If you’re looking to improve field services operations and streamline the way your organization manages a fleet, one thing you may want to do is assess your fleet managers to determine whether they have the skills necessary to thrive in the role.
After all, your operations are only as strong as your fleet managers. Plus, by understanding the personality traits that top-performing fleet managers all share, it also becomes that much easier to make the best hiring decision next time.
With all this in mind, let’s examine five key skills every fleet manager needs to reach their full potential at the office. How do you and your managers stack up
- Great Communication Skills
Managing a fleet involves juggling a lot of moving parts. Not only do managers have to speak to drivers throughout the day to make sure they’re on track, but they also need to work with colleagues to keep operations running smoothly.
It comes as no surprise that the best fleet managers are skilled communicators. Not only do strong communication skills help fleet managers oversee operations more effectively, but they also help them develop stronger relationships with drivers and colleagues.
At the end of the day, fleet managers need to know where their assets are at all times to operate efficiently and drive more business. When they have the tools they need to do this easily, communication will be much smoother, easier, and more accurate.
- The Ability to Multitask
Fleet managers need to keep a number of different parties happy and engaged, including drivers, management, and clients. At the same time, they have to worry about things such as fuel economy, keeping idle time to a minimum, and ensuring the fleet is properly maintained and up to date on all aspects of maintenance to keep vehicles on the road. These are just a few of the many responsibilities fleet managers need to oversee.
With so much on their plates, those in fleet manager jobs need to possess superior multitasking skills to thrive in the position. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before one of those moving parts is dropped mid-juggle, and the business suffers because of it.
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- Tech-Savviness
While a fleet manager who’s set in their ways might not want to incorporate new tools, technologies, and processes into their workflows, they do this at their own peril.
The best fleet managers understand that new solutions are always being developed and coming to market, and they periodically review their tech stack to see where any gaps might exist.
One easy way to transform fleet management is by investing in a modern GPS fleet tracking solution such as ITrackerGPS. Not only can such a solution empower drivers to know exactly where they need to be without needing directions from dispatch, but it also helps fleet managers maintain their fleets more effectively by automatically notifying them when vehicles need service.
At the same time, the technology helps managers ensure that the fleet is where it’s supposed to be for the correct amount of time and that the crew is actually out in the field making money.
Due to the number of benefits technology can bring to fleet management, it is critical for fleet managers to be tech-savvy and open to trying new tools.
- Attention to Detail
In order to excel, fleet managers need to keep their fingers on the pulse of every major development that’s going on with their vehicles in the field at all times. Is every vehicle where it’s supposed to be? Which trucks need service soonest? Are drivers behaving properly? Are trucks getting from jobsite to jobsite as quickly as they should?
Suffice it to say there’s a never-ending list of questions those in fleet manager jobs need to know the answers to day in and day out. For this reason, the most effective fleet managers are known to have a laser-focused attention to detail.
Of course, having a modern fleet management solution in place makes it much easier to keep track of the nitty-gritty. The right solution puts all the information fleet managers need to answer these questions at their fingertips, so it’s accessible at any time.
For example, instead of having to manually monitor vehicles to make sure they are at specific jobsites at certain times, fleet managers can use geofencing technology to set up a defined perimeter where vehicles should be. Once that’s done, managers receive automatic notifications whenever employees or company assets leave that area. This enables them to pay attention to detail, so to speak, without actively scrutinizing the area.
- Strong Decision-Making
When a new job comes in, fleet managers need to respond quickly and route the best available technician to the site as soon as they can. In some cases, this individual might be the person who’s closest to the site. In other instances, it might be a particular person who will make the best first impression and could help drive additional sales.
Whatever the case may be, fleet managers need to be able to make smart decisions fast. One way to do this is by using a GPS tracking solution that captures data about drivers and produces detailed reports that they can reference to make informed decisions.
Bonus: Driver Accountability
If your goal is optimizing profitability, it’s important to do everything you can to ensure drivers are operating efficiently and that they are not wasting company time, fuel, or other resources.
Fleet managers need to be able to hold drivers accountable for their behavior. At the same time, they also need to make sure their assets are being treated properly and that jobs are getting done to drive more business.
Luckily, this is easily accomplished with fleet management solutions that provide real-time details on driver behavior. In the event a driver is operating inefficiently, a fleet manager can intervene immediately to correct the behavior.
Help Fleet Managers Reach Their Full Potential
If you’re looking to improve fleet operations, you need to empower your fleet managers with purpose-built tools designed to make the job easier. And the smartest way to do that is by investing in a fleet management solution that gives managers a bird’s-eye view of all important business metrics in real time.
With iTracker, fleet managers will have more time on their hands to focus on even more revenue-generating activities. Plus, the software provides full, detailed reports on their fleets that include real-time locations, maintenance needs, and even the ability to hold drivers accountable when it comes to revenue-wasting behaviors.
And the best part? All of this is possible automatically thanks to automation.
