The global spread of the coronavirus has underscored the responsibility of travel managers to ensure the health and well-being of traveling employees. It's likely the epidemic will spark a more thorough review of company risk management and duty-of-care processes and policies once the worst has passed.
In the immediate future, however, there are key adjustments travel managers can make to the configuration of their online booking tools to help address travel concerns during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Get authorization levels right. For low-risk domestic trips, it's likely fine to continue to follow your organization's current authorization processes. For international travel, however, it's a good idea to step up your authorization levels in your tool by adding a regional leader as an approver for non-domestic trips and going a step higher to add HR as an approver for any travel requests to high-risk areas as identified by your respective government agencies or internal risk teams. Properly configuring your authorization levels will ensure the right executives and decision-makers are informed of any trips that could be affected without introducing unnecessary friction into day-to-day travel programs.
Use traveler tracking to identify risks. What was once a low-risk area at the time of booking can quickly become a high-risk area for a traveler to visit. Your OBT should be able to track all current and upcoming traveler trips, whether as a native function or via an integration with your travel risk provider. Being able to monitor trips in a visual format is a simple way to identify travelers heading into potentially risky areas as the battle-lines of infection rapidly change.
Prevent bookings and connections entirely for no-go zones. Some countries and regions of the world have travel advisories in place such that travelers should not be visiting them, regardless of the purpose of trip. Remove these locations as options for new travel bookings by updating your OBT's policy configuration. Work with your tool provider to deactivate the ability to book trips to or through specific airports, cities or even countries, then reactivate as risk conditions become more acceptable for business travel.
Use your OBT's communication function to update travelers. OBTs can serve as important tools for more than just booking and policy adherence. Use your tool's communication functions to share news, advice and updates with your organization's travelers. Some good places to direct your people include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. State Department or the World Health Organization. Your OBT or travel management company partner can help you customize this to fit your corporate culture and communication style, as well as keep it updated as the situation evolves.
Beyond the Booking Tool
In times of crisis or uncertainty, communication in a travel program is critical. Aside from setting OBT configurations, companies need to get ahead of the situation by circulating a pandemic plan. This should include specific recommendations and advice for travelers: information about the risk, what to do and who to contact if someone suspects they or a colleague may be infectious, and how the organization is addressing the problem (we've created a template here). This is a relatively quick and easy way to develop best practice processes for infection risk management, assign pandemic management and coordination roles and ensure organizational alignment around how you can manage the impact of Covid-19.
While it's impossible to predict the ultimate impact of Covid-19, focusing on actionable steps to protect the safety and security of traveling employees will help travel managers direct their attention where it's most critically needed.