In today’s business world, and in the aftermath of the global pandemic, we’ve all been forced to review our policies in order to claw back unnecessary spending.    The cost of business travel is a large expense for companies, but also a necessary one. However, instead of cutting budgets, is it time to review policies to prevent unnecessary business expenses? We think so, and here’s why   What is a corporate travel policy? But first, a corporate travel policy is a company’s framework and set of guidelines around acceptable business spending when travelling for work. This should lay out clear parameters around expenses and costs when visiting clients and colleagues, when attending conferences and when being on-site or at events. Plus, it should offer guidance around safe travel, wellbeing and claiming back expenses.  Done correctly, a travel policy can save your business thousands of pounds but any loopholes will expose your company, potentially resulting in excess business spending. Here’s how:     No policy in place You might be surprised to learn that 40% of companies don’t have a travel policy at all. This is the biggest mistake in expense management, since it allows colleagues to spend without any guidance – and is subject to abuse. However, putting a travel policy in place will help to instantly reduce the cost of business travel and encourage compliance.    Track spending One of the benefits of having a travel policy, is that it encourages accurate reporting of business spending. This is especially true if you use automated or digital expense management. Having an overview of company spend will help you to plan better and allocate budgets accordingly.    Recruitment and retention In today’s candidate-bias market, businesses have to work hard to recruit and retain talent. Therefore, creating an attractive company with a people-centric culture will serve you well. And yes, your travel policy plays a crucial part in this, since it’s part of the overall colleague experience. A robust and well thought out travel policy which includes perks such as bleisure travel will help to retain talent and reduce the cost of recruitment.  With two-thirds of young workers seeing business trips as a status symbol, you don’t want to overlook this in the post-covid travel climate.    Overcharging expenses We know that overspending can easily happen on the road. If your business policy doesn’t lay out acceptable spending limits around hotels, rental cars, mileage limits, and meals for instance, you are exposing your company to unnecessary business spending costs, which you will have no grounds to dispute. Ideally your travel policy should protect budgets whilst supporting colleagues needs.    Duty of care and obligation As an employer, you have a moral and legal obligation to care for colleagues whenever and wherever they are working this extends to wellbeing and safety. In light of post-covid travel, your travel policy should include protocols around covid-secure working, as well as testing and reporting procedures when travelling for work. It should also include emergency contacts, healthcare and insurance cover details. If this is overlooked, your company could be liable for any potential issues that arise out of it, which comes at a personal and financial cost.     Supports sustainable targets A robust travel policy will encourage better ways of operating too, which in turn may help to support sustainable targets. For instance, you can opt for socially responsible hotels as part of your corporate travel platform or encourage public transport over other modes of travel. Meeting these environmental targets may have numerous financial implications too.    Streamline savings One of the major costs in business spending for travel is transport and accommodation. If your corporate travel policy falls short on these elements, you can expert to incur the financial repercussions.  A well-thought-out travel policy will include a process or partner for making hotel and transport bookings, that are within budget. What’s more, if you use a streamlined self-service platform, you’ll be able to benefit from reduced corporate rates and the ability to pay only after checking out, which helps with cashflow.    Good employee experience As a final thought, it’s easy to think of a travel policy as a corporate requirement, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an extension of your business and company culture, which forms part of the crucial employee experience. Making it easy and stress-free to make and amend travel bookings, as well as quick and easy processing of expenses goes a long way in employee satisfaction scores, and that as they say, is good for business!    If you’re looking for a trusted all-in-one solution for workforce travel and expense management, visit Roomex to find out more. 

A travel policy is an essential part of your business blueprint, and a reflection of your company culture and values. While business travel remains an important part of working, it can also reveal a lot about a company, and what employees can expect from it.   In today’s candidate market, savvy employees are switched on to the latest business trends and fully aware of the perks that competitors offer. In order to remain competitive, a robust travel policy is a prerequisite for candidates and more to the point, here’s what it can reveal about a company too.    It can reveal the way you communicate Looking at a business travel policy can be very telling about a company’s priorities. The tone and way its written in itself can show if the company is accommodating, warm and thoughtful, or cold, corporate and prescriptive. Using clear and simple language, and being open and transparent is the best approach for your travel policy. Not only this, but it speaks volumes about how you communicate and operate as a business in general. With many off-site workers not having the opportunity to be office-bound, it’s important to have good lines of communication with remote workers, and a travel policy can be very telling.    Company-centric or people focused? How can you tell if a company puts its people or the bottom line first? Take a look at the travel policy and see if it’s bias towards the employee, or the business. For instance, if cost savings are a priority, and expectations around travelling off-peak and economy are high, it’s a pretty good indicator. What’s more, are employees expected to sign their rights to working long hours, working weekends/evenings and beyond the expected 48-hour working week? This may be a requirement in some industries, bit if it’s not compensated adequately with time-off in lieu, money, or other incentives, it can reveal a company that is not people-centric.    Whether employees’ costs are taken care of Frequent travelers will be keen to understand if business travel leaves them out of pocket, or if the company makes steps towards avoiding this. For instance, pre-paid expense cards are one of the big business trends at the moment and are especially popular with employees. Not only does it take some of the sting out of admin, but it removes the worry for spending outside of the expense policy and daily limits. Most important of all, it means the employee doesn’t have to front the costs themselves or worry about reimbursements. At a time when 34% of UK travellers say that paying for expenses on their personal credit card is one of the biggest problems with business travel, it’s clear that it’s a priority for employees.    Prioritizing wellbeing and duty of care It’s a given that candidates want to work for companies that put employee welfare at the heart of its business. And most companies think that they do. But the best way to really find out, is to interrogate a business travel policy.   For workforce travelers who are away from home for weeks on end, is there any concession towards gym allowances or an entertainment budget and does this include alcohol and beverages? For business travel, are covid tests offered or paid for by the company, and what about time off following long business trips, or weekend working? These may all seem like small points, but they help to build a picture of a company culture.    Considerate towards business travel benefits If recruitment is high on your agenda as a business, it’s worth revisiting the benefits you offer as part of business travel, which can form part of an attractive package. Especially with younger workers, the opportunity to travel and extend a trip (bleisure) is a big bonus. In fact 70% of 25-35 year olds desire to extend corporate trips for leisure reasons. It’s safe to say that a company that offers flexibility around work travel, and passes on perks such as loyalty points, clearly cares about pleasing its workforce.    Your sustainability credentials. As workers become more conscious of their global footprint, sustainable business travel is on the rise. While many businesses pledge their green credentials, it’s not until you interrogate a travel policy that it’s entirely clear. It’s telling if companies have a sustainability statement or commitment, which encourages co-workers to choose public transport and greener accommodation where possible. As business travel comes of age, a company’s green credentials will become ever more important.    Keen to level-up your company business travel policy? Roomex now offers pre-paid expense cards and much more.