overcome by better communication between managers and employees but 58 per cent of those questioned admitted they do not conduct a formal consultation when changing business systems.

“In order to profit from the significant gains in efficiency and productivity offered by fleet management technology, businesses must properly manage change by involving drivers throughout the implementation process,” said Giles Margerison, TomTom business solutions director UK & Ireland.

“It is surprising to discover so few businesses conduct formal consultations as a matter of course, especially as they can be vital in addressing concerns and communicating the benefits available to management and staff alike.”

Margerison cites 6428 Zenith Hygiene Systems as an example of the correct approach. The company has been able to achieve yearly fuel savings of US$344,000 by gaining employee buy-in for an innovative scheme designed to improve driving style using a fleet management system.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hartford’s tailors winter maintenance on Esri’s GIS platform
    August 5, 2016
    The in-house winter maintenance and vehicle tracking system built by the Public Works Department in Hartford, Connecticut, coped with record snowfalls and cut costs too. When it comes to dealing with the effects of mother nature, transport agencies can find themselves in a lose-lose situation: criticised if the roads or rail lines are disrupted by snow, ice or floods for more than a few hours and lambasted for wasting money if the equipment and stockpiles put in place for a hard winter remain unused.
    Read More
  • Can GNSS solve the tolling world’s woes?
    December 5, 2013
    Kapsch’s Arno Klamminger and Wolfgang Fleischer consider the need for an agnostic approach to technology for charging and tolling. Periodically, given the march of technology, it is worth pausing and taking stock of where we have got to and where we go next. Such reflections are necessary if we are to take full advantage of what we have at our disposal and, potentially, avoid decisions which push us down technological culs de sac. A look at the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based technol
    Read More
  • Australia’s Transurban to trial road user charging
    March 27, 2015
    Speaking at a major industry forum, Scott Charlton, CEO of Australian toll roads operator, Transurban, said that the country’s major cities risk a decline in liveability without major investment in transport systems and an overhaul of transport funding model. Charlton said that despite significant progress by state governments traditional funding systems were outdated, unsustainable and unfair, and cannot sustain the funding needed to address Australia’s transport infrastructure deficit. Charlton said it
    Read More
  • Asecap Days delves beneath the surface of tolling
    August 8, 2017
    Colin Sowman picks his highlights from Asecap’s 45th annual Study and Information Days in Paris. European tolling association Asecap holds annual Study & Information Days, provides delegates with updates on the latest moves and thinking in the tolling sector and is a key meeting place for concessionaires from 22 countries. The importance of road transport to the French economy was highlighted by the country’s director general of transport infrastructures, François Poupard, in the opening session. He told th
    Read More

Highlighted Content