The second part of the three-part series of the blog had nailed the point that while
forming travel policy is one thing, enforcing it to make it travel compliant is another. A
few more factors like accessibility, clarity and freshness of the policies, besides the right
use of tech to back policy integration and configuration count a lot in the company’s
overall effort to improve policy compliance.
Forming clear, up-to- date and accessible policies:
It goes without saying that travel policies when put across properly can drive up the
compliance rate. A significant part of communication lies in ensuring travel policies are
readily accessible– this is most likely when employees get regular education on travel
policies. For fresh recruits new employee education is imperative as much as refresher
courses for seasoned travellers. A point here is that when budget owners or line
managers are assigned travel policy compliance monitoring they are at crossroads,
more often, not knowing what to do when it comes to enforcing it. It is recommended to
provide them full orientation on policy and the appropriate tools adopted by the
company, in addition to the company assigning the point of contact for further questions.
Policies should be easily accessible for ready reference, and put up on the company’s
intranet through the online booking tool and travel portal. Similarly, travel manager can
shoot out mail alerts to employees prior to the trip.
Access and training, however, don’t serve any purpose if policies are ambiguous. Travel
policy makers should ensure the policy covers all key terms and clearly lists out any
penalties for non-compliance or nonconformity. A clear policy is also characterized by
keeping it updated to the minute. With travel process automation is turning the tables
around, a good look at your travel policy annually may get rid of obsolete policies and
clutter. At the same time, you should look to refine the travel policies continually to
accommodate trends such as the sharing economy. Keeping policies clear, accurate,
simple and easily accessible can persuade employees to be more policy compliant.
Making use of the right technologies:
Exploring new technologies, deploying the right technology and ensuring travellers stick
to a single system throughout the process can significantly enhance and maintain travel
policy compliance. According to a study, companies that have integrated “End-to- End
Visibility into T&E Expense Management” have shown improvement in compliance by
almost 44%. Online booking tools are used by some companies to manage compliance
and track expenses, with some even having their own proprietary software. Companies
sans TMC may go for an online booking tool, while some others may not; some
travellers are left to book travel on their own, stick to policy and hope for travel
reimbursement.
Selecting a particular technology may require full participation of the key stakeholders in
the conversation, identify the loop holes in the travel policy compliance, and check what
tools are available to plug in the holes. For instance, while flight bookings come under
the scanner, hotel bookings go into oblivion. An automated visual reminder, in fact, can
drive compliance in most cases.
Travel Management tool like Tripeur comes with full dashboard to monitor security,
track travel spends, exercise policy compliance and more. What Tripeur can do is that it
allows the traveller to comply with completely pre-defined set of information with regard
to preferred vendors, negotiated travel rates and policies. Employees are also updated
of choices outside the policy, and tools that optimize pre-travel approvals. On the
expense end Tripeur boasts of robust travel analytics. Driven by Artificial Intelligence
and Machine learning, Tripeur combines greater level of freedom and ease of use, while
also pushing the traveller towards policy-compliant trips in no time. Looking for 360-
degree policy compliance suite? Then look no further than Tripeur.