SME Corporate Travel Toolkit
Your Travel Matters
Here’s our ultimate SME Corporate Travel Toolkit series for improving your business travel
Each month we’ll release a new chapter, covering off topics such as: the dangers of DIY-travel, how to craft a perfect travel policy, where to find savings without compromising traveller safety.... and so much more!
Introduction
It’s time to talk corporate travel. It’s the way your company gets it done. Travel offers growth, team bonding, creativity, solid relationships, and plenty more.
It’s the start-ups and small to mid-sized companies that are powering travel’s recovery from the pandemic; jumping on planes and trains more often than the corporate giants. What does that tell us? That travel is integral to getting the job done and building successful businesses.
Over time, many small and medium sized businesses find that corporate travel is getting a bit…out of control. You’ve seen it yourself. The team expands quickly and soon they’re travelling frequently to all corners of the world. It becomes hard to keep track of; not just where people are on a given week, but also how much it’s costing. Some of the processes can be clunky and your people are spending too much time trying to book it themselves.
Then throw safety, health, wellbeing, and the environment into the mix. Oh, and border closures, testing requirements and ever-changing travel rules. Silently but earnestly, travel has gotten more complex.
Your next move? Just keep reading. This is an evolving series with a new chapter released every month. We built this series to provide you a comprehensive view of how to build a great corporate travel programme. The most important thing is that you don’t have to do this on your own.
Time for a corporate travel partner?
A managed business travel programme is more than just someone who books your travel. It’s about turning something complex into something easy to navigate.
Here is a quick checklist to pressure-test your current situation. Does your current solution:
- Keep your people safe and support them in any situation, 24/7?
- Make booking travel easy and quick?
- Help you spend wisely and saves you money?
- Allow you to pull any travel data and reporting with the click of a button?
- Advise on what to do about caring for your people and the planet?
Your travel solution should check all of these boxes.
Already thinking it’s time for an upgrade? Let's chat
Hey Tom, tell everyone why we created this toolkit for SMEs
Tom Walley is Corporate Traveller's Global Managing Director!
How Bennett Aviation made the move
Carole McCann is the sole travel booker and facilitator at aircraft inspectors Bennett Aviation.
In the midst of growth, Carole found herself swamped with travel requests and changes. It was time to offload that luggage to an expert.
Read the case study
Chapter 1: Your travel needs some TLC
Here’s the 35,000 ft view
- Enlisting a travel specialist, aka a TMC, takes the strain off your team.
- DIY travel booking is bad for business. We’ll show you why.
- Real-life stories to show what it means to have help and support.
- Become a pro in picking the right TMC.
All travel is personal, even when it’s done for work.
Your travellers have their own preferences for their business trips – from how they book, to the meals they have on the plane and the accommodation they pick. Travel is also unique for each and every business. Some companies care about containing costs, others are all about freedom of choice for their travellers, while some just want to make sure they have someone to call when things get hairy (think pandemic-sized travel disruptions!)
But every company cares about the safety of their colleagues, especially these days. There’s no room for error when it comes to traveller wellness and safety - whether they’re in the office or out on the road.
Feeling the pressure to create all that customisation in a process that works for everyone? It doesn’t need to be difficult. Enlist a travel partner that can do all the above (and more) for you. In the travel industry these companies are commonly known as a travel management company or TMC for short.
Want more info right away?
Let’s chat
Real-life stories of when having a travel team can save the day
Check out these real-life sticky situations, and how a travel management team has helped:
- How to avoid a 3-hour hold with the airline.
- EAs stressed with all the travel admin.
- Borders closing and getting travellers home.
Read blog
Eight ways DIY travel bookings are bad for business
Booking travel ad hoc on the web? It's wasting time, money and productivity. You'll see...
- How it's putting travellers at risk.
- Why travel shouldn't stress anyone out.
- How productivity drops without the right tools.
Read blog
Unmanaged or managed travel?
What's in the best interest of your travellers and your company's bottom line? Let's dive into:
- Travel policy and bookings.
- Trip approval processes.
- Preferred suppliers and tech.
Read blog
Get your copy: Myths and magic of managed travel
Is your travel budget too small for managed travel? Is it quicker to book your travel online? We answer these questions and more in this guide!
