How can you make sure you’re managing your program wisely?
Travel policies should be evolving because of the ever-evolving nature of the travel industry. This comes into play with your ability to measure and report on your travel program. You need to be aware of new policies and laws so that your policy can advance. For example, the TSA recently implemented Secure Flight Guidelines that require all travelers to provide their full name, gender and DOB at the point of booking air travel. This information must match your government issued ID or you will face delays and possibly be declined at boarding. Changes like this can clearly disrupt travel and need to be documented to all your employees.
The only way you can make sure you’re managing your policy correctly is by aggregating all the travel data through one source. You need to know every single ticket purchased by every single traveler, what fare class and airline they’re flying on, what car rental company they’re renting through, and what hotels they’re staying in. This data is invaluable to enable you to negotiate better rates with preferred suppliers and identify trends that may require behavioral change.
Of equal or greater importance is being responsible for the well-being of your travelers. During a crisis, you will be able to identify exactly where all of your travelers are and be able to determine their well being. It’s a potential liability issue if you have people booking travel through multiple channels and don’t know where they are at any given point in time.
How can you get employees on board to the new program and communicate changes to them?
You will meet resistance from some travelers but for the wrong reasons. Many of them like to go directly to their preferred airline carrier so they can get increased frequent flier points, not necessarily at the lowest fare. Or they might prefer going to a hotel where they can get a higher status instead of one that’s better for the corporation. It’s a matter of balancing what’s best for the corporation with what’s best for the employees.
A travel management company can help you determine the items that will offer you the most cost savings, and will also provide the same amenities that travelers were used to receiving. It’s a matter of demonstrating the financial impact to the corporation and the services to the traveler.
Communication needs to come from the top down. Senior management is critical to foster adoption across all departments. Once they communicate the benefits consolidated travel delivers for both the corporation and the traveler, buy-in quickly follows.
John L. Sturm is the executive director of sales and marketing with Professional Travel Inc. Reach him at (440) 734-8800 x4089 or [email protected].