Driving Business Autumn 2014

DRIVING Helping you make better decisions

Issue 9 Autumn 2014 £4.50

How technology and these simple tips can cut crash rates, save your business money and keep drivers safe

THE FUTURE OF DRIVER SAFETY

❚ Reduce riskswith a journey

checklist ❚ What to do

after an accident

DB INTERVIEWAward-winning Pizza

Rossa on how crowd funding helps start-ups

DELIVER BETTER

SERVICE11 steps from M&S to transform your

customer service

SAFETY

MANAGEMENT

SPECIAL

Our latest safety

innovation

volvocars.co.uk/CO-PILOT

[email protected]

We’ve always made the safest cars in the world. Now we’re helping

to make safer drivers too, with Co-Pilot: a unique innovation for

business from Volvo.

Managing company cars and drivers can be a legal minefield.

Ignorance is no defence, and compliance can be costly. But

non-compliance could mean disaster: fines, bad publicity, even a

prison sentence.

We’ve developed Co-Pilot with a group of partner organisations to

improve driver safety, shrink your compliance workload and cut the

costs and risks of driving - for your people and your business.

And best of all, it’s available free of charge when you buy or

lease the fi rst new Volvo* for your business. Call the Volvo

Car Business Centre on 0844 490 5209 to fi nd out more.

*Terms and conditions apply

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6 The leasing advantage SMEs are missing out on business

opportunities because their cash is tied up buying vehicles

8 Insight Employees who reimburse their

employer for company cars are still liable for BIK, says HMRC

12 The DB interview How crowd-funding helped Corrado

Accardi and Luca Magnani to start the award-winning Pizza Rossa

16 Delivering better service Jo Moran outlines the 11 steps

she used to transform Marks & Spencer’s customer service

22 New technology Increasingly sophisticated safety

devices put cars and vans fi rmly on the road to autonomous driving

26 Driver risk Assessing your employees’ chance

of being involved in a crash is the fi rst step to cut accident rates

29 Safe driving policies Use our employer’s checklist to

lower the risk of road accidents

30 Minimising accident claims Putting a post-accident process

in place could save your business thousands in third-party costs

35 Coming soon An early look at future model

launches, including the new Volkswagen Passat and Mercedes-Benz Vito and the facts to appeal to businesses and their drivers

Contents

www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Autumn 2014 ❚ 3

ISSUE 9Autumn 2014

CARS AND VANS

BROADER VIEW

FRONT END

SAFETY MANAGEMENT

12

218

Pizza Rossa

OpinionSafety management

35 Volkswagen Passat

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mydrivingbusiness.co.uk � Autumn 2014 � 5

WelcomeDriving Business, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Email [email protected]

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EditorialEditor Stephen [email protected] editorSarah [email protected] editorGareth [email protected] producerChristopher [email protected] Chetwynd, Simon Harris ProductionHead of publishingLuke NealDesignerErika SmallAssociate editor (production)Andrew RyanProduction editorFinbarr O’ReillyHead of project managementLeanne Patterson 01733 468332Project managersLucy Peacock 01733 468338Angela PriceKerry Unwin 01733 468327

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Contact us

DRIVINGHelping you make better decisions

Did you switch off during your summer holiday or was the urge to check what was happening back at the offi ce too strong?If you found yourself logging on to your

work emails, you’re not alone – more than half of UK-based offi ce workers do,

according to a recent survey by holiday website Travel Republic. The alternative is to face a bulging inbox. I returned to

more than 800 emails after two weeks in the sun. But I count myself lucky – our news editor had more than 1,000 after just a week away.It makes Daimler’s idea of auto-deleting emails while

staff are away pretty appealing (see page 7).And with no “traffi c jam” in your inbox you will have

the chance to do much more productive things… such as reading Driving Business.In this issue, Jo Moran, Marks & Spencer’s head of

customer service tells us the 11 things she did to improve the company’s performance, what role social media plays in marketing and what the future looks like for customer service (see pages 16-18).We’ve also got the lowdown on crowd-funding and

how it helped award-winning pizzeria Pizza Rossa to get started (turn to pages 12-13). And with Business Secretary Vince Cable giving the

green light for driverless cars to be tested in UK cities next year, we’ve put together a safety management special (pages 21- 31). It gives you a guide to existing and future safety technology on vehicles, how to manage driver behaviour, make journeys safer and what to do when the inevitable happens – a driver is involved in an accident. Follow our steps and you could save £4,000 in third-party costs.

Sarah ToozeDeputy editor, Driving Business

Scan this QR code into your smartphone to visitmydrivingbusiness.co.uk

� FRONT END

Volvo offers small fi rms free duty of care consultation

6 � Autumn 2014 � www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Volvo has launched an initiative to help smaller fl eets meet their duty of care requirements.

The scheme, called Co-Pilot, offers free risk management consultancy from Volvo’s partner Fleet21 and is available to new customers operating up to 20 vehicles.

The consultancy, worth £500, includes a fl eet policy and driver handbook (written by legal experts), a licence check and online driver risk assessments.

Organisations with more than 20 drivers will have to pay an additional £19.50 per driver to take advantage of the offer.

Co-Pilot also gives businesses access to a network of partners that will provide discounted services or free advice to SMEs. Partners to date include Driving for Better Business, Transport for London, law fi rm Weightmans, alcohol- and drug-testing provider Alere Toxi-cology, dashboard camera provider Roadhawk and driver distraction prevention mobile appli-cation provider Romex.

Simon Turner, managing director of Fleet21, said: “We will ensure you are legally compliant and you’ve started on the road to educating your drivers.”

A company can choose to add paid-for options such as driver awareness workshops and training.

Turner said: “Driver training is a ‘nice to have’. It educates drivers, helps reduce accidents and goes some way towards best

Tackle company car tax at Small Fleets Conference Small businesses with fi ve to 50 vehicles can fi nd out how to reduce their tax burden at the fi rst Small Fleets Confer-ence, on October 8 at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon.

Driving Business and sister publication Fleet News are teaming up with BMW and leading industry suppliers to present the conference, with guest speakers Andrew Wetters, senior policy adviser for the workplace transport team at the Health and Safety Executive; tax expert David Rawlings, director at BCF Wessex Consul-tants; and Jay Parmar, director of policy and membership at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

Tickets for the event are £99 (ex VAT) and can be booked online at small-fl eet-conference.fl eetnews.co.uk/book. They include lunch, refreshments and entry to the Motor Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of British cars.

practice, but it’s not within the strict realms of what is legally required.”

Companies that take advantage of the free risk management consultancy will need to ensure that they maintain compliance.

Fleet21 typically recommends an annual licence check for drivers with up to three points, a six-monthly check for four to seven points and a check every three months for eight points or more.

Businesses that have policies in place could fi nd they come unstuck during a police inves-tigation if they do not have accurate records and the policy is not seen to be used.

SMEs ‘waste billions’ by not leasing vansMore than three-quarters (77%) of SMEs have never leased a vehicle and more than half (54%) said they were unlikely to consider it, according to a recent survey.

Lex Autolease, which commissioned the survey of about 250 SME decision-makers, said those businesses were missing out on growth opportunities because they had almost £6.7billion tied up in depreciating light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

It estimated that more than two thirds (68%) of the 1.5 million vans and LCVs registered to British businesses were owned by SMEs and bought using company cash reserves or with a bank loan.

With an average purchase price of £16,448 for a new van, SMEs are faced with a signif-icant capital outlay every time they change their vehicle fl eet, which is typically every four years.

In contrast, the average start-up cost of leasing a van is £817 for an initial upfront payment and £221 per month thereafter.

Tim Porter, managing

director of Lex Autolease

Those businesses that do consider leasing often do so for cashfl ow fl exibility and regular access to new vehicles.

Tim Porter, managing director of Lex Autolease, said: “The billions invested in vehicle ownership could be better used by businesses to pursue new growth opportu-nities, pay down debts or upgrade essential business infrastructure.”

The survey also revealed how SMEs would invest the additional capital they saved if they leased vehicles rather than purchasing them.

About four out of 10 (43%) said the money would boost their working capital reserves, about a quarter (28%) would invest in new plant, machinery or IT infrastructure, and almost one in fi ve (18%) would reduce their existing borrowings.

