Looking to establish your own Corporate Travel and Expense Policy? We have already seen some of the disadvantages that a company is in if it doesn’t have a sound business travel policy? And there are many others that simply don’t enforce a travel policy?
“Like any other policy or procedure formed within your company or organization, a travel policy that is well written and documented can save you precious time and money. Besides, your employees are clear of the company’s expectations on how, when and with whom travel bookings should be done; it’ll be clear sailing for your CFO to manage all the expenses and budget relating to travel; and employees who are involved with business travel in one way or manage travelling employees can focus on their core competencies,” says Thiagarajan Rajagopalan, Founder of Tripeur. Let us narrow down our focus on the points to be considered when forming a sound corporate and travel policy:
Set goals and objectives: Form a sort of ‘travel squad’ that brings together people who are impacted by travel from across your organization. When this is done, the group should collect national data regarding travel policy from any benchmarking organization (such as Topaz International), as part of the goal setting process. The group should be instructed as to find out what is working and what isn’t in the departments that share common goals with the travel department such as executive team, finance, project management and human resources.
Keep it short and simple: The travel policy should be brief, automated and clear. Employees should have no trouble reading and understanding the various points in the travel policy. It should take only 20 minutes or less for employees going through the travel policy and be made easily accessible via email or intranet without their having to spend more than 3 minutes accessing the document.
Relax restrictions: If it’s your company’s first travel policy make sure the guidelines aren’t too rigid or restrictive. Instead, include legal policies and procedures so that travellers find it logical and easy to implement. The travel squad should offer feedback and data for the travel policy to move on from Beta to Gamma over time.
Launch it well: The first impression is very important and you’ll be off with a flying start if you pad your travel policy well with videos, helpful link, onsite webinar briefing and remote office personnel.
Give your ears: There are several departments that come into play for making those fine adjustments to travel policy questions and guidelines such as legal, HR, finance procurement, senior management, etc. Listen to them; engage with them for meaningful discussions and make changes to the policy accordingly.
Stay the course: Ensure executive team buy in to the travel policies and that they adhere to it by letter and spirit. The company should follow up in the case of employees not standing behind it. Lack of enforcement and support from top to bottom can make any travel policy lose its sheen over time. Travelling employees should be questioned on why they aren’t using the policy and effectuate changes as required.
Having issues developing a sound travel policy? Why not talk to us and avail Tripeur for the enforcement of a robust policy for your company or organization?