Business travel plays a crucial role in fostering relationships, closing deals, and expanding market reach. However, managing business travel effectively can be a daunting task, as it involves juggling multiple stakeholders, ensuring compliance with policies, and maintaining efficiency amidst various challenges. As a business expense, it remains on top of the list of expenses European companies incurred in the H1 2023. Therefore, it is an expense not to toy with.
To help you streamline business travel processes, reduce costs, enhance employee satisfaction, and foster a more sustainable travel culture, here are the top 6 best practices for business travel at company level:
- Clearly Define Travel Goals and Budget
Establish clear and aligned business trip objectives, effectively communicating them to all stakeholders. Maintain flexible and responsive policy guidelines to address market shifts and avoid employee stress. Address the challenges faced by business travelers, including affordability and scheduling constraints, to enhance the overall travel experience and productivity. A key finding here is that over a third (34%) of business travelers identified the most significant challenge in booking a business trip as finding affordable and budget-friendly options. Additionally, 30% of respondents expressed difficulty in locating travel arrangements that align with their tight schedules.
- Standardize and Automate Travel Processes
Implement standardized travel policies and procedures to maintain consistency and efficiency across the entire travel expense management process. Automate repetitive tasks, such as booking flights, accommodations, and car rentals, to streamline the process and free up valuable time for employees. Utilize travel management systems (TMS) to centralize travel data, optimize resource allocation, and gain valuable insights into travel patterns as well as expense management platform to automate expense claims processing and tracking.
- Empower Employees with Travel Tools
Provide employees with easy access to comprehensive travel planning tools, such as flight search engines, hotel booking platforms, and translation apps. Equip employees with mobile applications for managing their travel itineraries, expenses, and communication needs. Offer regular training and support to ensure employees can effectively utilize these tools and resources. Most importantly, employees need to be freed from the burden of covering for business trips with their personal funds, then worrying about expense claims. To avoid the stress and added work that can result from such arrangement, empower your employees with company payment.
- Cultivate a Culture of Sustainable Travel
Encourage employees to adopt eco-friendly travel practices, such as flying direct or on budget airlines, utilizing public transportation, and staying at eco-certified accommodations. Implement carbon offset programs to mitigate the environmental impact of business travel. Promote sustainable habits among employees, such as using reusable water bottles, packing minimally, and conserving energy during travel.
- Efficiently Deal with Travel Disruptions and Delays
A survey by TravelPerk shows that 40% of all business travelers reported being impacted by delays, and 1 in 4 business travelers have faced cancellations in 2023. This is not surprising for anyone who had to take a flight this past year. Acknowledge the inevitability of travel disruptions and delays and equip your travelers with resources and a clear protocol for managing unexpected challenges. Provide access to real-time travel updates, offer support for rebooking, and communicate transparently about potential impacts on schedules. By preparing for these disruptions, your organization can minimize stress, enhance efficiency, and ensure that business objectives are still met even in the face of unexpected obstacles.
Takeaway
By adopting these best practices, companies can streamline their business travel processes, reduce costs, enhance employee satisfaction, and foster a more sustainable travel culture. This strategic approach can significantly impact the overall success of business travel, driving business growth and innovation.
