Automotive Fleet, July 2018

Benefits of Collaboration The Market Trends editorial in the June 2018 issue about collaboration between procurement and Environmental Health Safety EHS was nicely written I cant tell you how many times fleet managers have told me that the fleet department and risk department dont communicate I agree with you that fleet safety can greatly benefit from more collaboration with departments like EHS Matthew Betz Vice President of Fleet Channels SambaSafety Greenwood Village Colo Filling Big Shoes The Market Trends editorial entitled Forces Threaten to Change Fleet from a Career to a Stepping Stone was a great article As you point out turnover in this position will create inconsistencies and will require a lot of resources to hire and train new managers Just finding someone with most of the skill set is difficult now With the addition of the new technology to the other skills it will only get more difficult We as fleet managers need to identify and develop some of our staff members to be able to fill our big shoes when we retire Chris Ricca Maintenance Manager First Transit Philadelphia Pa Empower the Staff I agree with the Market Trends editorial on how the fleet management profession can simply become a stepping stone Developing staff within the ranks of the company is crucial even if they are not to be as a fleet manager Empower the staff Luis Melendez Managing Partner Accident Liability Institute Los Angeles Calif It will Forever Change Fleets I read the Market Trends editorial on the obstacles to volume rollout of autonomous vehicles in the Fleet 500 issue of Automotive Fleet and the subsequent letters to the editor about it in the June 2018 issue It was an excellent format and dialogue My view is that autonomous vehicles are coming and will forever change fleets Tim King Fleet Consultant Las Vegas Big Dividends I agree with the Market Trends editorial about collaboration between procurement and Environmental Health Safety EHS which was published in the June 2018 issue Safety and prevention have always paid big dividends all kinds of different ways to look at this collaboration all of which are good Joseph A Morell Fleet Maintenance Manager M C Tank Transport Canfield Ohio L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R The Market Trends editorial about fleet evolving into a stepping stone was an interesting perspective I agree it will be important to keep fleet management in house due to its importance to the bottom line The field has been evolving over the past decade or so to be more data driven as I think most of us have seen firsthand I believe the days of the fleet manager coming up through the technician ranks is probably limited making the pool of usual candidates small The smart hiring managers will start focusing less on looking for candidates with an automotive background and more on business management experience with an emphasis on analytics and information systems The thought that millennials will jump ship after a few years might not be the case with fleet management I have been known to have ADHD when it comes to my career but fleet has kept my interest The diversity and fact that every day can be so different in many fleets may be intriguing to this genera A Fleet Career for Millennials A lthough fleet management is a relatively new career segment changes are percolating that threaten to transform it from a career path to a corporate stepping stone The confluence of three fleet megatrends will be the catalyst fueling this transition The evolution of fleet management to a more technology oriented profession that will expand the skillset and core competencies required to be a fleet manager Widespread retirement of baby boomers the largest fleet manager demographics succeeded by millennials who rightly or wrongly are perceived as job hoppers The growing participation of fleet managers in consensus decisionmaking with internal cross functional groups Technology to Expand Fleet Manager Skillsets Traditionally fleet management focused on understanding the economics of fleet and asset lifecycle management But as data analytics becomes more pervasive in the fleet work environment it will necessitate additional skillsets and core competencies The data rich fleet environment will appeal to tech oriented analytical individuals who will self gravitate to fill open fleet positions These new fleet managers will not only be analytical but must also possess the ability to effectively communicate these data driven recommendations to senior management Increasingly this next generation of fleet managers will be asked to implement new technologies to enhance the driver experience as an employee retention tool and to facilitate improved compliance to fleet policy As younger entry level employees are assigned their first fleet vehicles there will be an emphasis to appeal to this group through the use of mobile apps and other driver enabled technologies From a career perspective the shortage of qualified tech employees will make these new fleet managers prime targets for recruitment poaching both internally and externally Also these technically adept fleet managers will want to work in a dynamic tech environment and may chaff at working in a fleet setting where the technology utilized remains stagnant Millennials are a Flight Risk When you consider the average age of fleet managers today we are starting to