In the world of fleet management, efficient operations, safety and cost-effectiveness all hinge on the responsible behavior of drivers. This means every driver should take ownership of their fuel spending and driving behavior. However, ensuring driver accountability can be challenging without the proper tools and strategies in place.
The real advantage of fuel cards is found in their ability to capture real-time data.
An ideal business fleet solution for promoting driver accountability is a fleet card. Business fuel cards, also known as fleet cards or fuel cards, are powerful assets in the pursuit of driver accountability. Fleet card data can offer insights into many aspects of your fleet. Using the purchase information gathered by your fleet card, you can access data regarding fuel purchase patterns and distance traveled. Using the same data, you can help protect your drivers from misuse and fraud.
But the real power of driver accountability isn’t about catching your drivers doing something they’re not supposed to do. Fleet cards can help promote positive behaviors and allow you to recognize those on your team who set a good example. This raises the bar and can help encourage your other drivers to model those behaviors as well.
Understanding Fleet Card Data
To take full advantage of fleet cards as tools for promoting good habits among your employees, it’s essential to understand how they work and the data they collect.
Fleet cards are a payment method designed for the unique needs of fleet management. Their most basic function is that they’re a convenient way for businesses to pay for fuel and fleet-related expenses. A company may use a fuel card as an alternative to a credit card because of the savings offered through fuel rebates or discounts. However, the benefits go far beyond convenience and money saved at the pump.
The real advantage of fuel cards is found in their ability to capture real-time data. The details of each transaction made with a fleet card are captured and housed in a fleet card dashboard. These details include the time, location, amount spent, driver ID, odometer reading and the vehicle involved.
This data offers a comprehensive view of fleet fueling activity, enabling managers to track expenses, monitor fuel efficiency and identify areas for improvement.
Using Fleet Cards to Gain Insights into Your Drivers
With real-time data and the various features of fuel cards, fleet managers can dive deep into different aspects of driver behaviors. You can set purchase limits to help set guidelines for spending, easily track fuel trends, manage expenses and the extra security can help keep your assets secure.
The Power of Purchase Limits
Fleet cards are equipped with customizable purchase limits. This means a fleet manager can set predetermined parameters for spending. These controls help drivers stay within the spending guidelines of your fuel spending policy.
The limits you choose to use will depend on your business, but some of the common ones used by fleets are:
- Daily Limits: set a maximum dollar amount, gallon limit or number of transactions that can be made within a 24-hour period.
- Specific Days or Times: set specific times of day or days of the week a fuel card can be used.
- Product Type and Grade: select which fuel type (diesel or gas) or grade of fuel (premium or regular) can be purchased.
- Allow Parts and Services: control if a card can be used for fuel only or approved for fleet-related expenses.
- Fueling Locations: approve for specific areas or fueling stations.
A fleet manager can set alerts for whenever a transaction falls outside these parameters. This gives them the ability to immediately follow up with a driver to educate them on the expectations regarding fuel purchases.
Analyzing Fuel Efficiency
Fuel costs are major component of a fleet’s operating expenses. Naturally, fuel efficiency is a key focus for many fleet managers. Fleet fuel card data offers valuable insights into fuel consumption patterns, helping to identify inefficiencies and implement measures to improve fuel usage.
By analyzing transaction data, managers can pinpoint instances of possible idling, unauthorized refueling or inefficient routing. Using this information, they can develop strategies to improve fuel usage such as better routing, driver training programs or vehicle maintenance schedules aimed at improving fuel efficiency.
Fleet fuel card data offers valuable insights into fuel consumption patterns, helping to identify inefficiencies and implement measures to improve fuel usage.
Streamlined Expense Management
Managing expenses is fundamental to fleet management, and fleet card data helps simplify what can otherwise be a huge headache. Since all transaction data is collected and reported to your fleet card dashboard, all your fuel expense reporting is automated. Your drivers don’t need to keep track of receipts, and your accounting department doesn’t need to process time-consuming expense reports.
Automated fuel expense reporting is a huge win for two reasons. You free up drivers and other employees to spend more time on other aspects of their jobs, and you always have up-to-date and accurate info on drivers’ spending habits.
Identifying Wastage and Fraudulent Activity
With detailed transaction records, fleet cards can help you pinpoint instances of excessive or unauthorized fuel purchases. This gives you the opportunity to educate your drivers regarding appropriate card usage and helps identify potential misuse or fraudulent activity. Both outcomes can help reduce unnecessary costs while cultivating accountability within your fleet.
The Key to Accountability: Reporting
Fleet fuel cards are equipped with reporting tools allowing you to run reports and analytics based on many different variables. Regarding drivers, you can run employee-specific reports to help you get a detailed look at driver spending and fuel usage.
To get the most out of driver-specific data, there are two essential things a fleet manager can and should do.
Set Clear Expectations
Fostering accountability begins with one vital step — establishing and defining acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Your drivers must be aware of any guidelines and understand that fleet card data will be used to monitor compliance before you hold them accountable.
Accountability without establishing clear expectations will undermine any level of trust between you and your employees.
Regularly Share Reports and Feedback
Consistent reporting is critical to maintaining driver accountability. Regularly reviewing fleet card data with your drivers informs them of their performance and reinforces the importance of adhering to policies. Constructive feedback based on this data can encourage positive behavior changes.
Implementing Incentive Programs
By rewarding good behavior, you can promote accountability while creating friendly competition. Fleet card data can serve as the foundation for these programs, providing the metrics needed to assess performance and track progress.
For example, managers can establish benchmarks for fuel efficiency or compliance with maintenance schedules and reward drivers who meet or exceed these targets.
By tying incentives directly to performance metrics, managers create a tangible link between accountability and reward, which can help motivate drivers to strive for excellence.
Reducing Fuel Costs and Promoting Safety
Two natural byproducts of increased accountability are decreased costs and improved safety.
There is a direct correlation between safe driving practices and reduced accidents.
Success Through Accountability
Cultivating driver accountability is essential for the success of any fleet management operation. Fleet card data offers insights that help managers monitor driver fueling behavior, promote safety, encourage efficiency and streamline expense management. Leveraging this data effectively, businesses can facilitate a culture of accountability where drivers take ownership of their actions and contribute to the overall success of the fleet. The first step in driver accountability is to find a fleet card that meets your business needs.