'Get a sponsor to help win board approval of fleet initiatives'

Fleet decision-makers can help get buy-in from the board for new initiatives by trying to get a ‘sponsor’ to promote the idea.

Denise Hawkins (pictured), fleet and insurance manager at ABM, told delegates at December’s virtual Fleet200 meeting: “I have my goal and look to see who is going to be my partner within the board to see who can push that within their agenda.

“We all know that it’s sometimes quite hard to get the opportunity to speak to the board and put you views across there, but if you have someone who is with you along the journey I find that helps.

“Even if cost saving isn’t your goal, having specific savings in a proposal is definitely useful as everybody loves a cost saving.”

"...data really can become your friend to trigger improvements and innovation when combined and analysed all together.”

Hawkins told delegates that whether a fleet decision-maker is looking at making changes, improvements or finding innovations, it all boils down to data.

“We have data coming in from everywhere: from telematics, fuel usage, service history, mileage reports, tyre history and accident reports,” she added.