Managing a small fleet can be a complex endeavour for a small to medium-sized business. Fleet management comes with a number of risks and challenges, which will need to be addressed quickly in order to avoid damaging the company’s profitability, reputation, and more.

Whether your fleet is big or small, successful fleet management and task prioritisation is key. These top tips will help you ensure that your fleet runs smoothly.

#1. Choose the Right Insurance Policy:

Making sure that your entire fleet is covered by a suitable fleet insurance policy is not only a legal requirement; it’s also essential for ensuring that any accidents in the future can be dealt with swiftly, regardless of the party at fault.

If your drivers are self-employed they will usually be responsible for ensuring that their vehicles are insured, but if they are employees of the company you will need to find a suitable insurance policy for your fleet. Visit Quotezone to search for motor fleet insurance quotes and find the best one for your business’ needs. Quotezone is an easy-to-use, UK-based comparison site that will do all the hard work for you when looking for fleet car insurance. All you’ll need to do is fill out their simple form accurately and they will put you in touch with suitable business fleet insurance providers, who can provide you with a competitive fleet insurance quotes.

Remember that having insurance cover for people who work in the motor trade is imperative to the smooth functioning of any vehicle business. Moreover, a motor trade insurance policy is a requirement for all businesses, whether you are self-employed or own a relatively large company. Even if you don’t drive your clients’ cars, you will still need some kind of motor trade insurance to protect you against accidents or other risks. So, without any second thoughts, get a traders insurance policy for yourself and your employees.

#2. Develop a Company Policy:

Having a clear company policy surrounding your business fleet is important for both yourself as a business and the drivers who work for you. Your policy should cover every detail of driving a company car, including any business use of privately-owned cars or alternatively, personal use allowances for business-owned vehicles.

If your employees are allowed to choose their own company cars you should also cover details of the vehicle or tax bands they can choose, and whether changes depending on the employee’s level of seniority. Finally, lay out any rules and regulations surrounding company cars, including details of when the car will be replaced, e.g. when it reaches a certain age or mileage.

#3. Selecting Vehicles:

Selecting the right vehicles for your fleet is important, as they need to fill all commercial requirements, along with being reliable. You should also take car running costs into consideration; consider funding, depreciation, service, maintenance, and repairs, replacing the vehicles, and any non-recoverable VAT costs.

#4. Prioritise Communication:

Make sure that your company car drivers, supervisors, line managers, and any other relevant parties are fully and consistently briefed about the part that they play in ensuring that all fleet requirements are fulfilled. Communication should be a top priority between both drivers and managers to make sure that each individual employee is fully aware of any actions that they are required to take in order to ensure that the fleet runs smoothly.

#5. Manage Driver Performance and Improvement:

Even though you may trust your drivers to be responsible on the road, installing telematics devices in company cars can have several benefits for everybody involved. Telematics devices can also be useful for tracking your drivers in real-time, making it easier to manage the fleet on the road when it comes to factors such as estimated times of arrival, in addition to discouraging drivers from using their company vehicles for personal use if this is not allowed.

Telematics devices can track a driver’s handling too, such as harsh braking or speeding, which can give you a clearer idea of any drivers who may need to work on improvements. In addition to this, investing in dashcam devices for each car can also be extremely useful. Playback footage can help you determine any performance areas that drivers need to work on, in addition to providing valuable video footage for your insurer in the event of an accident.

#6. Maintain the Policy, Processes, and Procedures:

In order to ensure that your fleet continues to run smoothly, it’s vital to regularly revisit the policy, processes, and procedures to maintain their relevance to organisation needs and requirements. In addition to this, you should make regular updates to ensure that everything is up to date legally, such as changes to the law regarding car MOT rules, company car taxation, and insurance requirements.

Perhaps most importantly, regular maintenance should react to what is happening in your own fleet, such as recurring performance issues or problems. Keeping track of fleet performance will enable you to maintain and update the policy and procedures accordingly to keep issues to a minimum.

Managing a company car fleet can be a mammoth task for a small business. By getting the right insurance, drawing up clear policies and keeping on top of performance on a regular basis, you can ensure that your fleet runs smoothly.