Dealing with traveler friction doesn’t just happen – you need to discover your own solutions step-by-step
I love the turning of the new year – cleaning out my office, reorganizing files, and making lists of what I want to accomplish. Typical goal setting, plus a healthy dose of curiosity, wondering what I’ll be able to achieve in the next twelve months. Which leads me to wonder how our industry will change in this coming year.
I see growing evidence that companies are beginning to deal with traveler friction. Sure, this will vary between industries and across firms, but it’s catching on. However like any new frontier, there’s not much of a roadmap to success.
For those of you like-minded list-makers, here’s a summary of much of what I’ve written about in BTE over the last six months. I hope it helps you cut a quicker path to your goals.
Six Ways To Reduce Traveler Friction and Resentment1. Reimburse for airport lounge passes and airline WiFi, TSA Pre-Check, GOES and other time-saving, productivity enhancing amenities
2. Permit nonstop flights
3. Allow travelers to pick hotels convenient to their destinations
4. Permit Business Class on any flight over 6 hours or crossing four or more time zones
5. Arrange black car transfers after redeye flights or evening arrivals
6. Encourage use of VIP travel agents
Nine Ways to Improve a Company’s Travel Culture 1. Discourage early-morning, late-evening and weekend travel
1. Provide time off to make up for travel outside of normal work hours
2. Get senior management to thank road warriors for their travels
3. Provide pre-trip medical evaluations and advice based on destinations and travel frequencies
4. Support use of best-in-class travel apps
5. Form a Voice of the Road Warrior virtual community with input on all things travel-related
6. Explore what can be done for road warriors’ spouses/significant others
7. Make expense reporting as painless as humanly possible
8. Experiment with innovative services like DUFL, TripLingo or CDC’s Travwell app – anything to make travel safer, more productive, convenient or healthier
Five Steps to Building a Business Case for Treating Travelers Better 1. Identify the top 5 percent of road warriors in each of the last three years, and attrition rates in this group
2. Find out the cost of recruiting and training the average road warrior
3. Get HR to paint the War for Talent picture in your industry
4. Ask senior management if the road warrior attrition rate is acceptable
5. Build a simple model showing the cost to improve the road warrior’s travel experience, and ask senior management if it is worth it
Five Steps to Upgrading a Travel Manager’s Career1. Interview the owners of the biggest travel budgets about their business goals – not a peep about travel goals. What do they want from their frequent travelers? More productivity? Higher sales? Less turnover?
2. Quiz them deeply about the tension between keeping road warriors safe, productive, healthy and engaged versus managing their travel budgets.
3. Connect the dots between business goals and how a new travel policy and travel culture can help achieve those goals. Frame these as options, each with a tentative cost and benefit statement.
4. Present these budget owners with options, and ask which ones they want to pilot. Be prepared with answers about metrics, resources and timeframes. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
5. Go beyond a well-managed pilot program (although that’s essential); get involved to make it a success – defined as meeting the business goals.
The Single Best Way to Reduce Traveler Friction Company-wide1. Give the problems of heavy business travel a name and a face
True, this may sound dramatic but here’s how it works: Talk to at least ten true road warriors – folks who have been away from home a minimum 60 nights in the last 12 months. They don’t all have to be from the same firm, but it helps if they are. Promise anonymity.
Ask how travel affects them – personally and professionally, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. Be respectful but inquisitive. If you need to, ask one of your HR colleagues trained in counseling to do the interviews.
Use the stories to bring to life stark examples of how heavy travel affects real people with real insights and anecdotes, good and bad. Build two or three composite characters. Tell their stories. Use them to counterbalance the procurement pressure to keep costs low.
Lists are good, but compelling stories are always better. Good luck in fighting traveler friction in 2016!
Learn more about travel friction at Scott’s blog, Gillespie’s Guide to Travel + Procurement