Others favoured increasing their marketing activities (15%), expanding or establishing new premises (9%) investing in R&D (8%) and taking on more staff (5%).

Simon Turner, managing director of Fleet21

www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Daimler gives its staff an ‘email holiday’

www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk � Autumn 2014 � 7

One third of UK employees are not insured when driving for workA third of UK employees that drive as part of their job are not insured for business miles, according to research from telematics company Masternaut.

On average, these drivers clock up 4,708 uninsured business miles a year. Almost one fi fth (19%) of the 2,000 respondents said they had had an accident while driving for work.

When asked who would be liable for such an accident, 80% said it would be their

Two-fi fths of small businesses don’t shop around at the pumpsSmall businesses could be losing hundreds of pounds a year on fuel, as a survey has shown that more than 40% of them fail to shop around.

The survey, by TrackCompare.co.uk, also found that only a fi fth of businesses regularly top up at the cheaper supermarket forecourts, with the majority admitting to having no overall strategy to fi nd the best fuel options.

According to fuel card provider Fuel Genie,

small businesses could save themselves, on average, up to 3p per litre every time they fi ll up by using Tesco and Morrisons forecourts with the Fuel Genie fuel card.

Claire Alderson, sales and marketing manager at Fuel Genie, said: “The survey shows that businesses are potentially pouring money down the drain simply by not shopping around.

“Although some businesses are now using a fuel card to save costs, it is still surprisingly low .”

responsibility, while 20% thought it would be their employer’s.

The survey also revealed that the majority of employees (70%) are not provided with any driver training by their employer.

Martin Hiscox, CEO and chairman of Masternaut, said: “Driving for work is recog-nised as one of the most dangerous occupa-tions and these fi ndings clearly demonstrate a vital need for employers to educate staff on safe driving practises.”

Car manufacturer Daimler has given its 100,000 employees in Germany the option of using a ‘Mail on Holiday’ service, which automatically deletes emails if they are away.

The sender receives a message, telling them their email has been erased and suggesting an alternative contact.

Wilfried Porth, board member for human resources at Daimler, told the Financial Times: “Our employees should relax on holiday and not read work-related emails.

“With ‘Mail on Holiday’, they start back after the holidays with a clean desk. There is no traffi c jam in their inbox. That is an emotional relief.”

� FRONT END INSIGHT www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

The taxman is clamping down on employees and directors who seek to circumvent company car benefi t-in-kind tax by reimbursing their employer for the full cost, but fail to take ownership

of the vehicle.HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has won a

number of tax tribunals in which cars have been bought or leased by an employer or director, but for which all costs were reimbursed by the individual.

For example, 12 employees gave up the use of company cars and entered into a leasing contract with their employer.

Each person reimbursed the company for the full leasing cost and, thinking that they therefore did not have company cars, had business mileage reimbursed via the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rate rather than the lower Advisory Fuel Rate.

However, as the company had provided cars for employees’ use, BIK tax could only be escaped by reimbursing an amount equal to the car benefi t, which employees had not done.

In another case, two directors leased Mercedes-Benz cars, but all payments were debited to the directors’ loan account. Although the directors had


leased the cars and paid for them, the company had signed the lease contract and then provided the cars to the directors by virtue of their employment. As a result, a BIK tax charge arose, even though the company was not bearing any of the costs.

At the heart of the tribunal rulings is that the company car was obtained by virtue of the employee or director’s employment and title to it was not transferred to the individual. As a result, company car BIK tax is due.

Alastair Kendrick, tax director at accountants MacIntyre Hudson, said: “We are seeing a level of misunderstanding over what constitutes a company car.

“It is not uncommon, particularly in SME businesses and in today’s age of austerity where credit for individuals may be harder to obtain , to fi nd the company using fi nance to secure funding for a car which an employee or director requires.

“They then come to an arrangement that the individual will make good the cost of acquiring the car to the company.

“What this misses is that the arrangement is via the employer and title to the vehicle does not transfer to the employee. It is therefore a company car and a BIK arises.

“HMRC is unlikely to permit contributions made by the individual to be offset against the benefi t as no differentiation between business and private use has been made.

“Making this mistake can prove expensive as the individual has repaid vehicle costs and is also liable for BIK tax.

“The advantage of a lower purchase price or monthly lease rate may be outweighed by the BIK tax, fuel benefi t and employer Class 1A National Insurance due.”

Kendrick said HMRC will target any attempt to avoid BIK tax .

“It is a well trodden path as there are an increasing number of examples of employers making arrangements and failing to consider that BIK tax is due. This is particularly the case with directors’ remuneration, which HMRC is looking at in detail .”

HMRC guidance published following the various tribunals reminds employers: “A car benefi t charge will apply if the car is made available to the employee, or member of the employee’s family or household, without the employee, or family member, as the case may be, becoming the outright owner of the car.

“It can therefore apply in situations where the car is hired or leased to the employee, whether or not by the employer and whether the arrangement is formal or informal.

“In some cases, the employee pays all the costs incurred by the employer; an arrangement which it is claimed prevents car benefi t applying. This is not true. The car benefi t conditions are all met in this case and car benefi t applies.”

HMRC added that if the car was leased from someone other than the employer it was necessary to determine whether the condition “by reason of the employment” was met in which case BIK tax would be due.

HMRC takes on BIK tax avoidance

“Making this mistake

can prove expensive Alastair Kendrick, MacIntyre Hudson

” To use the Driving

Business company car tax calculator, visit www.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk/cars/car-tax-calculator/

Employees who reimburse employer for company cars are still liable for benefi t in kind, says HMRC

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‘It is in my DNA always to have a plan B, C or D’Pizza Rossa’s Corrado Accardi and Luca Magnani are building a business with the fl exibility to minimise bad decisions, reports Catherine Chetwynd

t takes a particular talent to spot and fi ll a gap in the well covered pizza market, but Corrado Accardi and Luca Magnani did just that with Pizza Rossa, modelled on the popular street food version in Italy, where 15,000 independent pizzerias sell the stuff by the slice.

However, it was not an easy birth. “I had the embryo of an idea for a pizzeria in 2009 and started to think about a business model, but realised I did not know enough about it, so I went to Italy to do a course in professional pizza-making,” says Corrado Accardi.

“When I came back and started looking for a venue, an estate agent told me that someone else was about to start something similar, so I

knocked on the door and was employed there for three months as an assistant pizza maker.

“It was a fantastic experience because I joined them three days after they opened and learned from all the teething problems they had, saw all the mistakes they made. They were completely infl exible in the way they made and marketed the pizza, so when problems started to develop, they did not have the agility or fl exibility to solve them. At the time, it was probably the best pizza by the slice you could buy in London,” he says.

A LENGTHY HUNT FOR INVESTORS

By 2010, Accardi was looking for investors, but says he “did not have the credibility” and gave up . Meanwhile, he did an Executive MBA at the London Business School (LBS) and started to talk about how his experience had shaped him: “A lot of people said I was on to something, so in summer 2012, I went on a fl agship entrepreneurship course and it transpired that the new business was not only feasible but appealing as well. So I decided to give it a go.”

It was around this time that Magnani, who worked in marketing and advertising, including seven years at Saatchi’s in the UK and Italy, and 10 years at Time Warner , got involved. Brand expert Dan Einzig, the mind behind Giraffe restaurants, Bubbleology and most recently, the rebranding of Caffè Ritazza also came in as a co-founder and investor. Robin Walker, who had experience of large-scale food production at Danone, Heinz and Northern Foods, came aboard as a non-executive director.

Magnani did a business planning course as part of his MBA, but was advised against giving presentations associated with cafés, restaurants or fast food because they were deemed too easy to fail. But he pressed his

I

� BROADER VIEW THE DRIVING BUSINESS INTERVIEW

professor to allow him to present their idea. It was ranked fi rst in the school’s Best Business Plan competition and runner-up in the 2013 European Business Plan of the Year .

The awards have not stopped since and include ‘high potential start-up’, voted by the LBS Incubator ; CrowdCube Best Start-Up of the Year 2013 and winner of the 2013 Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Founder Award.

However, fi nding investors again proved diffi cult, mainly because anyone interested wanted more of the company than Accardi and Magnani were prepared to part with.

