Announcements
A PEOPLE BUSINESS
Ask any management guru, and they will tell you that any company is only as good as the quality of its employees.
Some will be naturally gifted, and they are the stars of the future that you will unquestionably want to hang onto. What we have found, however, is that all employees have something to add and can bring real value to their organisation.
The way to extract that value is through training and employee development.
The arguments in favour of employee development are obvious, but some companies still seem to get it wrong.
For one thing, it's invariably cheaper to retain existing staff than to hire and train new ones.
It also encourages loyalty among your staff if they perceive that you're striving to look after them and develop their careers - and in the modern workplace employee loyalty is a valuable weapon.
What some of our customers might not realise is that, at Enterprise, around 99% of vacancies are filled by internal promotions. We believe very strongly that our employees can and should aspire to reach the very top: all of our senior executives in both the US and UK began their careers by washing cars and renting off the forecourt.
That's all very well, you may be wondering, but what does that mean for me?
For companies that use daily rental to fulfil their fleet needs, their primary contact is with our employees in the branches. The corporate deal might have been struck with our senior managers, but when Mr Harris from Purchasing needs a car for a meeting on Tyneside he'll be dealing with the Enterprise employees behind the desk at his local branch.
He wants to know, as does his employer, that those people will be focused on delivering the best service possible.
If those employees deliver great service, they'll find themselves shooting up the career ladder and a place on our board of directors is that little bit closer. We'll train them in what they need to know and we'll encourage them to keep striving.
Technology and processes are important to any business, particularly one like ours, but in the end it all comes down to the quality of our people. That's the only way our customers will get the service levels they demand.
Brice Adamson,
UK & Ireland Managing Director
DARK AND DANGEROUS
Looking out of your window during the late afternoon demonstrates that winter is all but upon us. But a lack of care by drivers - and their employers - could result in a less than happy holiday season.
The clocks going back on the 31st October signalled the start of the most dangerous season for road safety. Thousands of motorists are now finding themselves driving home after work in the dark, when at the same time earlier this year there was still light in the sky.
We know this, because statistics for the past decade have invariably shown a spike in road accidents on the day after the clocks go back. It really marks the beginning of the darker winter months, when road safety becomes an even more critical issue.
No company wants to see its drivers having accidents. Besides impacting on the health and safety of employees, it also costs money in vehicle repairs, courtesy cars and the hassles involved in an insurance claim.
That's why employees should be warned now. Driving more slowly and carefully during these darker months will help them avoid accidents and keep them safe on the road.
It will also mean that Enterprise hires out fewer replacement vehicles, but this is one case where less business for us is unquestionably a good thing.
Claire Rowland,
UK Sales Manager, Insurance
FILL 'ER UP
The massive increase in global demand for oil, combined with the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, has resulted in per barrel prices reaching new highs and dragging petrol and diesel up as well.
Even with a number of supermarket chains looking to cut their fuel prices, the £1 litre is now a reality in many parts of the UK.
As a result managing fuel costs is of paramount importance. This holds true not only for the main fleet but for daily rental as well.
There are a number of ways that businesses can reduce their exposure to increased fuel costs for their rental vehicles.
The most obvious is to ensure that drivers fill up the cars before returning them. In our experience, a significant proportion of drivers return cars with less than a full tank.
In addition, drivers should exercise the same care over fuel use (e.g. not braking and accelerating unnecessarily) no matter what car they're driving.
A clearer policy on fuel management and driver education can help to keep your costs down while retaining the mobility your employees need.
Don Moore,
Vice President of sales, UK & Ireland vehicles.
BUILDING A RENTAL RELATIONSHIP
Leasedrive provides vehicle management and funding solutions to companies around the UK, so we'd like to think we know what makes a good supplier.
What our clients expect from us is flexibility, cost control and, above all, the very best customer service. We strive to provide exactly that, so when we offer services through one of our own suppliers - such as daily rental - we want to know that they are doing the same.