glimpse the emerging tidal wave of retirements These newly vacant positions for the most part will be filled by millennials if they are filled at all According to a study by Gallup millennials those born between 1980 and 1996 typically only stay in their positions on average for three to five years and then move on to a new challenge The concern is that the fleet industry will see a diminishing number of professionals devoting 10 to 20 plus years developing fleet management expertise This will present a challenge for many organizations such as on the supplier side which will struggle to develop relationships with a revolving door of fleet managers Another challenge will be experienced by industry associations such as AFLA and NAFA where there may AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I MARCH 2018 10 M A R K E T T R E N D S be a leadership skills deficit since the bulk of its membership may be comprised of relatively new fleet managers with too few years in the saddle recognizing that it takes years to develop fleet management expertise The fear is that fewer fleet managers will remain within the industry for the extended period needed to develop fleet acumen A Gallup report How Millennials Want to Work and Live found that 21 of millennials had switched jobs in the last year which is three times higher than non millennials who report doing the same Six out of 10 millennials say they are open to different job opportunities which is also the highest percentage among all generations in the workplace Not all but many millennials view their current job as a stepping stone and a growth opportunity Temptation to Jump Ship to Other Departments Since fleet management requires working with cross functional groups managing millions of dollars of corporate assets collaborating in complex technology initiatives and is a key influencer of employee productivity it is crucial to have a strong in house fleet manager to coordinate and manage these activities The fleet manager of tomorrow will be very much integrated with these corporate cross functional groups In this work environment fleet will appeal to younger employees because of this exposure to these cross functional groups The fleet manager position will give them an opportunity to interact with a variety of internal cross functional groups such as procurement risk management operations and sales Ambitious up and coming managers will be attracted to fleet because it is a high visibility position that puts them in spotlight with senior level managers with the potential to leverage these relationships into higher level positions elsewhere in the corporation The Value of In house Fleet Management Fleet management employs strategies to operate a business at the lowest possible cost which is crucial especially when a fleet is a revenuegenerating unit In the final analysis the fleet manager position must not devolve into a revolving door as it will diminish this efficacy As fleet complexity grows it will become even more critical to have an in house subject matter expert managing the strategic direction of the fleet In addition multinational organizations operating in a global market require in house subject matter expertise to provide consultation with regional and global partners on variety of fleet initiatives ranging from technology global safety programs to working on global purchasing agreements Fleet management is a valuable corporate competency whose effectiveness or ineffectiveness has a direct impact on the corporate bottom line A strong career focused in house fleet manager is not just reporting numbers he or she is driving those numbers Let me know what you think AF mike antich@ bobit com BY MIKE ANTICH Forces Threaten to Change Fleet from a Career to a Stepping Stone Dont the partner Untitled 2 1 AF0318trends indd 10 2 22 18 11 24 AM Fleet Safety in an AV World As of 2018 21 states have passed legislation related to autonomous vehicles according to the National Conference of State Legislatures The U S Department of Transportation is also working on guidelines to assist in the rollout of autonomous vehicle AV technologies Fleet safety is in crosshairs with autonomous systems and ultimately with autonomous vehicles How do you reduce the cost in lives health and dollars from automobile accidents How do you train drivers to use the systems yet not blindly depend on them Always a strong focus but this year and the next few it will be more front and center as managers compare their drivers human results with the expected forthcoming autonomous results Think of John Henry vs the machine Michael Bieger Fleet Consultant Ringwood N J Michael Bieger is the retired global director of fleet for ADP and past president of the Automotive Fleet Leasing Association AFLA He is also the winner of the 2015 Fleet Executive of the Year Award which is exclusively sponsored by The CEI Group Editor A BOBIT PUBLICATION WWW AUTOMOTIVEFLEET COM 2018 FLEET 500 VOL 57 NO 6 TOP 300 COMMERCIAL FLEETS TOP 100 COMMERCIAL TRUCK FLEETS TOP 50 GREEN FLEETS TOP 50 EXECUTIVE FLEETS tion The fast pace and ever changing technologies in fleet will also help It may be the perfect career choice for the millennial generation if we can find a way to reach them Michael Webster CAFM Fleet Manager Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Wheaton Ill AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I JULY 2018 4