Editor’s Note: Today’s article was developed from an interview that resident Ardent Partners business travel / expense management, Christopher J. Dwyer, conducted with the team at MarketWatch. Listen to a recording of the MarketWatch interview at http://podcast.mktw.net/audio/20141009/mnb101014/mnb101014.mp3.
Some business professionals view travel as a necessary part of their role, helping to spark business development, grow the company’s revenue, or promote the corporate brand to new markets and consumers. In fact, some “road warriors” are consistently on business trips, sacrificing personal time and a comfortable mindset out of a pure dedication to their jobs. In today’s fast-paced business world, corporate travel is a critical means to achieving core goals and objectives.
From an enterprise point-of-view, the satisfaction of the business traveler often takes a backseat to budget and spend management, as well as greater compliance enforcement. Business traveler morale is not often high on the priority list when approaching this complex category of corporate spend. Out of respect to the “road warriors” of the business world, enterprises must do what they can to maintain a high level of morale within this group. In order to do so, a couple of recommendations come to light:
- Offer alternative travel-booking options that can be captured by the greater business travel management program. Corporate travel policies aren’t restrictive for restriction’s sake; they are designed to ensure that all business travelers stay on budget by utilizing preferred suppliers. However, today’s market has experienced an upswing of alternative booking options, such as Uber and Airbnb, which may not exactly fit into traditional program measures. In order to keep morale high, travelers should be allowed (or, in some cases, encouraged) to utilize these booking sources for the sake of convenience. On the corporate management side, as long as these outlets are able to be captured and tracked, there is no harm done.
- Encourage and reward compliant behavior. Professionals that travel often sometimes enjoy the company of a spouse or partner on “stretch days” that may be taken before or after a business trip. Most enterprises may frown on these situations, but they should be encouraged as rewards or allowances to those travelers that maintain a high level of policy compliance (say, 85% or 90%). Those professionals that travel quite frequently would certainly appreciate this type of reward, which would lead to a higher level of morale across the employee base if it is known that the greater business travel program incentivizes “good travel behavior.” Subsequently, companies can also offer a “prize” to those employees that maintain a high level of compliance by offering to pay for family members, partners, or spouses to join them on a business trip.
While most CFOs and similar executives may not realize that business traveler morale is a critical element to this aspect of the business world, the fact remains that happier travelers are more productive ones. And, with incentives and rewards in place for those travelers that are able to stay compliant, morale will surely be lifted across the enterprise.
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