Midsize companies play a crucial role in the strength of a
country’s economy and face a different set of challenges from larger companies
to grow their businesses, including when it comes to hiring and retaining
talent.
According to a recent research report from American Express
Global Business Travel and The Economist’s Intelligence Unit, titled How
Medium-Sized Companies Can Wage the Battle for Talent, many midsize companies
struggle to bring in talent to grow their companies because they do not have the
resources, brand appeal or benefits to attract candidates. Because their
relatively small staff sizes make each hire that much more important, it is
imperative that they find new strategies and leverage resources that give a
hiring advantage.
The Connection Between Recruiting & Travel Policy
A company’s travel policy can be positioned as a key
differentiator and benefit for prospective employees, in addition to a tool for
efficiency and growth. Midsize companies can use their travel policies as more
of a benefit and typically have more flexibility to manage exceptions or
customized experiences like combining business with leisure.
According to an Amex GBT, tClara and Airlines Reporting
Corp. survey, titled Traveler Friction: Insights from U.S. Road Warriors, 85
percent of very frequent travelers would be interested in a job at a different
firm if it offered an attractive travel policy, while 83 percent said a travel
policy is as important, if not more important, than pay and responsibilities.
Simply put, business travelers who are burned out likely work for a firm that
does not offer favorable travel policies.
In-demand employees are also aware of their market value.
When they look for new jobs, they look for a competitive, attractive travel
policy. As such, travel managers in the middle market should ensure they
understand the importance of business travel in their company’s growth efforts.
Acknowledging the Challenges & Embracing the
Solutions
Attracting the best people is not the easiest thing to do,
especially when competing with larger companies. Commercial leaders need to
understand the importance of business travel and how it is managed so they can
leverage different offerings to grow their businesses in new marketplaces
around the world. Companies are under pressure to make travel management
programs more efficient, but many struggle to measure performance and identify
the greatest opportunities for improvement.
Midsize companies should strive to create business travel
programs that allow employees to get where they need to be to do business and
to give those people a differentiated corporate travel experience. This was the
guiding principle when GBT designed our own specialized offering for midsize
companies. Midsize companies should keep the following in mind:
- A policy that makes sure employees are taken
care of and enjoy their business travel experience can be a key differentiator
for people when looking for new employment opportunities. A company should use
such a travel policy as a selling point, an advantage when compared with
competition.
- Flexibility and affordable/reasonable benefits
for employees, including traveler-centric corporate travel policies, put a more
personal, human touch on employee engagement.
For a midsize company, recruiting and retaining
talent should be a primary focus for HR because talent is essential in running
a successful business. When a company is doing well, it creates additional
jobs, tax receipts and overall economic growth. And efficient corporate travel
programs yield better talent retention, employee satisfaction and effectiveness—and
of course more profits!