What is a travel policy? A travel policy prescribes a set of rules to outline procedures related to business travel expenses. The policy usually covers everything related to organising and undertaking business trips, from pre-trip approval (both to manage costs and keep travellers safe) to booking, payment and expense management.
While corporate travel policies can differ quite a lot from business to business, the key objective is to have guidelines in place to manage expenses and ensure compliance with processes. But having a travel policy in place is just half the battle won. The key lies in getting employees to support the policy while keeping them safe and happy without blowing the budget. The answer to effective travel policy creation lies not just in budgets but in a holistic approach.
Here are the top 5 tips to optimise your business travel policy, incorporating best practices that are both cost-effective and employee-centric.
1. Booking travel:
- Define how to book: Provide travellers with information regarding your preferred booking channels. Some companies centralise bookings via a PA or travel booker and advise who this is, if relevant. If not, advise travellers of your chosen Travel Management Company (TMC) and/or online booking tool (OBT), including contact details.
- Set spend Limits: Establish spend limits for each travel category of travel and by traveller type. For instance, a CEO may be allowed to travel business class, while management may have to travel in economy class. The same applies to car rental, hotel and meal budgets – these will vary depending on seniority or the trip objective. If you have negotiated rates with preferred suppliers, detail these to help travellers make educated decisions when booking.
- Pre-Trip Approval Processes: Provide a clear process for trip approval, including who may authorise trips. It is a good idea to have more than one level of approval in case of sickness or if an approver is on leave.
2. Travel technology:
- Introduce a mobile travel app: Integrating a mobile travel app with your OBT or TMC simplifies the booking process and streamlines the trip with itinerary updates on the go.
- Reporting: Most TMCs provide access to live travel data and help to identify trends that will optimise spending. For example, this can include advising which travellers are bucking the system or where your spending warrants negotiating reduced rates with preferred suppliers.
- Automate Repetitive Tasks: Automate tasks like travel approvals and expense submissions to save time and improve accuracy.
3. Employee Wellbeing:
- Encourage a Work-Life Balance: Consider scheduling travel in ways that minimise disruption to employees’ personal lives. This could include no red-eye flights or airport lounge stays for lengthy layovers so travellers can relax in comfort.
- Ensure Traveller Safety: It’s your responsibility to keep travellers safe. Consider implementing traveller tracking so you know where travellers are in times of crisis. Ensure you have travel insurance in place and provide employees with clear steps to follow when travelling to high-risk areas and what safety protocols to follow in times of emergency.
4. Sustainability in Business Travel:
- Promote Green Travel Choices: Encourage the use of eco-friendly airlines, hotels and transport options.
- Offer Carbon Offset Programs: Consider adopting an offset programme whereby travel emissions contribute to carbon offset initiatives.
- Partner with Sustainable Travel Providers: Try to support travel suppliers with strong sustainability practices, such as responsible waste management or eco-friendly amenities.
5. Adaptability:
- Accommodate Personal Needs: Offering flexibility for personal preferences within reason will keep travellers happy. For example, you could possibly cater to a traveller who likes to book a certain favourite hotel or car rental company, provided it is within your prescribed spending limits.
- Survey travellers: To keep your travel policy relevant,make sure your travel policy is easily accessible and request feedback from employees at least once a year so that you can adjust what isn’t working to ensure the policy’s effectiveness.
The Netflix approach to their travel policy is: “Act in Netflix’s best interests.” [1] Essentially, this means employees should act as if they are spending their own money when planning trips. This approach gives employees the freedom to book as they feel fit but leaves a lot to interpretation and most companies need something a bit more concrete.
Find the balance between cost management and keeping travellers happy and you will have well-prepared, safe employees representing your business in the right way.And that is priceless.