Your Travel Matters
Here’s our ultimate toolkit series for improving your business travel
The drawbacks of DIY travel, how to craft the perfect policy, creating savings and so much more.
Introduction
It’s time to talk business travel. It’s the way your company gets it done. Travel offers growth, team bonding, creativity, solid relationships, and plenty more.
It’s the start-ups and small to mid-sized companies (SMEs) that are powering travel’s recovery from the pandemic; jumping on planes and trains more often than the corporate giants. What does that tell us? That travel is integral to getting the job done and building successful businesses.
Over time, many SME businesses find that travel is getting a bit…out of control. You’ve seen it yourself. The team expands quickly and soon they’re travelling frequently to all corners of the world. It becomes hard to keep track of; not just where people are on a given week, but also how much it’s costing. Some of the processes can be clunky and when your people are managing their own business travel they end up spending hours trying to book trips themselves (aka DIY business travel!)
Then throw safety, health, wellbeing, and the environment into the mix. Oh, and border closures, testing requirements and ever-changing travel rules. Silently but earnestly, travel has gotten more complex.
Your next move? Just keep reading. We built this series to provide you a comprehensive view of how to build a great travel program. The most important thing is that you don’t have to do this on your own.
Want more info right away? Let’s chat!
All travel is personal, even when it’s done for work.
Your travellers have their own preferences for their business trips – from how they book, to the meals they have on the plane and the accommodation they pick. Travel is also unique for each and every business. Some companies care about containing costs, others are all about freedom of choice for their travellers, while some just want to make sure they have someone to call when things get hairy (think pandemic-sized travel disruptions!)
But every company cares about the safety of their colleagues, especially these days. There’s no room for error when it comes to traveller wellness and safety - whether they’re in the office or out on the road.
Feeling the pressure to create all that customisation in a process that works for everyone? It doesn’t need to be difficult. Enlist a travel partner that can do all the above (and more) for you. In the travel industry these companies are commonly known as a travel management company or TMC for short.
Want more info right away?
Let’s chat
How Barrick made the move
Barrick moved its travel management to Corporate Traveller when they felt they had outgrown their previous travel agent.
A new booking tool and travel policy gave them the structure and support they needed.
Chapter 1: Your travel needs some TLC
Here’s the 35,000 ft view
- Enlisting a travel specialist, aka a travel management company (TMC), takes the strain off your team.
- DIY travel booking is bad for business. We’ll show you why.
- Real-life stories to show what it means to have help and support.
- Become a pro in picking the right TMC.
All travel is personal, even when it’s done for work.
Your travellers have their own preferences for their business trips – from how they book, to the meals they have on the plane and the accommodation they pick. Travel is also unique for each and every business. Some companies care about containing costs, others are all about freedom of choice for their travellers, while some just want to make sure they have someone to call when things get hairy (think pandemic-sized travel disruptions!)
But every company cares about the safety of their colleagues, especially these days. There’s no room for error when it comes to traveller wellness and safety - whether they’re in the office or out on the road.
Feeling the pressure to create all that customisation in a process that works for everyone? It doesn’t need to be difficult. Enlist a travel partner that can do all the above (and more) for you. In the travel industry these companies are commonly known as a travel management company or TMC for short.
Want more info right away?
Let’s chat
Real-life stories of when having a travel team can save the day
Check out these real-life sticky situations, and how travel management support has helped:
- How to avoid a 3-hour hold with the airline.
- EAs stressed with all the travel admin.
- Borders closing and getting travellers home.
Eight reasons why DIY travel is bad for your business
Booking travel ad hoc on the web? It's wasting time, money and productivity. You'll see...
- How it's putting travellers at risk.
- Why travel shouldn't stress anyone out.
- How productivity drops without the right tools.
Read blog
Unmanaged or managed travel?
What's in the best interest of your travellers and your company's bottom line? Let's dive into:
- Travel policy and bookings.
- Trip approval processes.
- Preferred suppliers and tech.
Read blog
Checklist: What to look out for in a TMC
Gotta love a checklist. Use this simple sheet to prioritise what you want from a TMC and check off those requirements while you’re comparing the options.
Key criteria includes
- What your travel team and support looks like
- How your colleagues book travel
- Where the TMC has a presence
Guide: Myths and magic of managed travel
Is your business too small for managed travel? Isn’t it just quicker to book your travel online?
