Business Travel: Five Steps of Travel Preparation
Whether you have new hires who need to be brought up to speed or veterans who need a refresher, here are five steps you can take to prepare your employees for business travel.
Develop a travel policy that’s clear and concise. While it’s important for employees to know all the details, our eyes tend to glaze over when thumbing through a multi-page document. To simplify things, and to make sure that your employees are getting the key provisions, prepare a one-page summary with the policy’s highlights. Keep the language easy to understand, include a list of frequently asked questions and provide points of contact for travel questions. Make sure that the document is easy to find on your intranet.
It’s also crucial that your employees know they have a safety net in case they run into problems while on the road. For example, if there’s a flight disruption, such as a delay or cancellation, assistance should be easily accessible by text. For another layer of protection, enroll them in your Duty of Care solution. Also, encourage employees to download apps that can make travel go more smoothly, like WiFi Anywhere, showing the location of free wireless connections; XE, a currency-convertor; Waze, which combines driving directions with traffic reports; and LoungeBuddy, which offers information on airport lounges all over the world.
Of course, all employees should be encouraged to stay healthy, but it’s particularly important for the people on your team who travel for business, especially if they’re frequent fliers. Road warriors who travel weekly may experience problems like sleep deprivation or can be prone to in-flight airborne germs. Ensure that their business trip ends on a positive note. Encourage your staff to get regular checkups and to always bring along their medications when they travel.
Loyalty Points. If your corporate travel policy allows employees to keep and use loyalty points for their trip, make sure you provide them with some guidance. Chances are that your preferred airline and hotel will align with their largest loyalty program point balances. Since business travelers are often spending time away from home and missing family events, this perk can go a long way toward boosting morale and helping your employees maintain a positive work/life balance.
Proper ID. Finally, make sure that your business travelers have the proper forms of identification when they fly. The federal government’s REAL ID Act requires secure driver’s licenses and identification documents in order to board a commercial aircraft. Travelers who want to use their driver’s license for domestic air travel must update it prior to Oct. 1, 2020. Employees should check with their state Department of Motor Vehicles to see when they can obtain a compliant ID. To learn more, visit the Department of Homeland Security’s REAL ID website (dhs.gov/real-id) and the Transportation Security Administration (tsa.gov, then click on Travel and Security Screening).
For help planning a business trip anywhere across the United States or around the world, contact our corporate team at sales@ttravel.com.