CROWD-FUNDING ‘WAS A GAME CHANGER’

In September 2013, they decided to raise a crowd-funding campaign, where investors register online and can put in anything from £10 to limitless amounts.

“That was the game changer,” says Accardi. They chose the largest crowd-funding resource, where campaigns had reached £2 million, because they were looking for £430,000 and other platforms were not big enough.

“It was still early days for crowd-funding and we did not realise that previous successes had not been for start-ups, they had all been established companies, known entities,” says Accardi.

Pizza Rossa raised the required amount in 17 days, £150,000 of which came through in the fi nal four hours . The average campaign lasts 90 days. “We had to increase the ceiling to £440,000 to give enough skin in the game to one more person,” says Magnani. “He is the largest investor, based on the agreement that he will get franchise rights for Brazil.

“We ended up with nearly 120 backers. It was unprecedented that we had 122 pledges and when the money was called in, 99.1% of them were confi rmed, whereas on average, 5% drop out.”

Neither Accardi nor Magnani is afraid of making mistakes. In fact, the fi rst restaurant, in Whittington Avenue, at the heart of the City of London, is a pop-up to allow them to test their assumptions, equipment and operations before eventually opening 12 sites in central London over the next fi ve years. Sites two and three at Moorgate and St. Paul’s are already under negotiation.

“It is a given that we will make mistakes, but at least we are trying to make them in the least fatal way. It is important to allow yourself that, but it is becoming less and less common, especially in big organisations, where people take fewer risks,” says Magnani.

He says a company needs the fl exibility and agility to minimise wrong decisions: “If a decision cannot be

Pizza Rossa’s Corrado Accardi and Luca Magnani: ‘It is a given that we will make mistakes, but at least we are trying to make them in the least fatal way’



reversed, there must be a way to resolve the problem. Part of that process is to recognise them at an early stage and it is in my DNA always to have a plan B, C or D,” he says.

Pizza Rossa will have 30 to 40 recipes used in a daily rotation of six to 10. The company’s tagline is ‘passion by the slice’ and with that comes a slice of Italian culture and lifestyle.

“We cannot bring good weather, but [we can bring] the feel of it. It is street food, it is very quick but we don’t want to compromise on the quality,” says Magnani.

The idea is aimed at City professionals, he says: “I was in that kind of environment, so I know how it feels to have a quick lunch in the lift going from meeting to meeting or going out and getting a sandwich without even knowing what you are eating. No matter how short your lunch break is, why should you not treat yourself? ”

Pizza Rossa’s promise is that customers will be out of the shop within 90 seconds of ordering.

“The quality of product and ingredients are the Italian roots, the British element is speed,” says Accardi. Technology will play a part, with orders taken on a tablet and tools that show in real time what is happening across all shops, giving insights into customers’ experience rather than just a sales report.

“We will be trying to understand what is working and not working for them,” he says. A loyalty scheme will follow, as will offi ce deliveries.

Pizza Rossa is renting a diesel Iveco Box Van for three months, until they can decide what best fi ts the company’s commitment to sustainability – environmental, fi nancial and social. Meanwhile, it is transporting its food from the company’s kitchens in Park Royal, north-west London, to the pop-up.

Accardi and Magnani hope both customers and staff will be the brand’s greatest ambassadors. Motivating staff includes good communication.

“We will be open with them and explain where the company is going,” says Accardi. “ The key is to develop our own talent, so that they know they can be the managers of tomorrow.”

Magnani adds: “We want them to be proud to be with the brand, to want to talk about it because they love it.” He and Accardi will also be tapping into London’s large Italian community and have already been in touch with the Italian embassy and consulate general.

The two businessmen are living examples of the much quoted, ‘the harder I work, the luckier I get’.

“There is luck such as being there at the right time, so 2010 was not the right time, whereas 2013 was,” says Magnani. “But you have to be open to the possibilities, recognise the opportunity and then exploit it.”

The quality of product and ingredients are the Italian roots, the British

element is speedLuca Magnani, Pizza Rossa

” “

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section manager, to their line manager, to our store managers – what’s the reason we’re here? Why do we add value?

“We’ve looked at those roles through the organisation and we’ve been really clear about who is responsible for delivering what to a customer.”

3SET SUPPLIERS UP FOR SUCCESS Moran discovered that Marks & Spencer had set its partner City Link a target of every driver delivering 29 fl ower bouquets an hour.

It created “a Linford Christie-type scenario”, she says. “The delivery driver would ring the bell, drop the box and run back to the van.”

Now, City Link is tasked with 12 deliveries an hour, giving the driver time to greet the customer at the door.

Marks & Spencer meets with its key partners three times a year and briefs them on what customers are saying and the key things they need to work on. It also invests in its outsourced contact centre.

“We see them as partners rather than suppliers, investing in them and their teams to deliver service on our behalf,” Moran says.

She checks that suppliers are delivering the type of service she wants through audit visits and a quality assurance programme.

4RECRUIT FOR ATTITUDE, NOT JUST SKILLMarks & Spencer has introduced a personality questionnaire to its online recruitment process to fi lter the number of applicants it receives.

Shortlisted applicants go through to an interview, which takes place in store and is followed by a trial shift.

“We want to see them interacting with colleagues and customers,” says Moran. “We stole that idea from Pret.”

5TRAIN PEOPLE AND SUSTAIN THAT TRAINING Training is critical, according to Moran. Back in 2004/05, Marks & Spencer held “massive

one-off training events” with 3,000-4,000 colleagues attending each day.

“I would probably never replicate those events because they were hugely expensive and very time-consuming to organise. But it absolutely made people sit up and listen, not only in the organisation, but in the industry, that we were serious about putting service back on the map,” says Moran.

She believes classroom-based training has a place, particularly for technical training, but Marks & Spencer is increasingly encouraging employees to “self-help” through the company’s website and intranet.

“Training has got to be consistent and ongoing and drip-fed in, almost on a daily basis,” she says.


Investment in service = upturn in salesSo says Jo Moran, who transformed Marks & Spencer’s fortunes through better service. She outlines the 11 steps behind her success to Sarah Tooze

� BROADER VIEW M&S

1BE CLEAR WHAT YOU WANT TO BE“The start point, as one of my previous bosses said to me, is ‘you have to decide what you want to be when you grow up’,” says Moran.

She cites Ryanair as an example: “It delivers exactly what it says it’s going to deliver. We might moan about paying for a suitcase, but it’s really clear, that’s what you get, that’s what you pay for.”

As for Marks & Spencer: “We were really clear that we wanted to offer friendly, helpful, knowledgeable service to our customers.”

2PUT THE RIGHT STRUCTURE IN PLACEIn the early 2000s, Marks & Spencer had become “an incredibly task-focused organisation”, according to Moran. “We had

forgotten that the reason we were fi lling the shelves was so that the customer could buy the pie. We had just got focused on fi lling the shelves. We used to get a bit annoyed when the customer took the pie off the shelf. We’d forgotten the reason we were there.

“So we spent a huge amount of time on the why – right through our hierarchical structure in stores, from our customer assistants who work on the sales fl oor to their

Jo Moran has worked at Marks & Spencer for 25 years, starting on the graduate programme.

She worked her way through store management and operational roles before becoming head of retail service in 2004, when she was tasked with delivering better service after the brand saw its market share decline sharply.

She became head of customer service in 2011.

Marks & Spencer’s stores still account for 90% of sales, but online is growing. It has launched a new website after a three-year programme of investment and development.

“We’re about to turn £800 million online this year and four years ago that was £500m, so the growth has been exponential,” Moran says.

“But we’re fi nding more and more that people will go online and do their research, but then they want to go in-store and have the experience of talking to the assistants.”

By 2020, Moran expects 85% of sales to be in-store only, with customers that shop across both channels increasing to 25%.

� ABOUT JO MORAN

� GROW TH OF ONLINE



6IDENTIFY YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE CHAMPIONSWith customers becoming more demanding and comparing customer service across all

organisations, not just similar ones, it’s important to have customer service champions within your business and your supplier base, according to Moran.

“I’ve got champions around the organisation who are ‘mini-me’s – people who truly believe that if you can deliver a great customer experience it will provide a commercial difference to your organisation.”

