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How GPS Tracking Improves Employee Accountability & Safety

This article was published on: 06/23/21 by the Robert Hall

Holding drivers and other fleet employees accountable is critical for ensuring a safe and productive operation. Preventing unauthorized off-hours usage, unnecessary idle time, or unsafe driving behaviors should be a high priority for fleet managers, but they can’t always keep eyes on all drivers on their own.

GPS fleet tracking software does more than streamline operations for the manager or business owner. In fact, it helps increase productivity for all your employees, including fleet drivers, by creating more seamless communication and reducing manual labor. 

The 7 Most Important GPS Tracking Employee Benefits

Here’s a look at the top seven examples of how GPS tracking can enhance employee accountability.

1. How Reducing Paperwork and Admin Work Helps Drivers

GPS tracking systems and the NetTrack software platform make it easy to gather important safety data, timesheet data and receipts to store for records and payments. No need to fill out and sort through lengthy paperwork. For example, you can easily compare employee time cards to the data of when vehicles started and stopped for the day. Fuel cards can be integrated into digital reporting to capture fuel expense data.

Managing hand-written paperwork takes up time that could be spent on the road and leaves more room for error. GPS tracking takes care of the heavy lifting so your drivers and other employees can focus on more important tasks, reducing their frustration and improving job satisfaction. Ultimately, fleet tracking apps are an efficient way to boost your productivity and profitability and meet your company’s specific operational needs.

2. How GPS Tracking Supports Safety and Compliance

Driver safety is a major priority for businesses that have mobile employees. Road safety risks can lead to accidents, financial losses and legal issues, which can impact your company and your drivers. Your team members want to feel safe on the road, and there are many ways to help enhance safety with vehicle monitoring solutions.

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One of the greatest GPS tracking benefits for fleet drivers is the potential for increased safety. You can use fleet tracking solutions to monitor for poor driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking and other risky actions. Electronic logs support Hours of Service compliance and simplify Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports by capturing time-stamped data. In addition, tracking enables you to reduce theft with location monitoring, keep vehicle maintenance up to date with customized alerts and collect company-wide safety data. Safer driving lowers the risk of accidents and insurance claims, saving your company money.

3. How Decreasing Downtime and Maintenance Issues Helps Employees

Cars or trucks that spend every day on the road require regular maintenance. When left unchecked, wear and tear can build up over time and cause more serious issues. It’s important to ensure that your drivers do not become stranded due to a sudden vehicle failure or malfunction.

GPS tracking offers diagnostics and alerts to help you keep up with maintenance schedules and identify potential vehicle issues that need to be fixed. This insight reduces downtime and lowers the risk of a vehicle breaking down while your employee is fulfilling an important shipment or service. You can sign up to receive emails when it’s time to change the oil, rotate tires or perform other preventative maintenance tasks so your drivers can stay productive. With fewer breakdowns, drivers spend more time on the road instead of waiting for repairs. Well-maintained vehicles  are also safer, more comfortable, and more predictable to operate. This boosts driver confidence and satisfaction.

4. Increase Employee Accountability

GPS fleet tracking devices are an accurate, unambiguous source of detailed information. This technology reports only the facts. In addition to providing you with insights into unsafe driver behaviors behind the wheel, you’ll also get precise data regarding when your employees clocked in and out, how much time they spent on the road and how long they were at a work site.

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The information you collect through GPS tracking will help you limit payroll disputes, so you can avoid potential conflicts between workers and fleet managers and improve employee morale. You will also foster a sense of accountability that will strengthen your workplace culture, setting standards for honesty and integrity that will empower everyone and bring them closer together as a team.

5. How Tracking Boosts Productivity and Coordination for Teams

Adopting a GPS fleet tracking solution will help with planning and coordination whether you’re managing two vehicles, 200 or more. This technology provides you with a bird’s-eye view of your mobile workforce and fleet operations in real time. It also offers a list of historical insights that managers can use to create smarter driver schedules and achieve route optimization. Live maps enable dispatchers to send the driver closest to a job, cutting deadhead miles and travel times.

The data you can access makes it easier for staff members to monitor and manage daily vehicle utilization. You’ll also gain the benefit of faster responses when facing the unexpected. If you have an emergency, GPS tracking will show you where your closest vehicles are and where to locate specific drivers. This technology makes it easy to quickly decide who to send and how to route them there. It all adds up to higher productivity and reduced waste.

6. Boost Company Success

Using fleet tracking solutions to monitor your vehicles will help you take advantage of a wide range of valuable benefits, regardless of your company’s size or the industry you serve. These include tangibles and intangibles, like reduced overhead costs, improved customer satisfaction, a better public image and a more impressive bottom line.

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At the basic level, most people want to work for a company that is doing well, takes good care of them and provides them with a healthy work environment. GPS fleet management technology will help you free the resources you need to deliver on those expectations and take care of the people who work hard to help your business succeed.

7. Using GPS Data to Support Employees and Build Trust

One of the best GPS tracker employee benefits is the confident support you can provide in the event of customer complaints, traffic violations or compliance concerns. If a customer calls and claims a driver was late or didn’t arrive, your fleet tracking devices will tell you the truth. 

Knowing that you are ready and willing to go to bat — with evidence in hand — to keep their employee and driving records clear will go a long way in establishing loyalty in your drivers and team. It will also help you avoid having to pay out fines, provide extra training or penalize employees, helping you save money, gain more time and preserve your reputation.

When you clearly communicate your tracking policies in terms of what type of data is monitored and why, you can reduce the anxiety drivers may have about surveillance and build trust. This information also can be used to reward drivers who exhibit safe and efficient behavior with incentives. This can make it much easier for drivers to buy into the tracking initiative.

Add Value With Track Your Truck

If you’re wondering how employees can benefit from GPS tracking, consider the wide range of everyday conveniences and safety advantages. Advanced tracking solutions can ensure your operations continue to run smoothly while lowering overhead costs and improving your customer service. At Track Your Truck, our GPS vehicle tracking solutions will add value to your business while increasing the productivity of your employees.

Request a quote today for more information about our fleet tracking solutions.