If you're at a fleet conference, you'll always come away with plenty, whether from breakout sessions, conversations with peers, or learning from a vendor. When I was at RTA Connect earlier this month, my goal (in addition to one-on-one interviews with the experts) was to find any key themes I could share with our readers.

Looking at my notes messily scribbled into my notes app and on my computer, I realized the message was twofold: a lot is happening within the industry to help move fleets forward, but successful progress in making those needed changes to evolve depends on a team that is already synergizing on a level that creates productive movement within the operation.

AI and the Inevitable Digitization of Fleet

Artificial intelligence feels a bit like EVs at the peak of the electrification conversation, which is still going on, but hear me out. Fleet electrification was the hot topic not too long ago, and depending on who you talk to, it still is. Nevertheless, the buzzword these days seems to be AI; the topic has been around for a bit, but now it's really gaining speed.

For fleets, AI is meant to make the day-to-day job easier, taking in all that data and spitting it out in a way that saves time and creates clarity. At least that's the best-case version.

In reality, fleets are now faced with more data than ever, notwithstanding the pressure to always do more with less (in case you're already tired of hearing that, sorry), so while using a system that gathers and delivers data for you should be straightforward, there is now a learning curve in addition to needing to understand what to do with reports coming in.

However, fleets have been, and are, figuring out how to sort through all the information coming their way, and when the right person knows what to do with the right facts, that will help the operation's goals.

This isn't an overnight process and may come down to reconfiguring who has eyes on the data. It might even force the fleet to decide whether to hire a data analyst or a new technician.

But before getting there, fleet leadership has to ask whether the current team is where it should be and, if not, how it can improve before moving forward.

Build the Team and the Data Change Will Come

Harkening back to several discussions I listened to at RTA Connect, progress starts with a well-oiled team. That team might not be 100% complete, but everyone should have a solid grasp of their roles and how to fill in potential gaps.

For fleet managers, the job is making decisions; for techs, for example, the job is turning wrenches. But for that to happen, leadership needs to set up the right environment, create clear goals, and provide guardrails.

As one speaker put it, you could follow this outline: create clarity, reinforce clarity, and over-communicate clarity.

There's also the fact that leadership needs to be able to have those hard conversations with their people. It's not fair to someone on your team who is struggling if you're not addressing it and finding ways to help them get past whatever hurdle they're facing.

Teams can have healthy conflict, and once the fleet team gets used to uncomfortable conversations, it will be much easier to plan for something new.

If your team feels disconnected or lacks communication, it might be time to shift focus from adding something new to creating more collaboration across the team. No team will ever be completely conflict-free, but you can be prepared for when something does come up so it doesn’t create delays and you and everyone else can move on to what’s next.