7LOOK AT WHAT ELSE IS GETTING IN THE WAY “Recruiting the right people and training the right people won’t necessarily make it

happen,” says Moran. “Look at the red tape.”Seven years ago, Moran and a colleague discovered that

staff at different stores were doing the same task in lots of different ways, so they created the ‘one best way’ programme. Within four years, they had 400 ‘one best ways’.

“There was even a ‘one best way’ for writing a ‘one best way’, at which point we thought we’d lost the plot,” says Moran.

“What started out with all the best intentions of a standard operating procedure had created bureaucracy and documents that were pages long.

“We’ve now cut the ‘one best ways’ from 400 to 80 and none of them is longer than three pages.”

Customer experience is made up of three elements, says Moran: product, environment and service (see diagram).

“Those three circles aren’t always the same size for every customer. If you’re a customer in one of our London food stores at lunch time, the most important thing to you is the product and availability. You’re not really bothered about smiley, happy, friendly service. You want to get through the till.

“Customer experience isn’t a one-size-fi ts-all, defi nitely not for every customer and not even for the same customer. Depending on their shopping mission and the time of day and the type of mood they’re in, those circles are all different sizes and that makes it more challenging.”

� CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL

“Training has got

to be consistent

and ongoing

and drip-fed in, almost on a daily basis” Jo Moran, M&S head of customer service

”

“

�

PRODUCT

SERVICEENVIRONMENT

service and leave it on their colleague’s desk. It’s an idea Moran borrowed from a visit to First Direct’s contact centre.

“It’s so powerful and it costs nothing,” she says.

10ASK CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY THINK Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer launched a new website, which it worked on with customers, asking for their views on design

and layout, for example. “You can close the gap between customers’ expectations

and where you are by getting them to work with you,” says Moran. “Lots of organisations do that, not necessarily face-to-face but through online forums.”

Marks & Spencer also asks customers what they think through a customer satisfaction programme, with one in 10 customers asked to fi ll in an online customer satisfaction survey.

The challenge then is thinking about how to use that feedback to create “a cycle of improvement”, according to Moran.

11KEEP IT HONEST“Keeping it honest is about using what customers are telling you, not what you ask them,” says Moran. “The problem with

research is that it tells us what we want to know. “Whether it’s our mystery shop programme or our

customer satisfaction programme or exit surveys or customer panels, we’re in control. We’ve written the survey, we’re doing the analysis, we’ve invited the customers. What I like to do is to use the thousands of contacts I get every week and feed that into the organisation at board meetings.

“That raw voice of the customer is growing in importance, particularly through social media.”

� BROADER VIEW M&S


IMPROVE OR REMOVE “We’ve spent a lot of time, particularly with our section managers, who are front-line managers and our middle managers, coaching

them how to have tough conversations along the lines of ‘that just wasn’t good enough for that customer’; ‘what happened?’; ‘do you understand that’s not acceptable?’,” says Moran.

“It sounds a bit draconian, but we’ve had a real drive on ‘you’ve got to improve and you’ve got to meet our targets or you’ve got to get out’.”

9RECOGNISE PEOPLE WHO DO A GOOD JOB Marks & Spencer used to focus on long service, but now it’s about “great service” and it has a £1 million annual budget to recognise

those who deliver it. However, it also recognises people simply through

encouraging employees to write a note when they think one of their colleagues has delivered great customer

The role of social media in customer service will grow and grow, according to Moran.

Marks & Spencer’s social media team has already increased from two or three people to eight.

“We use social media heavily from a marketing perspective to attract customers to the brand,” Moran says.

Competitions have proved successful. To coincide with Mark & Spencer’s television advertising campaign last Christmas, people were asked to name the dog that appeared in the advert.

“We asked ‘should we call him Magic or Sparkle?’ and we had 14 million hits,” Moran says.

“We run competitions on a consistent basis. Percy Pig famously met his wife Penny – and her name – all through social media.

“We also ask customers to give us feedback: ‘these are our top 10 spring coats, which ones do you like best?’ You get customers involved in the process.”

As well as using Facebook and Twitter for marketing, Moran’s team monitors sites for customer questions or comments. “We’ve learnt a few painful lessons that you have to have a very different type of response,” she says. “Corporate responses don’t go down well.”

She suggests some companies, particularly in America, are starting to “be more pushy back with customers” when they make unreasonable complaints through social media.

“I do think the shift will start to come that just because you shout loud to two million followers doesn’t mean you’re always going to get your own way,” she says.

Over the past 12 to 18 months the idea that “customer service is a key differentiator” has been growing rapidly, according to Moran.

“There are more and more organisations investing in people to lead it,” she says. “I think the next big challenge is around how do we ensure that we really deliver, across all sectors and all industries, the right skill base to support what I think will be a growing industry?

“How do we encourage people to recognise that being in service is a good career? “In the States, being in the service economy is seen as a good job whereas in the UK it’s seen a bit

as service servitude, dealing with complaints.”Could there be a shift in attitudes in the future?Moran smiles: “I’d die a happy girl if we got there.”

� SOCIAL MEDIA IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

� THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

“That raw voice of the customer is growing in

importance”

Jo Moran, M&S head of customer service

”

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LOW-RISK FUTUREHow cutting-edge vehicle technology, driver assessment and a post-accident

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� SPECIAL REPORT SAFETY MANAGEMENT


� SAFETY MANAGEMENT VEHICLE SAFETY

By Simon Harrishe introduction of Euro NCAP in 1997 gave buyers the ability to compare safety standards between similar-sized cars.

Initially, the test was about so-called passive safety systems – the effectiveness of the

structure of the car in protecting occupants – as well as seatbelts and airbags.

As the tests have become more stringent, there has been a secondary focus on active safety systems – features on vehicles that can prevent accidents. Electronic stability control (ESC) was the fi rst such system to be recognised and rewarded by Euro NCAP .

Other active safety systems, often restricted to the options list of premium badge cars, are likely to become more widespread and to pave the way for a future of autonomous driving.

Business Secretary Vince Cable recently gave the go-ahead for driverless cars to be tested on UK roads from January 2015, bringing autonomous driving closer to reality.

WHAT SAFETY SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE?

� Blindspot monitoring: Camera- or radar-based systems, which alert the driver of vehicles approaching behind that are overtaking.� Lane departure warning: Usually a camera-based system that alerts the driver when the vehicle appears to drift toward a lane marking. It will result in an audible alert or a vibration through the steering wheel that simulates running over a rumble strip. Using the indicator to change lanes can override an alert when there is no approaching traffi c.� Lane-keeping assist: In cars with electric power steering, these can apply direct steering input to prevent a vehicle seeming to drift inadvertently out of a lane. For cars with hydraulic power steering, the system can apply braking to an individual wheel to correct the car’s line. The latest systems can also identify the risk of leaving a lane on a single carriageway road into an oncoming vehicle on the other side of the road and intervene if necessary, correcting the wayward vehicle’s trajectory.� Speed alert: Working with a camera that recognises road signs, or with data about the road network in the sat-nav system, the speed alert can display a speed limit sign on the instrument display or on the sat-nav screen.� Autonomous emergency braking: These systems can help in two ways: by identifying critical situations and alerting the driver or by intervening to help avoid collisions or reduce the severity of an impact. They can also reduce the cost of the vehicle’s insurance.� Attention assist: A system that monitors driving behaviour for clues to a driver’s drowsiness. If it detects a driver getting tired, it emits a warning to prevent them

falling asleep momentarily while driving and prompts them to take a break. � Automatic emergency call (eCall): A system that sends an automatic message to an emergency call centre in case of a crash. In a serious crash that incapacitates the driver, or in a remote area, valuable time may go by before a crash is reported. The eCall system reports the incident, giving the car’s location via GPS. It is expected to become mandatory for new cars across Europe.� Pre-crash safety: Several manufacturers have developed systems designed to allow a vehicle’s protection systems to operate most effectively during an impact. Some of these react immediately following or during the impact to optimise occupant safety. Using electronic stability control sensors, they can close the windows and sunroof and move electrically-adjustable seats to the optimum position for airbag deployment. Even if the impact occurs before the seat positions have been reached, occupants will be in a safer position than at the moment before the impact.� Advanced headlamps and enhanced vision systems: Adaptive headlights turn their beams around each curve in the road, giving the driver a better view of what is ahead. The most advanced automatic main beam activation can shield oncoming traffi c from the full brightness of the headlamps, while others can dip the beam when road users are detected ahead. Night-vision systems further improve visibility.� Post-crash braking: After a crash, further damage to other vehicles and road users can be caused by the vehicle involved in the original collision rolling out of control. Some systems are now capable of applying the brakes after an impact.� Programmable telematics: Systems such as Ford Sync allow the vehicle owner to set parameters for other users, such as imposing a speed limit.

