Key questions answered by the experts.

Q: My line manager has asked me to prepare a case outlining why the company should fund additional training. I need help putting my case together.

A: The first benefit is the reduction in costs that will arise from doing the right things or doing things better.

The second benefit is that the fleet will comply with legal requirements and best practice. Any cost reduction is a direct contribution to profit while com-pliance will avoid potential costs.

However, most directors are driven by cost reduction opportunities rather than by altruism and so the cost benefit case needs to be built round these.

Fleet expenditure is usually the second greatest cost category, after payroll, and even a small percentage reduction in cost is worth having. You don’t need that many cars to reach £1 million of total annual cost.

You can then express the costs of your training as a percentage of overall cost.

This is the cost improvement you would have to deliver to justify your programme and I am confident you will find it to be well inside the scope of some good management initiatives, the detail of which you will certainly learn during your programme.

JAMES LANGLEY
Deputy chairman and chairman of training and education committee, ICFM