I am blessed to count this as my 32nd year in the travel management industry. And now I must confess a dirty little secret about what I know about company travel policies: VERY FEW COMPANIES ENFORCE THEM.
I speak around the country and one of my favorite jokes is my story about moving to a new town and trying to find a new church to attend. After attending church after church I finally found one that was pretty liberal. It was so liberal that instead of having the 10 commandments they had 4 commandments and 6 suggestions. That seems to be the same way many companies enforce their travel policy.
Not only do many companies not enforce their travel policy but most travelers have never seen or read the company travel policy. Some of the travel policies I have read are 30 pages long and would take 4 hours to read. Can we really blame a traveler for not reading the company travel policy if all they want to do is make a simple reservation from Omaha to Chicago, do their job and get home?
So the question becomes, Do companies need a travel policy? The answer is a resounding YES!
Travel today is expensive, complicated, frustrating and in some cases even dangerous. Employees need to know:
One big thing that new or younger travelers need is some simple coaching on how to travel.
One giant reason that companies need a travel policy is every company is liable for the safety of their travelers while they are traveling for company business. If you don’t clearly communicate the Do’s and Don’ts you are opening yourself up to a big liability if something goes seriously wrong on a business trip and an employee is harmed.
Here are 8 things that Companies need to do to make a company travel policy actually enforced and followed (and maybe even read).
Maybe it is time for you to pull out your travel policy from the files and update them for the contemporary traveler of today. New technology allows you to communicate it in easy-to-digest ways that are relevant to today’s travelers. Make it easy and fun and the compliance will fall into place.
This article can be found on The Company Dime.
About Steve Glenn
Steve Glenn founded Executive Travel 32 years ago and was a pioneer of online travel fulfillment, virtual agents and zero online fees. Steve Glenn serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Executive Travel.
In 2013 Inc. magazine ranked Executive Travel as the fastest growing Travel Management Company in its 32nd annual Inc. Magazine 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Executive Travel has been honored four times on the Inc. Magazine 500/5000 list.
Steve Glenn was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Nebraska – Lincoln College of Business Administration, and Business Owner of the Year by the Lincoln Independent Business Association.
Steve is Past President of the Nebraska N Club – representing all letter winners at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln. Steve was an offensive lineman at UNL under Coach Tom Osborne. Over his career Steve Glenn has served as President, officer or director on over 20 organizations around the State of Nebraska and the nation.
Steve Glenn earned a bachelor’s degree from the UNL College of Business Administration in 1979. Steve is a serial entrepreneur who has started over 40 companies. He and his family currently operate 9 companies ranging from real estate development, international importing, and retail.