Pushing safety to its limitsIncreasingly sophisticated safety devices put cars and vans fi rmly on the road to autonomous driving

“A lot of the autonomous

drive technologies are already available on

cars – adaptive

cruise control, park assist, lane

keeping with auto steer,

autonomous braking and

so onVolvo spokesman

”

T

For more on risk management, visit

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk/safety/



INTRODUCING AUTONOMY

Optional safety systems are becoming more sophisticated and, while some are based around existing technology, some vehicle manufacturers are seeking to be fi rst with the next stage.

For example, 15 years ago a handful of premium car manufacturers offered adaptive cruise control, which could maintain a set distance with the vehicle in front and adjust speed within the maximum selected for the cruise control. This is now standard equipment on some Volkswagen Golf models and many more cars up to luxury saloons.

In 2014, Infi niti introduced a new development on the Q50 saloon, able to detect whether the vehicle beyond the one immediately in front is slowing, alerting the driver and preparing to intervene by braking before the driver directly ahead has reacted.

Some premium car manufacturers offer systems that reduce the need to accelerate and brake in heavy traffi c. In 2013, Mercedes-Benz introduced a version where, in conjunction with lane-keeping assistance technology, the driver has less need to intervene with the steering wheel. The system is available on the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a car which the company suggests is introducing us to the era of the autonomous vehicle.

Its parking assistance system can manoeuvre the car into a parking space that is only slightly longer than the S-Class. It will also do the same to guide the driver out of the space, allowing repeated forward and reverse manoeuvres while self-steering. The next level will be for vehicles to park themselves after the driver has left.

THE CONNECTED CAR

When the driver is ready to leave the car park, he or she could locate the car using a smartphone app linked to the car’s GPS, with a ‘honk and fl ash’ function for the car to make itself known. Volvo may be one of the fi rst manufacturers with one of these systems on the market, although Ford is also planning to introduce it in 2015 on the Edge SUV.

A Volvo spokesman says: “In terms of production, it is just a concept at the moment. There are lots of legislative issues to negotiate before autonomous driving of any sort can truly become a reality – however, the technology is there and it works.

“A lot of the autonomous drive technologies are already available on cars – adaptive cruise control, park assist, lane keeping with auto steer, autonomous braking and so on, but it’s the legal side and social attitudes – with people questioning whether there is a need for autonomous cars and whether they would trust a computer to drive the vehicle – that now need serious exploration before they can all be linked to work together autonomously.”

Autonomous vehicles can have benefi ts in other situations where there is a potential safety risk for the driver and occupants.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology at Jaguar Land Rover, says: “We see the autonomous car taking away the boring, the tedious, the routine part of the journey, while allowing the driver to actively stay in contact, do some work or relax with the vehicle’s infotainment system.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s driving aids include All-Terrain Progress Control, which allows for semi-autonomous off-road driving at slow speed. This system can be used with the driver in the vehicle or, in an extreme off-road situation, the driver may decide that it is safer and easier to inch the vehicle over obstacles from an outside vantage point by remote control. Remote control could also be used as a parking aid or when reversing up to a trailer.

Jaguar Land Rover says reducing driver-induced errors is the key reason for developing more intelligent vehicles, as it claims 99% of accidents are caused by driver error.

“The new driver assistance technologies we will roll out in the coming years have the potential to reduce accidents to zero, but we will ensure the excitement and enjoyment of driving will not be taken away as cars become more autonomous,” says Dr Epple.

“An intelligent Jaguar or Land Rover future vehicle will not take away driving pleasure. The intelligent car can take away the less stimulating parts of the journey, but it will not simply perform a robotic function.”

Another feature that could benefi t drivers in diffi cult off-road situations is smart glass technology, used in the Land Rover Discovery Vision concept car allied to head-up display (HUD) technology in the windscreen.

BELOW: The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has a parking assistance system that allows the car to steer itself into and out of a parking space

�

ABOVE: Cross-traffi c monitors scan parts of

the road a driver may not be able to see


BELOW: Blindspot monitoring systems can be camera-or radar-based

� SAFETY MANAGEMENT VEHICLE SAFETY

Dr Epple believes it offers numerous advantages, including in-car information and improved visibility. Cameras in the car can project video images onto the smart glass or the HUD, making manoeuvres such as reversing around a corner easier.

The autonomous car is also being developed outside the automotive industry. Google has a long-running self-driving car programme and recently revealed an early prototype vehicle, without steering wheels or pedals. The technology fi rm plans to build about 100 vehicles, with initial tests on Google land. To test on Californian roads, Google will have to introduce manual controls.

SAFETY TECHNOLOGY IN LCVS

Light commercial vehicles have often played catch-up with cars when it comes to safety features. Apart from a few manufacturers, electronic stability control has only recently been adopted widely on vans, but will become mandatory after October. Driver airbags were uncommon a decade ago and ABS systems also took a while to penetrate the LCV market.

The van market, dominated by outright purchase deals, has been price-sensitive about extra equipment, but

“The intelligent car can take away the less stimulating

parts of the journeyDr Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land Rover

” companies are paying more attention to duty of care for employees, with driver safety and comfort becoming a higher priority.

The latest generation of vans is being introduced with features available that refl ect some of the recent advances in car safety technology.

Crosswind assist is a standard feature introduced in 2013 on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. It can detect whether the van is in danger of being blown out of the lane and intervene accordingly. The van is also available with a blindspot monitoring system and collision prevention technology as options, features never before available on vans.

ESC systems on vans are also becoming more sophisticated, with sensors able to detect the payload of the vehicle and adjust according to load distribution.

The latest Ford Transit also features safety technology unavailable on its predecessor. It includes adaptive cruise control with forward alert, lane-keeping alert and driver monitoring and a rear-view camera with a trailer hitch assist system.

ABOVE: The latest Ford Transit features adaptive cruise control with forward alert, lane-keeping alert, driver monitoring and a rear-view camera

�

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ABy Catherine Chetwynd

sk most drivers to rate their driving and the answer will range from realistic to optimistic, but will be rarely less than positive.

It is an emotive subject. Assessing and measuring driver behaviour and, where necessary, taking remedial action, is a task that requires strategy, tact and excellent communication.

Doing nothing, however, is not an option. “A company has to fulfi l duty of care to that

driver. By the end, it is not seen as punishment, but as a training opportunity. It is coaching rather than instructing,” says Jayne Bartlett, development manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

Duty of care and corporate manslaughter legislation make companies responsible for the people they ask to drive on their behalf – be they company car, commercial vehicles, cash-takers or occasional users.

A licence check is a good starting point. This can be done online, but relies on drivers’ honesty and they may not declare penalty points.

The same applies to a visual check. One expert says it is “shockingly easy” for someone to show a clean copy of a licence that carries endorsements. With drivers’ permission, companies can check directly with the DVLA.

There are pros and cons to these methods. Checks on paper are labour- and time-intensive.

Online questionnaires make it diffi cult to monitor the process and although the DVLA route produces the most reliable information, there is a fee (£1.50 per licence enquiry) and not all drivers give permission.

Other details surrounding licences may also be overlooked, including medical conditions that need updating or whether eyesight checks have been carried out every two years.

Chris Chandler, principal consultant at Lex Autolease,

recommends carrying out an audit: “Check fl eet policies and practices and validate those to ensure the two marry up.”

To this can be added details of road traffi c accidents, dents, maintenance records and fuel effi ciency . Then add types of vehicle, journeys made and the times they are made.

This information can be spread around a company – fl eet managers, HR managers and line managers may all hold different data that can add up to a clear picture of an individual’s behaviour, so ensuring all parties share information is part of a good strategy.

