Privacy and Performance

How can businesses balance two potentially conflicting goals - improving fleet performance and compliance, while respecting employee privacy…?

To Track Or Not To Track

Reducing Losses Is Not About Technology - It's About Mindset

Modern vehicle technology is helping to save lives on our roads and reduce CO2e.  Sometime in the future, various technologies are expected to completely remove the primary cause of harmful emissions and 85% of today's road crashes - driver error.

For now, technology can certainly assist in bringing about operational efficiencies, customer service improvements and a better driving style.  However, current technology can only do so much.  Probably the most powerful influence on behaviour in any workplace is not technology, but culture, leadership and management practices.

[See also: 10 Ways Employers Can Improve Driver Behaviour and The Path To Sustainable Low-Cost Motor Insurance series and SAVE A TONN€ resource]  

For example, simply deciding that good driving behaviour matters to the organisation and putting some measureable procedure in place, helps create an environment that improves performance and reduces crashes.  The opposite is also true.  Where there is little or no management buy-in, there are more negative consequences. 

Based on our experience and data research, we strongly believe that positive outcomes are linked to the well-known "observer effect" (or Hawthorne Effect).  Driving-related research from the National Office of Traffic Medicine* supports this view.  Soon after their CEO announced a new driver training programme, one company saw an immediate and significant reduction in collisions - BEFORE the training had even started.  Other employers who regularly monitor driver behaviour, report far fewer crashes and better than average fuel-economy.  In part, this result is achieved by positive peer-pressure, or what psychologists call "social influence".  By contrast,while in-vehicle driver training can be beneficial, often it's positive effects on fleet performance is temporary.

Vehicle telematics is about getting data on driving activities with a view to improving a process, service or behaviour (or some combination of these three).  While the majority of larger commercial vehicles today already have telematics installed, most vans and cars do not.  In fact, less than 10% of company cars today are equiped with telematics.

For any business keen on reducing driving-related risk and considering vehicle telematics, a key challenge is how to avoid upsetting relevant staff.  The old adage, "people do not fear change, they fear loss," sums-up the very real challenge that needs to be recognised and addressed.  The fear that telematics data will be used in some "Big Brother" way, is likely to have staff "voting no". So how can a business protect it’s people, profits and reputation while respecting employees’ right to privacy?

A Question Of Balance

Privacy Matters To Everyone  

So while today's technology can provide valuable insights, the risk to morale from this new data suggests businesses face a Catch-22 situation.

However, both goals - gaining Insights and respecting Privacy - can be met.

Some prudence is required though. Just because technology can provide an ever-increasing level of detail, this does not mean businesses either want it, need it or will ever use all of it.  Instead, the right summary report at the right time, to the right person can have a very powerful and positive effect. While we’re on the topic, another good reason to keep data capture to a minimum is to avoid the potential risk under duty of care legislation, of not acting on data you gathered!

If your objective is to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions, or reduce CO2e/fuel costs, we recommend all communications focus on this purpose (i.e. WHY data is gathered) and the expected behaviours (e.g. HOW an employee drives). Potentially extraneous or sensitive personal data (e.g. WHERE or WHEN trips occurred) should generally not be stored or perhaps shared only with the employee (e.g. for the purpose of raising self-awareness of their driving style and helping them stay safe). The Data Protection Commission guidance also offers practical compliance steps for employers**

In summary, we believe that the rule here is simply "less is more" - and this approach also helps ensure GDPR compliance. 

Privacy-First app

Simple, Rolling 30-Day Score

Adopting a privacy-by-design approach gives employees total control of the collection of trip data and by default, only reports an overall, very high-level summary to relevant managers (i.e. on a strictly "need to know" basis).

DriverFocus ALLY uses a small bluetooth device that is easily plugged into the cockpit of the employee's car.  Only when paired with the ALLY app on the employee's smartphone or tablet/iPad is it possible for location data to be captured.  Of course, the employee controls a range of safeguards, any of which will stop trip data being captured.  These include whether the smartphone is on, ALLY is on or location services are enabled.  Then, when a trip is being recorded, the employee even has the option to stop the recording.  Furthermore, employers can even allow recorded trips to be deleted by the employee via their online account.

In short, unlike most commercial vehicle trackers, drivers control:

  • IF trips are recorded,

  • WHEN trips are recorded and

  • HOW trips are recorded.

Then, drivers get to control:

  • IF trips are reported and

  • WHEN trips are reported.

So, yes, it is now possible to reduce crashes, fuel-use/CO2, get independently verified business mileage logs and complement your ESG programme with actionable, summary insights on HOW your field-based colleagues are driving when at-work, while clearly respecting their privacy.

Sources:

* HSA, An Garda Síochána and RSA | Driving for Work 2020 Webinar. Medical Fitness and Vocational Driving (Slide 22)

** Data Protection Commission: Guidance on Employer Vehicle Tracking (May 2020)