A quick recipe for chaos? Managing a vehicle fleet without a written set of rules and processes in your company.
Relying on passing the fleet's rules on by word of mouth guarantees disorganisation. Every driver will fill in the handover report a different way, you will get endless questions about what to do after a bump or a breakdown, and your fleet documentation will be one big unknown scattered across assorted folders on your drive.
Although there is no perfect template for a fleet policy, since it is a document reflecting the rules and behaviours specific to your fleet, we can still single out a few constant elements that should appear in every effective fleet policy.
It is precisely these key elements we want to talk about in this article, and in doing so help you create a fleet policy that actually works, whether your fleet consists of a handful of cars, a dozen or several dozen.
What is a fleet policy?
A quick reminder: a fleet policy, also known as a car policy, is a document that collects specific rules, procedures and guidelines for the use of vehicles in a given fleet.
The rules and procedures set out in the fleet policy must be followed by every driver in your fleet. That is why, once the fleet policy is ready, we should make sure every driver in our fleet has easy access to it.
That way we minimise the number of unnecessary calls to the fleet manager with repeated questions about procedures or rules that are simply regulated by our fleet policy.
Fleet policy: why is it so important?
Fewer unnecessary calls, and thus freeing up the fleet manager's time for more important things, is not the only benefit of preparing a fleet policy and making it available to drivers.
Larger and smaller organisations alike realise how important fleet safety is, as well as keeping order in how the fleet operates.
By systematising the procedures drivers must follow, every vehicle user in the fleet knows exactly how to behave in an emergency, which improves safety, and our documentation stays consistent thanks to clear instructions on how to produce it.
11 key provisions in a fleet policy
As a fleet manager you are surely well aware of what a fleet policy is and why it matters.
So let us talk about what elements it should contain to be as effective as possible.
#1 Introduction
Including an introduction in your fleet document may seem a somewhat trivial point. Nevertheless, it is very important.
The introduction to your fleet policy defines up front all the terms you plan to use in it, but also indicates the scope your fleet document regulates.
This way none of the terms you use in your fleet document will be unclear to its readers, and the whole will be much more readable.
#2 Acquiring vehicles
A slightly less obvious point is defining the rules for acquiring vehicles.
Think about which matters you want to address in this provision. Perhaps your fleet focuses on renting vehicles rather than buying them, or perhaps it prefers leasing.
In addition, feel free to add provisions on:
- in what form your company can come into possession of a vehicle,
- who should prepare offers from those available on the market,
- who assesses and decides on the purchase of specific vehicle models and on what criteria.
Once such details are in the fleet document, larger organisations will avoid mistakes when acquiring new vehicles.
#3 Vehicle allocation
To avoid unnecessary disputes or misunderstandings about the allocation of company vehicles in the fleet, it is worth defining the appropriate rules.
These may be rules based on the vehicle categories we have in our fleet or on employees' grades within its structure.
#4 Licence verification
Beyond simply matching an employee's position in our company structure to the appropriate vehicle category, we should go back to basics, i.e. verifying the driving licence itself.
Good practice is to add a provision on the obligation to inform the fleet manager immediately if a driver loses their licence, whether through expiry of the document or its withdrawal.
Only then can we move on to regulating matters relating to driving vehicles safely on the roads, such as a provision requiring compliance with the traffic regulations.
#5 Vehicle handover procedure
Once we are sure every driver has the right vehicle and the right licence to drive it, the next matter we should regulate is the vehicle handover procedure.
Putting a vehicle into use by drivers involves a series of steps to be carried out. We are talking about photo documentation of the vehicle being collected, a description of its technical condition noting any damage, and a list of the vehicle's equipment and any missing items.
These steps have to be carried out many times, so the key to an effective vehicle handover procedure is systematising and standardising the whole process. In your fleet policy, describe which elements the handover report should contain.
Going a step further, you can also describe step by step how to complete such a report, so that drivers in your fleet collect and return vehicles the same way, every time.
You can also attach a template vehicle handover report with the appropriate photo documentation to illustrate the whole thing better.
Standardising the handover process will let you easily analyse the condition of your fleet and readily notice when the wear on a given vehicle exceeds the norm.
We say more about systematising the process of creating a handover report here.
#6 Fuel purchasing rights
One of the most important factors a fleet administrator should constantly optimise is the cost of running the fleet. Costs often slip through our fingers, and we ourselves are not entirely sure how it happens.
To keep our fleet costs in check, good practice is to regulate the rights to purchase fuel for the vehicles drivers use.
In this provision, take into account the fleet cards your fleet uses or plans to use.
Using fleet cards lets you set from the top the budget you want to allocate to refuelling. It may be an amount limit, a limit on the number of refuellings in a given period, or simply a limit on the number of litres that can be filled in a given period.
Fleet cards will let you supervise the costs in your fleet better, making controlling more effective. Paying for fuel in any way other than with a fuel card with a set limit allows that limit to be exceeded, generating a bigger invoice than expected.
Going a step further, in this provision you can also restrict the purchase of premium fuels.
Topping up operating fluids is a similar matter. Especially in winter, a lack of rules on buying screen wash can seriously dent the monthly budget of a fleet that has not prepared for it.