It is an unfortunate fact that if someone has been involved in one road traffi c accident, they are more likely to have another in the near future and certain driver profi les display particular behavioural traits.

Unfashionable though the thinking is, age and gender are relevant.

Simon Elstow, training manager at the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) Drive & Survive, says: “Women are much more risk-averse than men, regardless of age group, they tend to stop sooner than men when they are tired and they are also less likely to be involved in a serious crash or to drive aggressively.”

Assessing drivers’ core competencies – attitude, knowledge, hazard recognition skills – is an important part of the jigsaw.

“Companies can capture all data into a management information system to give risk ratings for each driver and from that, they can start to structure intervention,” says Dr Will Murray, research director for Interactive Driving Systems (IDS).

Low-risk employees may get feedback and computer training; those classed as medium risk may get more feedback and one-to-one or classroom-based assessment, and high-risk drivers may have more detailed one-to-one or in-vehicle assessment.

These methods allow managers to identify bad habits and to communicate more effi cient ways to drive.

Assessing driver behaviour is an emotive but essential task to cut accident rates

“Companies can capture

all data… to give risk ratings for each driver and from

that… structure

interventionDr Will Murray,

Interactive Driving Systems

”

Measuring your drivers’ risk is the fi rst step towards improvement

For more on risk management on your

business vehicles, visit mydrivingbusiness.co.uk/

safety/

� SAFETY MANAGEMENT THE DRIVER - TRAINING, MANAGING BEHAVIOUR



“Companies then have an audit trail,” says Lex Autolease’s Chandler, whose company uses AA DriveTech for such courses. But driving quality is not the only factor and the cause of any accident or incident may have more to do with the schedule drivers are asked to keep.

Andy Price, head of fl eet risk at Zurich Insurance UK, says risk can be mitigated by reducing high mileage.

Could sales teams make the same number of calls more effi ciently with better journey planning? Could engineers make fewer trips if they had larger vans to carry more equipment? Are depots in the best places?

“You would think that having better-trained drivers would improve the collision and claim rate, but statistics we see would suggest otherwise,” says Price.

He says the two main success factors are culture and management and often both are overlooked.

“The key thing is around how driver behaviour is managed,” says Murray. “It has to come from the top, either through proactive fl eet managers, safety managers, compliance, HR – a stakeholder group of all the signifi cant management usually makes the difference.”

“You have to make it very clear to people how they are going to be evaluated,” Elstow adds.

To inspire engagement, he suggests asking staff: “You might get something out of this, not just for your company but for you and your family. This will hopefully make you safer. Is that worth it?” He says very few people say no.

� Assess your company’s exposure – how many drivers, how many cars?

� Check licences, ideally via the DVLA� Examine all insurance claims data

� Look at the vehicles – what state are they in?� Divide drivers into high-, medium- and low-risk

� Plan intervention or training tailored to those levels� Ensure all messages are clearly communicated from the top� Continue assessing and communicating policies and practice –

bad habits will eventually worm their way back in� Document and demonstrate to all concerned the correlation

between risk assessment and reduction of accidents and cost

BT has a long-standing policy of assessing drivers using IDS online, modifying the tool according to accident history, mileage covered and age of the individual and assigning activities to those who fall into an at-risk category.

“Some are quite good

drivers, so why train them? Some are quite good but need a little education, they are middle risk,” says group safety adviser for BT David Wallington.

“And 8-10% come out as being at risk and needing help and support to understand what the risks are and what additional skills they need to manage those risks effectively.”

BT was approached by someone from Loughborough University, who was looking for a topic for their PhD.

“We were keen to get external validation of the interventions we had been running for quite a few years, to see whether

we could demonstrate a statistically signifi cant improvement based on data we had accumulated.

“Training was key in having an impact on accident rates.

The research showed we were getting signifi cantly better performance as a result and there was a strong correlation between the interventions and risk reduction in claim volumes.”

BT’s programme has been so successful that over 10 years, claims across a fl eet of more than 34,000 vehicles fell from 59 vehicles per 1,000 to 27 per 1,000 and annual costs were cut by more than £14 million.

CASE STUDY: BT

� CHANGING YOUR DRIVER CULTURE

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� SAFETY MANAGEMENT THE JOURNEY – REMOVING RISK

PREVENT DRIVER SLEEPINESS

One of the most important things employers must do is ensure that their drivers are not at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Thousands of crashes are caused by tired drivers. They are most likely to happen:� on long journeys on monotonous roads, such as

motorways� between 2am and 6am or between 2pm and 4pm

(especially after eating, or even one alcoholic drink)� after having less sleep than normal � after drinking alcohol � if taking medicines that cause drowsiness � on journeys home after night shifts.

The employer’s checklistSafe driving policies can help your business avoid the heavy price of road accidents

Develop policies, advice and training for line managers and drivers on:� Safe speeds Ensure speed limit compliance and that personal performance schedules do not encourage speeding.� Distraction Don’t expect drivers to make or take phone calls, send messages or transact business while driving. Stipulate that these activities must only be done when parked.� Impairment Have policies on drink- and drug- driving (including prescrip-tion and over-the-counter medicines), and on medical fi tness to drive (eyesight, illness).� Vehicle checks Carry out before each journey to make sure everything’s working properly, especially tyres, lights, windscreen wipers and all fl uid levels.� Incident procedures What to do and whom to contact in the event of an incident/emergency. Staff who travel alone or for long distances should have access to a mobile phone, but be advised on its safe use.

� PROMOTE SAFE DRIVING


Sou

rce:

RoS

PA

RAISE AWARENESS

As part of recruitment, training and staff appraisal, ensure drivers and managers are reminded of:� the danger of falling asleep at the wheel� the need for safe journey planning� the need to get adequate sleep before starting to drive� the dangers of ‘moonlighting’ or spending too long on

evening hobbies, social activities or domestic work that limit sleeping time

� the times of day when sleepiness is most common� the early signs of fatigue and what to do about them � the risks of making a lengthy home journey after a

day’s work away from their normal base.

USE SAFER ALTERNATIVES

Where possible, use remote communications such as telephone, email or video-conferencing as a substitute for road journeys or travel by plane or train, which is far safer.

If road travel is unavoidable, maximise car sharing to reduce the number of journeys.

REDUCE DISTANCES

Set in-house limits on maximum driving distances per day, per week, per month and per year.

When requiring employees to drive to and from a location to carry out a work task, set reasonable maximum mileages which drivers should not be expected to exceed in a single day.

Support this with clear policies that allow staff to take overnight stops, or ensure the driving can be shared.

CONTROL DRIVERS’ HOURS

Set in-house limits for unbroken driving hours, including daily, weekly and monthly limits for all classes of drivers.

As a working rule, no driver should be required to drive continuously for more than two hours without at least a 15-minute break. The drivers’ hours rules for professional drivers are the statutory maximum.

Breaks and break locations should be planned before starting journeys.

OPTIMISE SCHEDULES

Ensure journey scheduling allows suffi cient time for drivers to take account of foreseeable weather and traffi c conditions and to comply with speed limits.

Schedules should seek to reduce night driving .Payment by customer contact or ‘job and fi nish’

regimes must not encourage drivers to disregard road traffi c law or the organisation’s own driving rules, standards and policies.

Where employees have to travel a long distance to or from a work location, or the journey is likely to take more than two hours, consider asking staff to travel the night before and stay overnight or stay the night after.

REVIEW SHIFT ARRANGEMENTS

Night shifts and rotating shifts cause severe sleeping disruptions. Workers on 12-hour shifts (compared with eight hours) are signifi cantly sleepier at the end of their shift, especially at 7am.

Review shift arrangements to see that these do not lead employees to drive while fatigued.

Where problems are identifi ed , consider providing alternative transport.

AVOID DRIVING IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS

Actively discourage driving at night and in adverse weather conditions, particularly fog, very high winds, ice, snow or fl ooding or where there is a danger of drivers becoming stranded in remote locations.

SPECIFY ‘SAFER’ ROUTES

Every journey should be a managed journey.Require those responsible for journey planning (line

managers or drivers themselves) to take account of road type (accident rates are lowest, for example, on motorways and dual carriageways); hazards (road works, accident black spots); traffi c densities (time journeys to avoid peak traffi c hours); and high-risk features such as schools or busy shopping centres.

