Great British Fleet Awards

Reflex Vehicle Hire has received a national fleet award for a high-profile campaign designed to raise the profile of mental health in the workplace.

The Innovation in Customer Service award was given to Reflex at the annual Great British Fleet Awards in London.

The event was organised by leading fleet magazine Fleet World, which each year recognises the UK’s leading fleet managers, suppliers, cars and vans.

Reviewed by an expert panel of Fleet World Group editors, the awards covered 39 categories, with judges saying this year’s entries were “awash with ingenuity”.

Reflex Vehicle Hire’s mental health programme recognises that the past two years has placed unprecedented strain on employees across the supply chain. We acted to support our own customers’ employees who drive our vehicles in addition to our own staff.

We launched a range of mental health awareness support programmes and introduced our own Mental Health Ambassador, Charlie Atkins, supported by a team of champions within the business to provide help and advice.

In addition to an extensive programme of internal initiatives, the campaign provided advice and information to drivers through the distribution of special packs. Vehicles were equipped with stickers that provide details of a charity telephone helpline and website.

Also, our Welfare of Reflex Drivers (WORD) programme took mental health support behind the wheel for drivers; national research shows a growing proportion of drivers describe their current mental health as poor or very poor, so it is important that every company in the industry gets involved in enabling employees to access support and talk about any issues.

Lisa Spong, Reflex Vehicle Hire Sales Director, said:

“Companies need to consider how these external factors, such as depression and sleep problems, could directly affect driver safety.

Our initiatives can have a major impact from a customer and supplier perspective. For example, removing the stigma surrounding mental health makes it much easier to discuss problems.

A founding principle of Reflex Vehicle Hire is a focus on providing vehicle hire with ‘safety as standard’ and that includes the potential impact of mental health issues.”

During the event, Reflex Vehicle Hire was also recognised with a Highly Commended award for Innovation in Remarketing.

As customers faced supply shortages and long lead times for new vehicles, we recalled some of our own ex-fleet vehicles from being sold and instead refurbished them before returning them to service to keep customers mobile.

Our programme helped those who urgently required a vehicle but faced excessive lead times, particularly those requiring specialist commercial vehicles. We refurbished units, maintaining our industry-leading safety standards, and returned them to service, even though they were earmarked for sale and likely to achieve strong prices.

Lisa Spong added:

“Reflex Vehicle Hire put fleets first to get vehicles back into service to minimise customer disruption, as part of our focus on long-term partnership.

Remarketing has played a vital role in delivering an innovative approach to customers to ensure they remain mobile during these exceptional times.”

Reflex Vehicle Hire, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has been recognised with more than two dozen industry awards since launch. To learn more about how our award-winning service can support your fleet, speak to a member of our expert team.

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