The government’s 21 June target date for removing all controls over social interaction mean that fleets have decisions to make over the future of face-to-face meetings, says FleetCheck.
The fleet software specialist says that there are two questions to answer – do we follow the government decision making or wait longer, and do we return to our previous operational fleet model or make changes?
Peter Golding, managing director, said, “Obviously, the 21 June date will be subject to all kinds of conditions and, if there is anything we have learnt during the pandemic, it is the limited control that we all have over future timings and events.
“However, it does mean that a theoretical end is in sight to the kinds of measures we have seen and that hundreds of thousands of company car and sometimes van drivers who have been stopped from attending face-to-face meetings can resume them.
“Really, what employers need to decide is whether they tell their staff to go back to how they used to work or to put new policies in place that are designed to fundamentally change their meeting culture.”
Peter pointed out that it has become widely accepted during the pandemic that company car drivers will cover fewer miles in future and there will be a more flexible relationship between home and office working, as well as much increased use of video-conferencing.
“The feedback we are getting from our customers is that there is little appetite among the majority of drivers for returning to covering 20,000 miles a year, and that a more intelligent approach should be adopted.
“To my mind, what we should be concentrating on is using company cars and vans for the miles that are needed to maximise benefits for the business and no more. For the good of the environment, for the benefits of drivers and to minimise costs, this should be the aim.