#7 Keeping vehicles clean
Do not forget to regulate the matter of keeping the vehicles in your fleet properly clean.
Here it is important to stress the need for drivers to keep vehicles clean and to define any penalties for failing to do so.
To minimise costs while ensuring an appropriate level of cleanliness, you can rule out the use of premium programmes at car washes or the outsourcing options available on the market.
#8 Vehicle servicing
Another key element to include in the fleet policy is vehicle servicing.
Here it is worth highlighting drivers' obligation to report information about the condition of the vehicle. We mean not only warning lights or messages in the vehicle, but also more serious matters such as damage or bumps.
Besides providing information about the condition of the vehicles in the fleet, the servicing provision should also define who may organise and authorise service orders, and how.
It is worth naming the service partner chosen by you or your organisation that is available across the country or even Europe. That way you get a contracted price list, which lets you optimise servicing costs.
We are talking about replacing brake system friction components, comprehensive servicing during the warranty period (authorised or independent garages), tyre replacement and storage, and tread checks.
This matters not only to drivers (they do not have to carry tyres in the boot) but also ensures the right level of service and safety for the whole fleet, and thus for the fleet manager.
#9 Road incidents
Road incidents are an inseparable part of fleet management. To minimise unnecessary contact with drivers as far as possible, here you should define the procedures to follow in the event of a road incident, such as a bump or even an accident.
Your drivers will know what steps to take in such a situation and where to look for the documents they need, such as a scan of the insurance policy.
But educating drivers on procedures for road incidents is not the only important matter. Here it is also worth including provisions on how to dispose of vehicles that are no longer fit for use, the fleet department's duties in analysing the accident and its causes, and producing a report (often together with HR or health and safety).
All this will help you protect the company from such situations in the future, and proper procedure provisions for drivers will help your fleet get through such situations as smoothly as possible.
#10 Use of vehicles for private purposes
An important provision worth including in your fleet policy is the regulation of private use of vehicles.
These provisions will vary greatly depending on your approach as a fleet manager, but it is worth considering matters such as the need to regulate private journeys after working hours, journeys on days off, during holidays or during sick leave.
You can set a limit on the number of kilometres your drivers may cover in company cars for private purposes, and focus on how they are settled.
#11 Taking a vehicle out of service
The last key matter that will make your fleet policy more effective is a provision defining the rules for withdrawing vehicles from use.
Define the place and time for returning the vehicle when the fleet manager calls for it, how the car is replaced, the procedures for selling the vehicle and any option for the employee to buy it.
Which is better: a detailed or a framework policy?
Many of the sources on creating a fleet policy you have looked at probably talked about the need to make the fleet policy watertight. At Navifleet we think about it a little differently.
Before you include absolutely every provision and regulate the smallest activities in your fleet, make sure you have the resources to enforce them. We mean the right IT infrastructure and the staff to support you in the process.
A very detailed document you are unable to enforce will only complicate your work. There is a risk that creating a very extensive document that is neither enforced nor properly communicated will in practice end with every one of its provisions being marginalised.
Analyse your situation and choose the level of detail of your fleet policy accordingly. Perhaps a more framework-style, slightly more general document setting out the rules and regulations in your fleet will suffice. You can always supplement such a document with new experience and update it whenever the need arises.
Updating the fleet policy
Even if your fleet document is fairly detailed from the start, that does not mean there is no need to review it, analyse it and supplement it with new solutions.
Business goals may change, as may traffic regulations, or you may learn of new and better solutions that make the fleet even safer or optimise costs even further.
The best solution, therefore, is to review our fleet policy regularly, supplementing it with newer solutions and changing outdated provisions.
Write it or outsource it?
It seems, then, that creating the right document is no easy task, so can its creation be outsourced to a specialist provider?
There are many providers on the market that can prepare a fleet policy based on specific data you enter, which allows the necessary provisions to be selected.
We want to stress, however, that an experienced fleet manager understands best the business environment they operate in and knows the company's needs and problems, which makes them the most qualified person for the task.
A product tailored by someone on the inside will be the most beneficial solution, provided it is properly communicated to the users of company vehicles.
How to communicate the fleet policy
Once all the rules are ready, the key stage is communicating our fleet policy within the organisation and enforcing its provisions.
By communicating within the organisation we mean handing the written fleet policy to every person authorised to use vehicles and obtaining confirmation that every driver has accepted the provisions of our rules.
It is equally important to make the fleet policy available to drivers in such a way that each of them can easily return to it whenever the need arises.
For example, fleet managers using the Navifleet Manager app can attach shared documents in the e-Documents module. That way you can attach your fleet policy to the app and every driver will have easy access to it; all they need to do is reach for their phone to find the relevant provisions.
Summary: there is no perfect recipe for a fleet policy
As a rule, every fleet policy aims to regulate the process from purchasing the vehicles in the fleet, through their operation, to the stage of withdrawing and reselling them.
But there is no perfect recipe for a model fleet policy.
This document will differ depending on many factors, such as the business environment you are in, the company's goals and the staff resources that help enforce the fleet policy's rules.
Remember, though, that it is worth considering adding the 11 provisions we listed above. Perhaps that is what your fleet policy is missing?
