Corporate culture
The first place to start is to review your organization's corporate culture.
Some organizations grant different levels of employee travel privileges
aligned to the levels of seniority within the organization, whilst others apply
a blanket view to traveller privileges.
In the main, senior executives in most global and multinational organizations
travel long haul in first class, short haul in business class and may be allowed
a choice of preferred hotel. This is often deemed as part of their entitlement
and recognition of their seniority.
Middle managers in global, multinational and large local organizations mostly
travel long-haul in business class and short-haul in economy class on an
approved airline. They stay in approved hotels mandated by their company policy.
However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Some organizations have an
economy air travel only stance, irrespective of who you are within an
organization or the length of flight time. Others allow middle management to
travel business class on short-haul routes, even for hour-long flights.
Much of the variance in company policy can be attributed to corporate culture
and this can vary from market to market. It may also be driven by changes in the
economic conditions the company operates in or the specific circumstances of the
travel.
For example, in some banking and finance firms, the people travelling may be
involved in multi-million dollar deals. Arriving fresh and feeling looked after
are critical elements of putting employee's in the right frame of mind to strike
the best deal for their organization. In such circumstances, other factors are
more important than finding the lowest available airfare. On the other hand,
organizations in tight competitive environments, such as manufacturing, seek to
contain costs, so finding the lowest airfare is extremely important and
overrides individual traveller preferences.
Whatever industry sector your organization fits within, a travel manager
needs to consider the organization's corporate culture and whether it provides
the right balance in business travel to support the true needs of the
organization.
Invest the time
More often than not, organizations make decisions without first understanding
the needs and experiences of the traveller. As a result, many logical and
cost-effective options are overlooked. The reality is that there will be many
employees in an organization that travel more frequently than the travel
manager. Their experiences, knowledge and insight should be harnessed by the
travel manager in order to make informed and relevant decisions. Obviously such
a mindset can leave travel managers susceptible to expensive expectations but
that is where their own skill and the counsel of a Travel Management Company
(TMC) are important.
One way to use the travellers' knowledge is in the negotiation of route deals
with an airline. In many instances, a travel manager is so driven by the need to
reduce the face value cost of the ticket they overlook the downstream business
costs associated with this decision, such as unproductive time waiting between
flights or on multi-stop routes.
The challenge for today's travel manager is to find the right balance for
their organization. What do travellers consider reasonable? What costs are
necessary? What technologies can your organization put in place to reduce the
burden and inconvenience of idle time when travelling? By addressing questions
like these for their organizations, travel managers are able to create real
clarity on their travel programme to strike the right balance between cost and
value.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)