This is Part Two of a three-part story. To see Part One, click here.
Communication is key for any organization, but especially for one that involves several complex assets, like a commercial fleet, moving across the country or waiting in the shop at any given time. In Part One of this story, we discussed how necessary communication is to keep critical fleet management details from falling through the cracks, as well as some communication basics to guarantee as much clarity as possible.
However, knowing the right words to say won't do much good if there's no way to ensure they reach the intended recipient, whether that recipient is on the shop floor or in a mobile maintenance truck miles away. Instead, shop and fleet managers should consider which communication methods are the best for who they need to reach and the situation they need to discuss.
Finding the right tools
The next step beyond the right words to say in any message is knowing the right medium through which to say them. Forbes Advisor’s 2024 report on workplace communication noted that for on-site workers, 38% found mobile phones to be the most effective way to communicate, with landline phones and Zoom following up at 22% and 21%. But that doesn’t necessarily mean any of these methods will be the best way to communicate in every situation your fleet encounters or for every person in your fleet.
“I think you have to have a good blend,” said Matthew Copot, VP of fleet management for Saia. “You have to read the room well and understand which piece of communication is best.”
As an example, for informal messages that only need a quick response, perhaps a text message is best. But if you have a longer message or need a more in-depth plan, a phone call may be better. If you want to retain your message and the response for later reference, then an email could be the way to go.
Fleets should also take into account their recipient’s preferred form of communication and the content of the message they need to deliver.
“I do not like text or email for any kind of communication where you’re trying to address an issue that could be sensitive,” explained Jamie Wendt, CEO of Wisconsin-based HM Repairs and Services and Madison Spring, “because it can sound so nice and so compassionate in your head, but when they read it, there’s one word in there that triggers something.”
At HM Repairs, they use a mix of texting, phone calls, Microsoft Teams, and walkie-talkie radios for delivery drivers. Additionally, for some training matters and company-wide communications, they also use their payroll platform, Paylocity.
Read more: Digital training tools offer flexible technician training
“Not everybody in a truck repair shop is going to have a company email,” Jessica Wendt, Jamie Wendt's wife and CFO of HM Repairs and Madison Spring, stated. “And our technicians aren’t going to have a company-wide email that they’re going to be checking during the day. But everybody gets paid, right?”
This makes Paylocity ideal for polling employees on their meeting availability and rolling out safety training because the platform allows managers to see when employees complete the training.
On a more personal level, it’s just as important to understand what your listener needs to hear, added Amanda Schuier, strategic maintenance director at Jetco Delivery and the 2024-2025 general chairman and treasurer for American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council.
“My boss, for example, is very numbers-driven,” she explained. “So when I talk to him, I know that I need to approach him with facts and figures, whereas for me, I’m more of a big-picture, emotive thinker.”
Managing data overload
The amount of ways to communicate within a fleet is a long list by itself, let alone when considering the sheer amount of messages and data that a shop or fleet might exchange every day. While AI technology can help fleet and maintenance managers filter vehicle data, shifting through data from people, in all its forms, is a bit trickier.
“The most common issue I hear is that between email, text, word of mouth, Slack, ticket systems, etc., issues just get lost in the noise,” added Ryon Packer, chief product officer at Motus, a vehicle reimbursement and driver risk mitigation software company.
Instead, as businesses grow, leadership may only be able to stay on top of day-to-day issues by creating a single, easy-to-use tracking system, and then reminding people to use it consistently, he continued.
Additionally, managers may need to reassess their communication strategies if they’re feeling overwhelmed. After all, getting too much information from your peers may be due to a lack of clarity in what you need, resulting in an overabundance of data instead.
“Try to be specific in what you’re asking,” Saia’s Copot advised. Then, if you’re getting too much data, provide feedback on what you do and don’t need.
Specificity is especially important when it comes to fleet emergencies. Preferably, a shop should know what it needs and which people need to know what information before a problem occurs.
“When you look at emergencies, we have what we call ‘critical situations’ that require immediate notification,” Copot commented. “As cliche as it may seem, we lay out scenarios so you know the ‘who’ and the ‘how’ of the communication is based upon different types of situations that might exist.”
For example, if a technician is injured in the shop, Saia outlines the priorities of the situation, starting with caring for the injured person, followed by what level of communication needs to be upheld and who will monitor that communication.
In Part Three of this story, we'll discuss keeping the various levels of a fleet organization in communication, from the shop floor to the C-suite, as well as how to start approaching employee conflict.