MONITOR

There are a number of ways that employers can monitor driver sleepiness.

Managers should discuss the issue with their drivers during periodic performance appraisals.

Journey planning should be monitored, for example, by sampling to see whether safe journey parameters are being observed.

Drivers should be encouraged and thanked for reporting instances when they have experienced sleepiness at the wheel, to share such experiences with colleagues and to see what lessons can be learned.

Crashes while driving for work, particularly those with no other apparent cause, should be investigated to establish whether fatigue may have been a factor.



safety/

� SAFETY MANAGEMENT POST ACCIDENT - HOW TO MINIMISE REPAIR/ TP COSTS


OBy Sarah Tooze

ne of your employees reverses into another vehicle, makes a note of the other vehicle’s registration number, but fails to get the third party’s phone number. A day later, he contacts you with the details.

You have no way of contacting the third party, leaving yourself at the mercy of a credit hire company. All you can do is wait. Two months later, you are hit with a bill for £4,000.

Had the driver contacted you immediately and recorded all the necessary information, it could have been a different story. But what the driver does at the scene of an accident isn’t the only part of the accident management process where acting quickly can minimise costs.

Making sure the repairer assesses the damage and carries out the repair in an acceptable timeframe is key. Reducing a vehicle’s downtime by a day could outweigh the cost of the repair.

Some companies choose to handle the accident management process themselves, but others turn to specialist providers. The provider will usually handle the entire process, from the driver’s initial call through to the claim being fi nalised and the vehicle being back on the road.

STAGE 1RECORDING THE INCIDENT

Businesses need to have policies in place about how quickly an accident must be reported and how a driver goes about reporting it. This should be covered as part of an employee’s induction and be included in the driver handbook.

“Accident management providers will employ service centre agents who are trained to deal with distressed drivers,” says Jim Monteith, head of accident services at RAC.

BT Fleet has a helpline and an online system for reporting incidents. Drivers can phone the helpline to provide basic details and give full details online later.

Dr Will Murray, research director at Interactive Driving Systems, says drivers should be trained to discreetly photograph the collision scene, including road markings, damage to all vehicles, the third party driver if they seem

suspicious, number plates, positioning of the vehicles, tyre/skid marks and signposts.

It is useful to provide drivers with an ‘at scene bump card’, which should be kept in the vehicle (visit mydrivingbusiness.co.uk/bumpcard for a copy of Interactive Driving Systems’ ‘bump card’).

Ben Creswick, business development director at FMG, says establishing whether the vehicle is still driveable is “vital from a safety point of view and can help to minimise vehicle off-the-road time, as we can pre-order parts and fi t them at a more convenient time for the customer”.

Telematics can be used to speed up the accident management process by establishing the circumstances of an accident, such as the vehicle’s speed at the time of the crash.

Tim Eaves, commercial director at Accident Exchange, says the forensic accident reporting tool on its telematics system (In-Car Cleverness) provides accurate reconstruction of incidents, which in turn reduces liability disputes.

RAC’s telematics device even has in-built crash detection capabilities and will notify RAC in the event of a collision. The service centre will then make contact with the driver.

Companies also need to set a policy on collision investigation. Ideally, an interview should be carried out between the driver and their line manager within 24 hours of the incident.

STAGE 2MANAGING THE THIRD PARTY

Recording detailed information at the scene can help the accident management company or insurer determine who is at fault, potentially mitigating expensive third-party claim costs.

RAC’s research shows the costs associated with a controlled third-party claim are about £1,800, versus about £4,000 for a non-controlled claim.

Many drivers make the mistake of only considering

£1,800The costs associated with a controlled third-party claim

£4,000the costs associated with a non-controlled third-party claim, according to RAC

“There are a number of

parties who will… within 30 minutes

of an accident be

on the phone to [the] third party. They

make money every time.

Chris Ryder, National Accident

Repair Group

”

What to do after a road accidentWhether outsourced or in-house, a robust, well communicated process for how to handle accidents could save your business thousands

www.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Autumn 2014 ❚ 31


the cost of repairing their own vehicle and not the vehicle they have hit, according to Chris Ryder, UK sales manager at the National Accident Repair Group.

“There are a number of parties who will fi nd the third party’s details through solicitors or otherwise and within 30 minutes of that accident being reported to the insurers be on the phone to [the] third party. They’ll say, ‘Talk to us, you can sue for this, we will repair the vehicle for you, we can give you a courtesy car three grades better than the one you’re driving’. They make money every time.”

An accident management company should handle third party capture – before a credit hire company contacts the third party.

STAGE 3THE REPAIR PROCESS

How long a repair takes and the cost of parts and labour are key factors in the overall cost of a claim.

Carla Kersey, manager of operations – accident and risk at ARI Fleet, says: “The greatest savings can be made by effi ciently managing the process and ensuring the vehicle is off the road for the lowest number of days possible.”

When choosing an accident management provider or repairer, it’s important to fi nd out their average off-the-road time. But Shaun Rowley, senior product marketing manager at BT Fleet, warns: “Be careful of companies that say their average off-the-road time is two days. That might be because 70% of their work is dent repair, which is done in an hour and their other repairs take seven days.”

Service level agreements (SLAs)/key performance indicators (KPIs) should be set for vehicle off-the-road time and whether the repairer exceeds the estimated completion date.

One SLA BT Fleet sets is that once the vehicle is on site, the repairer has two hours to prepare the estimate. An accident management company should chase and help speed up the repair process.

And accident management providers and repair

OUTSOURCED ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT

Pros Expertise – typically have experts from different industries (repair, insurance, legal) Consistent pricing and terms nationwide Potential discounts on parts and labour from volume dealsTime and administration saving Accident helpline available 24/7

Cons Management fee and/or rebates may be taken by providerLess control – unless KPIs and SLAs are set

in advance

IN-HOUSE ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT

ProsMore controlDirect relationships Potentially cheaper if vehicles are concentrated in one area and a national repair network is not required

Cons Requires time and resources, ideally a 24-hour helpline Requires expertise May be diffi cult to establish own repair network if national coverage required, may still need to outsource to a repair network

■ SHOULD YOU OUTSOURCE?

networks say customers can secure cheaper rates by going through them rather than direct to a repairer.

ARI Fleet’s Kersey says: “A company can benefi t from working with an accident management company that buys services and automotive parts ‘in bulk’ and passes these savings on to the client. ”

BT Fleet says its parts are 34% cheaper than the national average and its labour rates are 26% cheaper.

The RAC says its clients can expect to pay, on average, £400 less per repair than the industry average by using its approved repairers.

STAGE 4ANALYSING THE DATA

Employers should analyse whether certain drivers are repeatedly having accidents, the types of accidents that are happening and at what time of day, month and year they occur. They can then identify whether further driver training is required or take steps to reduce risk.



safety

To book your places visit www.smallfleetsconference.co.ukFor more information contact Emma-Louise Kinnaird on 01733 395133 or [email protected]

Small businesses are beingoffered a unique opportunity toshare best practice and reducethe cost of operating vehicles.

The first Small Fleets Conference will focusspecifically on organisations that runbetween five and 50 vehicles, and offerinsight and expertise that improveefficiency, ensure staff are safe and helpsave money.

A line-up of experts from across the fleetindustry will cover key topics crucial todriving for business, as well as bring theaudience up to date on the latestlegislation.

David Rawlings director at BCF WessexConsultants will consider key messages asmaller fleet should focus on and how theycan ensure they generate maximum valuefrom their fleet spend.

He said: “Typically, small fleets are facedwith the same financial decisions as largeroperators, but they make these decisionsless frequently and generally without beingable to call upon a team of experts. Thislack of experience and expertise oftenmeans decisions are made by reference toeasily identifiable factors such as lowestrental or list price.

“Advising the smaller fleet operator on therelevance of CO2 emissions, tax and totalcost of ownership should help them makethe best financial decisions.”

Andrew Wetters, senior policy advisor forthe workplace transport team at the HSE,will talk about the responsibilities ofemployers and employees in ensuringworkplace transport is operated safely. He

will identify common causes of incidents,which can often lead to serious andsometimes fatal injury and what needs tobe done to prevent them occurring.

