One of the unusual characteristics of fleet management is the amount of responsibility fleet practitioners can carry without necessarily having direct authority over the people who determine fleet outcomes.
A fleet practitioner may be responsible for vehicle safety but not manage the drivers.
They may be responsible for fleet emissions but have limited control over operational vehicle requirements. They may manage heavy vehicle compliance while operational teams control daily vehicle use. They may introduce telematics but rely on managers in other departments to respond to the information it generates.
And they may be expected to introduce electric vehicles while finance, property, sustainability, procurement, operations and executive management all have important roles in making the transition happen.
This is why influence has become such an important fleet management skill.
It is also one of the key areas addressed in the updated Chapter 20 – Management Skills of IPWEA's Plant and Vehicle Management Manual.
Fleet operates across the organisation
The traditional organisational chart does not always reflect how fleet management works in practice.
Fleet assets are used by employees across many different departments. Maintenance may be internal or outsourced. Vehicle procurement may involve purchasing teams. Budgets may be controlled by finance or individual business units. Safety responsibilities extend into WHS and operational management. Electric vehicle projects may involve property, sustainability and energy specialists.
The fleet practitioner therefore works within a network of stakeholders rather than within a simple command structure. Being able to influence that network is critical.
Compliance requires communication
This becomes particularly important when managing safety and compliance. Fleet practitioners may identify unsafe behaviour, overdue maintenance, vehicle defects or processes that expose the organisation to risk. They need to be able to raise these issues clearly and professionally.
Chapter 20 places emphasis on interpersonal skills that support compliance, including clear verbal and written communication, following procedures, professional conduct and correctly escalating issues.
An important part of this is being able to raise concerns without unnecessarily creating conflict. The fleet practitioner may not be the Driver's Manager or the Operational Manager responsible for an activity. However, that cannot become a reason to walk past an issue. The ability to communicate appropriately and escalate when necessary becomes an important part of the organisation's fleet safety system.
Coaching rather than commanding
Influencing behaviour is another challenge. Consider telematics. A fleet practitioner may identify repeated harsh braking, speeding, excessive idling or other undesirable behaviour. Providing the report is relatively easy. Changing behaviour is more difficult. The fleet practitioner may need to explain the issue to a Driver, Supervisor or Operational Manager who does not report to them. That requires interpersonal skills.
The updated Chapter 20 introduces a coaching model designed to help fleet practitioners provide constructive feedback and influence people even where there is no direct reporting relationship. This is becoming increasingly relevant as technology provides greater visibility of how fleet assets are being used. Data can identify the issue. Management skills help address it.
Leading change
The same principle applies on a much larger scale when organisations undertake significant fleet changes.
The transition to electric vehicles is a good example. An EV transition is rarely just a vehicle replacement program. It can require changes to:
• vehicle selection
• charging infrastructure
• energy management
• procurement
• budgeting
• driver behaviour
• operational planning
• maintenance
• policies and procedures.
The fleet practitioner may understand the fleet implications, but successful implementation requires cooperation from many parts of the organisation. That creates a leadership role for fleet practitioners even where they do not have formal authority over everyone involved. They may need to establish cross-functional working groups, facilitate workshops, manage competing priorities, brief executives and negotiate with suppliers. Project management and stakeholder management therefore become as important as technical fleet knowledge.
Getting a seat at the table
There is another reason communication and influence matter. Fleet represents a significant asset base and operating expense in many organisations, yet fleet practitioners can sometimes struggle to gain attention at senior management level. Producing more data does not necessarily solve the problem.
The challenge is communicating fleet issues in a way that connects with organisational priorities. A Chief Financial Officer may respond to whole-of-life cost and financial risk. An Operations Manager may respond to availability and service delivery. A WHS Manager may focus on risk and compliance. An executive team may want to understand the recommendation, investment required, risks and expected organisational outcome.
Chapter 20's communication approach encourages fleet practitioners to tailor their message accordingly. Start with what the audience needs to know. Provide the reasoning. Then provide the detailed evidence. That is a very different approach from presenting a spreadsheet and expecting stakeholders to reach the same conclusion as the fleet practitioner.
Managing suppliers and projects
The modern fleet practitioner is also increasingly managing external relationships. Vehicle manufacturers, Fleet Management Organisations, maintenance providers, technology companies, charging providers, body builders and specialist consultants can all play a role in fleet delivery.
Managing those relationships requires skills in contracts, SLAs, KPIs, supplier performance, documentation and negotiation. At the same time, major fleet initiatives increasingly operate as projects.
Introducing a fleet management system, replacing a workshop system, installing charging infrastructure or changing vehicle technology requires defined objectives, responsibilities, milestones and stakeholder engagement.
These are management disciplines.
Management skills support fleet maturity
The updated Chapter 20 ultimately connects these capabilities to fleet management maturity.
A mature fleet operation is not dependent on one individual knowing everything. It has systems for communicating, reporting, escalating, analysing performance and making decisions. Its fleet practitioners can work across the organisation, influence stakeholders and present evidence-based recommendations to management. They can lead change rather than simply respond to it.
Fleet practitioners are increasingly being asked to become subject matter experts across an extraordinary range of topics. Technical knowledge will always remain at the centre of the profession. But the ability to turn that knowledge into organisational action is becoming equally important. That is why management skills deserve the same deliberate development as technical fleet skills.
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