We’ll answer these questions and more in this guide!
Get your copy of the guide
Don’t waste another second or another Rand.
Your business has goals and objectives beyond your travel program. In fact, it’s probably one of the least important pieces of the puzzle that is business strategy. But it’s still a big piece...and you need to make sure that you’re not overpaying.
Booking business travel isn’t just about getting the cheapest rates, especially if your flight gets cancelled or needs to be rearranged. It ends up costing you more in the long run, in both time AND money. Now you need to consider costs from a higher vantage point; looking across the entire travel program.
Is Mary in Sales spending too much time on InsertAirlineHere.com when she should be closing deals or running sales training? That’s the train of thought to jump on. And that’s why it pays to outsource your business travel needs to a business that knows exactly what you crave.
5 quick wins to save money
It’s no secret that booking business travel in advance usually means better rates, but there are other ways to find savings. When you’re ready to think seriously about saving money on business travel, here are five quick wins to get you started.
Money (and stress)-saving reasons to offload your business travel admin
Despite what its label suggests, a managed business travel program can still give your colleagues a lot of choice and freedom. Here’s some of the more obscure ways to save on business travel; it’s not just the financial advantage…
Download the Smarter Savings guide now
Business travel putting a dent in your company budget? As line items go – business travel can pack a punch but there’s insider ways to get impressive savings. Download the guide for advice on:
- Slashing the biggest costs first.
- How to spend wisely.
- Next level savings.
Plus we share how one of our awesome customers has saved money on their own business travel.
New questions to ask and answer
Maybe before the days of "you’re on mute" you could try and go it alone, but things have changed in the world of business travel since the dark days of 2020. Now, instead of your travellers focusing on the best airlines for their frequent flyer points/miles, it’s flexibility, facts and communication that are vital. Plus, your travellers want to also know how your company supports the safety of women travellers and what your plans are for sustainable business travel options. There are new questions to ask and answer.
What does this mean? Your corporate travel policy needs to reflect this new world of agility, health and safety while also balancing the personal preferences of your people. A well-planned business travel policy mitigates the risk of leaving your company exposed to complications...and helps you save money too. It also makes life much easier and painless in the future.
“Sweat more in peace, bleed less in battle”
Sun Tzu.
When you spend the time and effort to get your policy right, you’re setting yourself up for massive gains in the long run.
Annnnnd, surprise! We’re here to help!
Policy perfection: The key ingredients
In today’s global business environment, organisations are juggling office-based employees, staff who are working from home, consultants and teams that are spread across continents. Then add to the mix: tight budgets, COVID-19 complexities and new goals around sustainability, and suddenly a clear and updated business travel policy is more important than ever.
In simple terms...if you don’t have a formal business travel policy in place, you need one. This guide delves into the ingredients for the policy mix.
Benchmark your business travel policy
Already have a business travel policy and want to know how effective it is?
Take this easy 2-minute travel policy benchmarking quiz and get the answers on what’s working, what’s not and how to take your policy from basic to brilliant.
It’s also a great way to benchmark against others in the industry. Ready to see how your policy is travelling?
Template: Kick-start your business travel policy
Creating a rock-solid business travel policy is about:
- Asking the right questions.
- Answering those questions according to your business’s goals and traveller needs.
- Specifying your preferences on a policy document.
- Telling your people about the policy and making it stick.
Got it? Goodo.
A starter policy could include instructions on booking information, domestic and international flights, accommodation and car hire/transport.
Taking your business travel policy from good to great will take a bit of time. And generally, when you’re developing a more detailed policy, the process will involve input from a few key stakeholders. But, to kick-start the process for you, here’s a template of questions to guide the first draft of your policy.
Take your policy from drab to fab
It might be just a few lines in an email, a one-page doc or even a few pages of detailed business travel info. No matter how formal or lengthy your policy is, there are ways to take it from good to great.
There are commonalities in business travel policies but really, they’re different for every company. Your culture and your ways of working are unique, and your travel policy will be too.
Read more and download our example of what a good visual travel policy looks like for today’s SME.
Coming soon: here's what you'll find in future chapters
- What a perfect business travel team looks like
- Everything you need when it comes to business travel tech
- Sustainability and your business travel
- Travel risk management and protecting your people
- How reporting and analysis optimises your program
- Scoring exclusive deals and other benefits
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