Fleet Management from HR Managers

Fleet

Wednesday, 11 April, 2018

In recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of HR functions taking responsibility for fleet management. It makes a lot of sense as there have always been clear synergies with employee recruitment and retention, benefits packages, and health and safety. But if the company vehicle fleet falls under your remit and you don’t have a strong background in this area, it can seem a bit daunting at first. Thankfully, there are a whole host of vehicle leasing guides available to support you, and our fleet management tools have been developed to reflect the changing needs of our customers.

We’ve also asked a selection of HR professionals to share their first-hand experiences and tips on managing company cars and vans. Here’s what they had to say.

Advice from HR Professionals

Tip 1: Communicate with employees

Make sure that everything connected to company cars is acknowledged and managed, from negotiating a quote with the chosen company whom supplies the company cars to receiving all necessary paperwork for the vehicle and the driver and make sure both sides are covered. To be given a company car can be either perceived as an incentive or necessity for a specific role. This needs to be communicated to the employee before the role is accepted as an employee has to pay a tax on it, as does an employer.

Lucie Bendakova, HR Manager, Vision Direct

Tip 2: Get the right fleet tools and services in place for your business

As more and more HR Managers are finding that they are having to manage their organisation’s company cars, it’s important to know when and where to get the right help. Different vehicle leasing companies offer different tools and levels of fleet management service, which could help free up more time to focus on other daily tasks.

Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director of Activ People HR

Get the right fleet tools and services in place for your business

Align your company values with your fleet offering

Tip 3: Align your company values with the fleet offering

When considering which supplier to go with and how you should design your fleet (including the contract terms, management through systems and development of the ongoing tax solutions), it is important to align your company values with the fleet offering.

If your business is focused on the green agenda then it doesn’t make sense to put gas-guzzling vehicles on your company car list. And, of course, if you’re wanting to be a green-conscious business that is trying to develop its offering in line with values that show integrity then by being a responsible employer you will choose a list that has low CO₂, hybrids and electric vehicles. Something that is inevitable within the next 5-10 years.

Whichever way you decide to go, shop around and take advice from the fleet providers. In my experience, whilst they are of course there to sell, most have pretty strong ethics around fleet management and so once you’re agreed on what’s important, it then simply becomes a commercial discussion.

What is clear though, is that company cars will be here for a long time to come and getting a benefits strategy that is clear about company cars if you offer them is crucial to sound HR.

Howard Sloane, HR Director

Tip 4: Get advice from the experts

For me what is important (just like our customers) is taking advantage of all our internal expertise when managing our fleet. Managing a company fleet comes with challenges - ensuring it hits the mark to incentivise and reward our managers, covering legal risks, cost management and so on. Tapping into the Arval experts who do all this day to day has been invaluable. My needs and requirements are just the same as our customers - as an HRD I’m just lucky enough to live alongside these experts!

Ailsa Firth, Director of HR, Arval UK

Speak to Arval for fleet management support

So, there you have it, fleet management needs quite a lot of thought and attention but, when executed well, can be highly beneficial for your employees and the company as a whole. If after reading this you need further advice on vehicle funding and fleet management or if you’re looking for a supplier that can provide fleet management support, speak to Arval about your requirements, we’d be really happy to provide more information.