We also favour long-term relationships, both with our clients and our suppliers. Service delivery is part and parcel of that, because no company is going to want to build closer links with a supplier who can't perform.
Enterprise deals directly with our own customer base, so it's vital that their team gets it right first time. Vehicles need to be available on demand, invoicing must be fast and accurate and our clients' employees must feel that they're dealing with a slick, professional organisation.
If the system breaks down, it reflects badly both on Enterprise and on us. A single bad experience can lead to questions, concerns and headaches that we both, frankly, could live without.
A continuing series of good experiences, on the other hand, will lead to happier clients, targets being exceeded and more business for everyone.
So is this working for us right now? Well, we've been working with Enterprise for five years now and they provide hundreds of vehicles for us every year. It's a secure relationship that benefits us both.
Roger Partridge,
Chief Executive Officer at vehicle management company Leasedrive
THE RIGHT CAR FOR THE JOB
Most firms will have a fleet policy, narrowing the choice of available company cars to keep a tight rein on costs.
But when it comes to rental vehicles, there are two aspects to consider: the first, unsurprisingly, is financial. A clearly communicated policy on hiring cars will ensure that employees don't hire unnecessary larger vehicles at extra expense.
But at the same time you need to ensure that the vehicles you rent are the most suitable for the job at hand.
For example, if a manager needs a car to visit a potential new customer, a 1.1 litre hatchback may not convey the right image about your company. Equally, if a hire car is being used both for business trips and for a school run in the morning, a people carrier will be more appropriate than a sporty coupe.
The key is to pay the same attention to the choice of hire vehicle as you would for any company car. Plus, for vans and heavy commercial vehicles getting the right vehicle for the job is a given; why shouldn't that hold true for cars as well?
For more information on how we can help you choose the right vehicle for the job, call 01784 221300 or email anthony.b.francis@erac.com.
Tony Francis,
UK Sales Manager
A DAY IN THE LIFE - HEATHROW
The London Heathrow Airport branch opened in November 2004 and in just under a year has grown to become one of the busiest Enterprise sites in Europe. I now have a team of 18 staff working seven days a week, 365 days a year, to meet the needs of UK businesses and individuals using Heathrow.
For us, every day starts the same with an early morning strategy meeting.
We discuss the specific goals for the day ahead and look back on how the team performed the previous day. It also provides me with an opportunity to e-emphasise to the more junior members of the team the importance of maintaining high standards of customer service.
Lastly, we talk through any possible new business leads that need to be followed up by our local corporate manager.
A significant proportion of our traffic is corporate business. However, although we do provide a service to a number of local businesses, the majority of our corporate customers are based throughout the UK and use Heathrow as a hub to attend meetings in the London area.
With businesspeople flying in from airports throughout the UK, it is vital that they receive the same consistently high levels of customer service that they would receive from their local Enterprise branch in, say, Liverpool or Manchester.
The key to achieving this is building relationships with corporate customers on a local level. If they use Heathrow on a regular basis, we can ensure that we tailor our service accordingly.
Christo Efstathiou,
Branch Manager, London Heathrow Airport
ONE CHARITY, 18 HOLES, £5,000
Enterprise Rent-A-Car held its Second Annual Golf Day in September, inviting corporate customers from across the UK to try their hand over 18 holes.
The 72 golfers (including some celebrity attendees) played over the course at Foxhills Country Club in Surrey.
There were also several smaller competitions at individual holes, for the ongest drive, best tee shot and so on. These were sponsored by some of Enterprise's vehicle manufacturer partners, including Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Vauxhall.
The winner on the day was Enterprise's own Claire Oakes, but the real winner was the motor trade benevolent fund BEN. Nearly £5,000 was raised to help former employees of the automotive sector and their dependents.
Brice Adamson, UK & Ireland Managing Director, said: "This golf day is becoming something of a tradition. We look forward to seeing even more of our customers there next year."
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