Today's travel manager faces a more variable role than
travel managers of days past. They can navigate and institute a list of
preferred hotels and airlines to craft the perfect travel policy, but mobile
and online platforms are disrupting these efforts by allowing employees to book
travel accommodations outside of established partnerships at the touch of a
button. This pool of options, which policies have not accounted for, creates an
environment where employee travel policy noncompliance is nearly unavoidable,
adding certain risks and liabilities for the company at large.
How many accommodation options should employees have when
traveling for business? How will the company ensure complete collection of
travel expenses made outside of policy? These are the questions travel managers
need to answer as they create or modify their travel policies to adapt to the
needs of the modern traveler.
1. Tailor to the next-generation traveler.
Younger generations are entering the workforce with an
increased understanding of new technologies and ways to interact with the world
around them, and they expect to have more control over their own travel
schedules.
According to Pew Research Center, Millennials and Gen Xers
account for a combined 68 percent of the total workforce today, and this number
will increase in the years to come. The travel habits of the younger
generations will soon become the norm as Baby Boomers enter retirement.
With crowdsourcing giants like Uber and Airbnb establishing
their market share, younger employees are tempted to book outside of travel
policy based on convenience or the idea that community-based travel
arrangements will be cheaper than booking through an official channel. Younger
travelers may not fully understand the liabilities and risks associated with
business travel and may think the policy is "old school."
Understanding and incorporating these new forms of accommodation into the
company's travel policy will help travel managers stay ahead of the curve and
in tune with where employees are booking.
2. Improve communication channels.
As social media and instant messaging become commonplace in
the workforce, employees are more comfortable communicating and interacting
with their mobile devices for work. Travel managers may find it beneficial to
embrace these forms of communication in order to ensure that employees submit
travel expenses on time. For example, developing an app for employees to upload
expenses directly to an expense management tool, similar to depositing a check
on a mobile banking app, will eliminate the need to keep track of paper
receipts and will ensure that travel reimbursements are issued in a timely
manner.
Many organizations also use automated authorization and
notification systems that require pre-trip approval. This automation makes it
easier for travel managers to educate and remind employees about existing
travel policies at the moment of booking, encouraging compliance before the
trip even begins.
3. Instill healthy competition.
As the lines between traditional work-life balance continue
to blur in the modern world and employees book accommodations through the same
channels they use to book their leisure travel, organizations are reevaluating
how to incentivize employees to adhere to travel policy.
While some companies may offer rewards or other incentives
to employees, others have looked at gamification. By offering an incentive
through healthy competition among employees, travel managers can increase
policy visibility through increased participation in a nonthreatening way.
4. Customize the policy.
While it may seem like a single travel policy could fit the
requirements of different companies, travel man-agers need to understand the
unique needs of their travelers and create bespoke policies tailored to the
nuances specific to their business. In the past, travel policies may have been
comprehensive documents that extended more than 10 pages, but as organizations
are becoming increasingly leaner and policies simpler for employees to
comprehend, there needs to be a balance between oversimplification and
outlining every detail. If a pol-icy is too long, employees won't read it; if
it's too short, the breadth of travel options may not be fully communicated or
understood.
Taking these factors into account, a travel
manager needs to create a travel policy that satisfies employee preferences
while main-taining a program that makes sense for the company from a financial
and liability standpoint. Employees who book outside of travel policy may
produce more costs than gains for their companies, but a travel manager acting
as a policy cop may encourage noncompliance. Therefore, travel managers should
revisit their travel policy every two years at a minimum in order to ensure
transparency and stay abreast of the newest trends in the travel space.