As the cost of business travel increases year after year, so does the challenge of finding ways to save money when travelling for business. However, it is not impossible.
Think of all the large scale projects in your company. How did you get the work done? How did you reach your goals? Our guess is that it was a team effort. We invite you to keep reading for some of the tactics that can help you stimulate savings among your business travellers.
As a company executive, you are the one with the best access to the data, trends and reports on your organization's travel expenses. This means that you you also have the best knowledge on how your employees could be saving money on business trips. If you want your employees to spend less when travelling, show them several ways to do just that.
Think about the best way to communicate these tips: is it a workshop, an email, a traveller's guide? Ensure that your information gets to every business traveller in your company and support them with the right tools that increase their efficiency and lower the cost of their trips.
Does your corporate travel policy teach employees how to save more during their trips? It should be short enough to ensure that every traveller reads it and clear enough for everyone to understand. When your employees know the limits and the exceptions, it is easier for them to be compliant. Also, along with a clear travel policy, you need a simple approval process to keep efficiency up and costs down.
From the day they start planning their business trip, to the day they return, your employees should be using technology that makes their work easier, including the travel tools that you provide to them. A good user experience is key: if your employees constantly use these tools for all sorts of costs incurred during their business trips, this will help you save.
Using travel & expense management software offers employees visibility on all the data from their business trips. Being more transparent with this kind of information will help them reduce their trips' costs. No one will choose an expensive trip when they have access to so many low cost alternatives generated by your travel platform. Having this kind of technology will increase productivity, transparency and trust.
In every company, there are employees who are conscious by nature and can really stand out as examples in your company. Their responsible attitude can transform into best practices that you can then share with your other employees. Also, you can organize meetings to discover new opportunities or threats in your business travel practices.
Who doesn't love being rewarded? Your chances to receive a positive reaction from your employees increase when you are trying to decrease travel expenses by offering them incentives. This will definitely increase their motivation and will stimulate them to become an active contributor to the business travel savings in your company. What kind of reward would motivate your employees? Think of something that is valuable for them: it might be money, vouchers or points that can be transformed into consumables they might want or need.
You do not have to lower the quality of travel in order to save money, that would only decrease satisfaction and productivity among your employees. Instead, you can create a strong team that works together to reduce corporate travel costs. Having the right tools, like an automated travel management system, will help you achieve your goals faster. You just have to find the right one for your company.
