From best practices to tools, how can you improve your business travel management?
Long gone are the days when most business was conducted within a restricted geographical perimeter. In the age of globalization, companies are becoming increasingly open. Employees, particularly sales staff, are required to travel, sometimes abroad, to meet with customers, potential partners and so on.
While the Covid pandemic has reshuffled the deck, with the widespread practice of videoconferencing meetings, business travel is far from having disappeared. On the other hand, the rise of digital transformation is prompting organizations to look at ways of improving their business travel management. Today, it's important to save time and money on these processes, without compromising employee well-being and safety.
That's why it's a good idea to use a specialized platform, whether it takes care of business travel in part or in its entirety.
How can you manage your business travel efficiently, and with which tools? What criteria should you use to choose the most appropriate solution?
Fasten your seatbelt and let's get started ✈️.
Defining business travel and travel management
To begin with, here's a quick definition of what we're talking about in this article: what do we mean by business travel (synonymous with professional travel) and business travel management?
What is a business trip?
A business trip is a journey made by an employee or contractor in the course of his or her duties. It may involve :
- meetings ;
- conferences ;
- negotiations ;
- visits to customers or partners.
☝️ However, it is customary to differentiate between business travel and business trips, as the latter generally involve longer distances and greater mobility, and require additional consideration (in terms of accommodation, for example).
What about business travel management?
Business travel management defines the process of organizing, planning and supervising these trips. It covers various tasks, such as :
- comparing various offers ;
- booking flights, hotels and transport ;
- processing expenses;
- applying internal travel policies.
Legal insight into business travel
💡 Please note: business travel is governed by the French Labor Code. Don't hesitate to consult the official texts to make sure you stay on the straight and narrow.
You can also take a look at our article summarizing the rules to respect when it comes to business travel.
How to organize a business trip efficiently in 5 steps?
1- Establish a business travel policy
To begin with, establish a detailed travel policy, specifying all guidelines, from supplier selection to spending limits and approval procedures.
To do this, ask yourself the right questions, such as:
- What criteria should be used to select airlines and hotels? Should you prioritize certain suppliers with whom you have corporate agreements?
- What is the maximum budget allowed for accommodation, transport and meals in different destinations?
- Who has to approve travel, and what types of trips require special authorization?
- What security measures should be taken when traveling to destinations considered at risk? How can employee safety be monitored in real time?
- What deadlines and documents are required for submitting and approving expense claims?
☝️ Of course, communicate this policy to all employees, and make sure it remains easily accessible.
2- Decide who plans business travel
In other words, do you have someone in-house for these tasks, or do you prefer to delegate them to external service providers?
Today, some organizations entrust the management of their business travel to a specialized agency. The agency takes charge of the entire organizational process (comparison of different service providers, reservations, etc.), as well as all the billing. Such is the case with Egencia, TravelPerk and Selectour Affaires.
However, for budgetary reasons, this approach is mainly used by medium-sized and large companies. In smaller companies, these tasks are assigned to a specific employee, whether it be
- an executive assistant
- an office manager
- or even a travel manager, if they have the means to hire such a position.
3- Use appropriate technological tools
But for employees whose main task is not managing business travel, such as managers, beware of the bandwidth they have to devote to it!
It's for this reason that a new type of technological solution has emerged in recent years, 100% dedicated to business travel management.
These platforms respond perfectly to the material and support needs of companies in these areas, saving them precious time. In particular, they enable :
- automate processes such as booking flights and hotels ;
- control expenses in real time;
- control itinerary management.
We'll come back to these tools a little later in the article ⤵️.
4- Organize the business trip itself
With or without a platform, organizing a business trip requires a number of different tasks:
- defining the objectives of the trip in order to determine your priorities ;
- establish the budget, in line with internal policy;
- choosing means of transport and accommodation, by comparing the various offers on the market;
- organize the employee's schedule, taking into account time constraints such as appointments;
- prepare the necessary documents, in particular tickets, vouchers, passports and visas;
- plan solutions in case of transport cancellation or program change.
☝️ Don't forget to devote special attention to the safety of your travelers- your top priority. For example, establish safety protocols to guarantee a rapid response in the event of an emergency, and find out about the geopolitical situation in the country to which the employee is going, as well as its customs and traditions.
5- Monitor and adjust
Finally, we recommend that you carry out regular audits, to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in the management of your resources.
Periodically reviewing your travel policy also enables you to assess its effectiveness and make any necessary adjustments in response to changing business needs or the external environment.
What are the 3 advantages of business travel platforms?
As we've just mentioned, in view of all the factors to be taken into account when managing business travel, it makes sense to rely on dedicated software.
- The main advantage lies in saving time. And for good reason: with its numerous automations, the tool does some of the work for you, in line with your budget and internal travel policy. This includes, for example, the validation and processing of expense claims.
- What's more, thanks to the supplier relationships maintained by the editors, you benefit from negotiated rates, without compromising the efficiency of business travel. These platforms also help you avoid budget overruns. All in all, a great way to save money!
