Get employee buy-in

“Communication is most important,” says Ctract’s Richard Lane. “Why and how you are going to implement it, how it works, what data is saved, what data is private, and the likely outcome of having telematics.

“Also, how are you going to communicate with drivers? Are you going on a roadshow with the provider because people are spread throughout the country?”

If done well, introducing telematics into grey fleet does not have to be an uphill battle, as a large advertising sales company discovered when it introduced TomTom into its 300-strong fleet of owner-driven cars.

“It engaged its sales guys and did it really nicely,” says Margerison. “It said that not only did it have responsibility for its drivers’ well-being, but was also responsible for the fact that they all got home at night.

“It told them ‘the most important thing to us is that you are all safe. We do have a duty of care over you and we take it seriously. Therefore, we are going to do this.’

“It also communicated how the technology would be used. It is important to understand how a company is motivated to use the technology because most people think it’s going to be used as ‘big brother’. All the fears that hang around technology don’t apply. People are more accepting of it because companies are using it very positively.”

Asbestos management and training consultants Environmental Essentials introduced Quartix telematics to track employees’ location for security reasons, as they can be at domestic or commercial properties, as well as ensuring overtime payment is correct and for mileage calculations.

This includes the company’s grey fleet, whose drivers were convinced by the arguments of accurate overtime payments and mileage reimbursements, and additional security.

“We explained that it’s not a spying device,” says Philippa Maher, HR manager. “No one sits with it up on the screen watching the dots move around; we’re too busy to do that.”

For Commercial Group, the most compelling factors for both company and drivers were the fuel spend analysis and mileage record.

“It has done away with fuel forms and reduced creative accounting,” Paddock says.

“We had a lot of resistance initially, but once we got halfway through the process and people were seeing they did not have to fill in forms, that disappeared.

“When people have an accident, we can now find out where they are and we have been able to get there before the police have arrived. Duty of care comes into that.”

It is crucial to make clear that telematics bring advantages to the driver as well as their employer and Oliver Boots, head of product services for LeasePlan, suggests some subterfuge might help.

“A lot of drivers see it as a big brother tool but if it is called a driver support device, it can be better received. Subtle positioning makes a difference,” he says.

Expense reporting is just one of the upsides. A navigation unit is an attractive spin-off, alongside having appointments sent directly to drivers so that the system navigates them straight to their appointment.

A Scottish local authority client is installing Ctrack’s telematics in 800 vehicles, including a grey fleet numbering around 80.

“The council is doing this mainly as a duty of care to lone workers,” says Lane. “Vehicles which collect and deliver children from their home to school will have a panic button fitted so that if the driver is being distracted, or if there is a dangerous situation at pick-up or drop-off points, they are able to trigger a panic alarm to alert a control centre.”

Another objective is to ensure vehicles are being driven responsibly. “It was done with a view to reducing fuel cost and accident rates,” he says. “Because the council is providing the vehicle for the use of the employee, they want to know the person operating the vehicle is not putting themselves or other people at risk.”

The system has business/privacy switches fitted. Business mode allows the unit to report in the same way as the rest of the fleet, while privacy mode records private mileage but stops the dot on the map updating. Mileage tracking is also used to schedule maintenance and servicing.

“The council was fairly insistent that this was policy and it did receive some objections, but only in relation to the fact that the vehicle’s primary purpose was for private usage,” says Lane.

“It gave drivers plenty of opportunity to raise objections and these were addressed and responded to as part of the process.”

The council gave grey fleet drivers six months’ notice and Lane recommends a minimum of three months.

“Once drivers realised that the privacy switch ensured location was not recorded, the big brother issues were taken out of the equation,” he says. In addition, the authority underlined its responsibility to ensure vehicles were roadworthy and well maintained.

Lone drivers are also a factor in the NHS. “There are a lot of grey fleet users who see patients late at night and they are lone workers, so telematics could have very strong properties to the employee,” says Chandler. “It is a matter of looking at the application, identifying the benefits for specific employees and building the business case.”

Boots adds: “Drivers like to feel protected and to feel their employers are taking a responsible view of duty of care.”

Owner-drivers may not like the idea that the device fitted in their vehicle will tell them when they are driving inefficiently, but they may be more amenable when they know how much money they can save on fuel bills – generally around 10% – by driving more efficiently. Similarly, they may benefit from a reduced insurance premium as a direct result of better driving.

Play the game

Gamification is the current thinking when it comes to training and education and use of telematics is no different.

Create competition between drivers, with an objective scoring system based on people’s driving and no one will want to be at the bottom of the table. It brings the subject alive for drivers and adding a prize or award motivates them to improve their driving style.

“I would certainly recommend to any organisation looking to install devices in any company car fleet or grey fleet to think about how they can bring that element of fun into the process,” says Masternaut’s Jon Gilbert. “It can be incredibly effective and changes people’s behaviour.”

Competitive spirit can be engendered within teams, between sectors, vehicle types, regions or across the country and is the ultimate antidote to ‘race you off the lights’.