Jay Parmar, director of policy andmembership at the British Vehicle Rentaland Leasing Association (BVRLA), willcover the fleet industry manifesto,launched in partnership between theBVRLA, fleet operator association ACFOand Fleet News.

He will also look as how regulation affectsfleet operators and look at the impact ofthe proposed ultra-low emission zone inLondon in 2020, as well as the more recentchanges at the DVLA, including the endingof the paper tax disc and the demise of thedriving licence paper counterpart.

With these and other presentations,insights gained from the conference couldbe vital in changing practices to makingsmall fleets safer, smarter and most costeffective.

8th October 2014 – Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire

Small Fleets Conference: get thebest from your vehicles and drivers

“Typically, small fleetsare faced with the samefinancial decisions aslarger operators...”

��

Danny MarinovicCorporate Dealer Operations Manager, BMW Group UKDanny Marinovic will discuss key issues affecting thefleet industry and outline benefits of the BMW & MINIBusiness Partnership Programme for SMEcompanies. Established in 2008, this Programme,for fleets of less than 50 cars, ensures that guidanceis given on all aspects of fleet management.

Christopher MacgowanConference ChairChristopher Macgowan is the former Chief Executiveof both The Society of Motor Manufacturers andTraders (SMMT) and The Retail Motor IndustryFederation (RMIF) and a former Interim ChiefExecutive of the automotive industry charity BEN.

Andrew WettersSenior Policy Advisor for WorkplaceTransport Team, HSEAndrew Wetters will be outlining the latestguidance from the HSE and departmentfor Transport as well as the role ofmanagement in work-related road safety.

David RawlingsDirector, BCF Wessex Consultants LimitedDavid Rawlings will discuss the relevance of CO2 emissions, tax and total cost of ownership onvehicle purchasing decisions. He will consider howsmaller companies can generate maximum valuefrom fleet spend, aided by simple explanations.

Jay ParmarDirector of Policy and Membership, BVRLAJay Parmar will offer insight about howvehicle fleets are affected by regulationand the factors you need to consider inorder to comply with the law.

Craig WilsonFinance Director, Core Cut LimitedCraig Wilson will be looking at howtelematics has helped his fleet to run moreefficiently by improving driver behaviourand how the vehicles are used.

Session sponsors

Speakers confirmed:

Headline sponsors

8th October 2014Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire

This is an essential event foranyone who wants to keep theircompany drivers safe and ensureall their vehicles are complyingwith the law. It’s difficult for smallercompanies to stay on top ofeverything when they are jugglingso many priorities, so thisconference withprovide themwith theinformation torun a moreeffectiveoperation – onethat ultimatelywill save themmoney.

Stephen Briers Editor-in-chief,

Fleet News”

“

Fleet operator ticketsavailable from £99+vat

FNSFC14_DPSv2_Layout 1 03/09/2014 13:58 Page 2

Keeping your staff happyAdvertisement feature

very business relies on its people, but attracting and retaining exactly the right calibre of staff is not always that

easy. What is proven to make a difference to recruitment and retention success is the benefits package, but small businesses may find it difficult to justify additional expenses and compete with what’s offered by corporate employers. A company-wide salary sacrifice scheme is an innovative solution that delivers benefits to both the SME and its employees. It’s a genuine win:win opportunity.

So what is salary sacrifice? In simple terms, it is a way to offer a company car scheme to all employees, but without the financial and administrative burden for the business. It also provides greater control than the cash-for-car alternative, as individual car choices via the salary sacrifice scheme are made from a selection that falls within the parameters of a company car policy. The cost of each vehicle is simply deducted from each individual’s salary at source and the associated tax savings are enjoyed by both the employer and employee.

Employees who sign up to the scheme are liable for company car tax charged as a benefit in kind, which is calculated from the value and CO2 of their chosen vehicle. This charge can usually be outweighed by the employee tax and NI savings when those on the scheme select a car with low CO2 and a reasonable value.

Salary sacrifice schemes are quick to set

How salary sacrifice can enhance your benefits package at no extra cost

E

To find out more, contact Lombard Vehicle Solutions on 0117 908 6490 or visit www.lombardvehiclesolutions.co.ukLombard Vehicle Solutions is the contract hire and fleet management product provided by ALD Automotive. Registered address: Oakwood Park, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3JA.

up, easy to manage and won’t add cost to your business. The benefits soon stack up.

First, it reduces the company’s national insurance bill, which can make a signifi-cant difference from the outset. It also enables the business to treat its employees equally with a ‘cars for all’ benefit, which is likely to be immediately popular and avoids any concerns over fairness. This is good for recruitment and retention and makes it easier to compete for high-quality staff in the marketplace.

In addition, staff driving well-main-tained, low-emission vehicles help to enhance the company’s brand and to meet its social responsibility targets.

Of course, any company-wide scheme must be genuinely attractive to employees for it to succeed. Your staff will soon see how the financial benefits stack up in their favour. Firstly, a company scheme gives access to significant cost savings when compared with retail prices. As the scheme rolls up the cost of the vehicle, servicing and insurance into one set monthly fee automatically deducted from salary, it makes it much easier to budget for their new car. Many individuals also value the

longer-term benefits, including the fact that they avoid the risks associated with vehicle depreciation and they don’t need to utilise an additional credit line in their own name to finance a new car.

Of course, one of the most attractive and exciting elements of a well thought out and well set up salary sacrifice scheme is at launch, when your staff see the choice of brand new, high-specification cars now available to them at much more affordable prices.

When a company car is not a standard part of the remuneration package for most employees, offering a company-wide salary sacrifice scheme is a solution that is not only attractive and accessible for all – it’s likely to be welcomed by all, too.

“Salary sacrifice schemes are quick to

set up, easy to manage and won’t add cost to

your business. The benefits soon stack up”

� CARS AND VANS


An early look at future model launches and the facts to appeal to businesses

Coming soon...

VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

PEUGEOT 508 FACELIFT

MERCEDES-BENZ VITO

FORD FOCUS FACELIFT

NISSAN PULSAR

LEXUS NX

ON SALE: November PRICE: From £22,000 (estimated)CO2: From less than 100g/km (estimated)WHAT’S NEW: The next Passat uses Volkswagen’s new medium car platform. It’s roomier yet lighter and promises hi-tech features new to the upper-medium sector. As well as effi cient petrol and diesel engines, there will be a plug-in petrol hybrid for the fi rst time.

ON SALE: Autumn PRICE: From £14,500 (estimated) CO2: From less than 85g/km (estimated)WHAT’S NEW: A sharper look and new technology mark out the mid-life facelift for one of the fl eet market’s best sellers. A neater dashboard design gives the interior a more upmarket look, while the adoption of a new 1.5-litre diesel engine promises better fuel effi ciency.

ON SALE: Autumn PRICE: From £20,000 (estimated)CO2: From 85g/kmWHAT’S NEW: Better fuel effi ciency and a more premium feel to the 508 will help Peugeot in its ambition to target Volkswagen. A cleaner dashboard, using the touch-screen display from the new 308, as well as a diesel-hybrid achieving 85g/km, add to the appeal.

ON SALE: Autumn PRICE: From £15,995 CO2: From less than 95g/kmWHAT’S NEW: Nissan re-enters a sector it abandoned in the UK with the launch of the Qashqai in 2007. The Pulsar will compete for attention against about 20 lower-medium hatchbacks with a philosophy of offering customers hi-tech features at a good price.

ON SALE: Late 2014 PRICE: From £18,000 ex VAT (estimated)CO2: Less than 150g/km (estimated)WHAT’S NEW: Sharing many components with the new Mercedes-Benz V-Class MPV, the Vito’s engines will be more fuel-effi cient and there will be new safety features available, such as crosswind assist and attention assist.

ON SALE: October PRICE: From £29,495CO2: From 119g/km (estimated)WHAT’S NEW: This is a new sector for Lexus, and targets drivers of cars such as the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60. A version of the hybrid powertrain from the Lexus = will ensure class-competitive CO2 emissions and BIK tax bands.

Call 0333 202 1900 to find out moreor visit rac.co.uk/business

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Driving Business Autumn 2014