- Finally (and that's a big plus!), teams are on hand to assist you, usually 24/7, with any urgent problems you may have. Delayed or canceled flights, mishaps with hotel reservations... employees can contact a dedicated service at any time and any place to deal with these unforeseen events.
How to choose your business travel management solution?
Key features
The first thing to consider when choosing a travel management solution is, of course, its functional coverage. In other words, ask yourself what you really need.
👉 As a general rule, the expected functions are as follows:
- centralized reservations. Note, however, that there are generic platforms that take care of all aspects of travel, while others focus on a specific component (car transport, for example);
- data centralization, to avoid having to re-enter information for each reservation (passport number, for example);
- integration of your internal business travel policy;
- dashboards and other reports for data analysis;
- automated expense management;
- expense tracking and control;
- authorization management, using validation workflows;
- real-time traveler tracking, thanks to a tracking system that locates employees on the move to ensure, among other things, their safety;
- integration with other tools, such as accounting software, human resources management software, etc.
💡 To know: we recommend that you carry out this project in concert with the various stakeholders:
- traveling employees ;
- financial teams wishing to keep an eye on the budget ;
- employees in charge of booking and approving.
In this way, you'll be able to grasp everyone's precise expectations, as well as any sticking points.
Other criteria to consider
Customer service quality
This is undoubtedly the number 1 criterion, for the simple reason that business travel has its share of unforeseen and urgent situations to deal with at the last minute. So it's important to be able to count on customer service that's available (24/7) and responsive.
💡 A nd don't forget to choose a service provider with real expertise in your sector, not only in understanding your requirements and constraints, but also in mastering the destinations you travel to.
Ease of use
Ease of use is always one of the most important criteria when choosing software. At the same time, how can it be otherwise if you want to guarantee its full and rapid adoption by users, and thus benefit from its time-saving promises?
What's more, a simple solution minimizes the risk of employees making mistakes when booking or tracking expenses.
Catalog completeness
In the same way as a private individual making reservations on sites such as Expedia or Booking, the professional wants to have a choice, whether in terms of type of accommodation or transport.
Software with an extensive catalog enables employees to choose options tailored to their specific needs (flight times, hotel preferences, means of transport, etc.). This flexibility is more than welcome!
What's more, a diversified catalog promises pricing advantages! It includes suppliers available at different (often negotiated!) price levels, so you can turn to the most economical solutions, while respecting your travel policy.
The price
Speaking of price, we also recommend that you look at the price of the solution itself, with particular attention paid to potential hidden costs.
The objective? Select the software that guarantees the best possible return on investment.
💡 Don't hesitate to ask for quotes from different publishers!
Customization
Every organization is unique. In this sense, the chosen platform must be able to adapt to all your requirements and singularities, to effectively support you in achieving your business travel management objectives.
In addition, the software must include parameterization options so that it can be linked to your internal business travel policy.
Reducing travel risk
Reducing risk is your top priority!
The ideal business travel management solution includes the ability to track and assist employees quickly and easily, particularly in the event of a crisis (natural disasters, political unrest, security incidents, etc.).
At the same time, you need to ensure that your company complies fully with all travel regulations. In fact, some platforms take charge of managing visas, vaccinations and travel insurance.
Mobility
Finally, it goes without saying that the traveler must be able to use the software in a mobile situation, to manage his trip or resolve an emergency while already on the move.
In addition, a mobile application can be used to receive useful real-time notifications, such as flight delay information.
Which business travel management solution should I choose?
Well, the one that perfectly meets your needs, quite simply 😉.
Some platforms are more generalist, taking care of every aspect of your business trip, from flights to hotels to chauffeur-driven car rentals.
Others are more specialized (and therefore highly efficient in their field), like Bolt Business, designed to manage the business travel needs of SMEs flexibly and cost-effectively.
With Bolt Business, you :
- efficiently manage the booking and coordination of business travel from a single platform;
- control transportation expenses, thanks to centralized billing, flexible payment options and detailed reporting;
- enhance the traveler's experience, with fast, reliable transportation options available in a variety of cities;
- promote sustainability with greener mobility alternatives.
New trends in business travel management
Business travel is on the move!
The business travel sector, like any other, has to deal with new consumer and employee concerns. These include eco-responsibility, and the willingness of some companies to implement sustainability policies. From now on, platforms must integrate the following parameters :
- eco-friendly modes of transport (trains rather than short flights, carpooling, etc.) ;
- a selection of greener hotels and service providers;
- emission calculation tools to better assess the impact of travel.
At the same time, technological advances are leading to greater optimization and automation. Artificial intelligence, for example, is perfectly capable of perfecting itineraries, finding the best deals and managing unforeseen events in real time.
Finally, at a time when talent retention is becoming a major issue for many companies, employee well-being and safety must remain one of travel managers' main concerns. Employees deserve the best possible experience, even if you have to deal with your own budgetary and organizational constraints.
But the good news is that most solutions are now up to date. They've evolved with the times, to make business travel a real driver of efficiency!
Article translated from French