Get your copy of the guide.
‘Swipe right’ for the perfect TMC
Many companies promise results. Here's how to find the ones that will actually improve your travel programme.
- Do you need a one-stop-travel-shop?
- Local vs global perspective?
- When do you risk 'too many cooks'?
Read blog
Your checklist for the right fit TMC
Tick done! Prioritise what you want from a TMC and make sure they check off those requirements.
Key criteria includes:
- What will your travel team looks like?
- How will colleagues book travel?
- Where does the TMC have presence?
Chapter 2: Every. Pound. Counts.
Here’s the 35,000 ft view
- Saving on business travel is about much more than the cheapest fare.
- There’s some low-hanging fruit to know about.
- You wouldn’t believe what a TMC can do to help you save more.
- It’s not just the financial cost you need to consider.
- There’s a template to help.
Don’t waste another second or another pound.
Your business has goals and objectives beyond your travel programme. In fact, business travel might even be one of the least important pieces of the puzzle. But it’s still a big piece...and you need to make sure that you’re not overpaying.
Booking travel isn’t just about getting the cheapest rates, especially if your flight gets cancelled or needs to be rearranged. It ends up costing you more in the long run, in both time AND money. No, you need to consider costs from a higher vantage point; looking across the entire travel programme.
Is Mary in Sales spending too much time on InsertAirlineHere.com when she should be closing deals or running sales training? That’s the train of thought to jump on. And that’s why it pays to outsource your travel needs to a business that knows exactly what you crave.
5 quick wins to save money. Jackpot!
It’s no secret that booking business travel in advance usually means better rates, but there are plenty of other ways to save too!
Here are five quick wins to get you started.
Read Blog
Savings are our jam.
Look, we can go into much more detail than the below, but if you’re just starting out and want a few quick tips to save on your business travel, here are a handful of ways to get moving when it comes to airlines, hotels and ground transport.
Money (and stress)-saving reasons to offload your travel admin
Despite what its label suggests, a managed travel programme can still give your teams a lot freedom.
Here’s some of the more obscure ways to save on business travel...
Read on...
Get your head in the numbers with our Savings Calculator
Use our Savings Calculator to punch in the important travel stats and see where your travel spend could take you.
It takes just two minutes we promise it's worth the time!
Punch the numbers into the calculator
Guide: Don’t pinch pennies. Make smart savings.
Business travel putting a dent in your company budget? As line items go – business travel can pack a punch but there’s insider ways to get impressive savings. Download this guide for advice on:
- Slashing the biggest costs first.
- How to spend wisely.
- Next level savings.
Plus we show you how one of our customers saved big on their own business travel.
Download your guide now
New questions to ask and answer
Maybe before the days of "you’re on mute" you could try and go it alone, but things have changed in the world of business travel since the dark days of 2020. Now, instead of your travellers focusing on the best airlines for their frequent flyer points/miles, it’s flexibility, facts and communication that are vital. Plus, your travellers want to also know how your company supports the safety of women travellers and what your plans are for sustainable travel options. There are new questions to ask and answer.
What does this mean? Your corporate travel policy needs to reflect this new world of agility, health and safety while also balancing the personal preferences of your people. A well-planned travel policy mitigates the risk of leaving your company exposed to complications...and helps you save money too. It also makes life much easier and painless in the future.
“Sweat more in peace, bleed less in battle” - Sun Tzu.
When you spend the time and effort to get your policy right, you’re setting yourself up for massive gains in the long run.
Annnnnd, surprise! We’re here to help!
Policy perfection: The key ingredients
In today’s global business environment, organisations are juggling office-based employees, staff who are working from home, consultants and teams that are spread across continents. Then add to the mix: tight budgets, COVID-19 complexities and new goals around sustainability, and suddenly a clear and updated travel policy is more important than ever.
In simple terms...if you don’t have a formal travel policy in place, you need one. This guide delves into the ingredients for the policy mix.
Download your copy of the guide.
Benchmark your travel policy
Already have a travel policy and want to know how effective it is?
Take this easy 2-minute travel policy benchmarking quiz and get the answers on what’s working, what’s not and how to take your policy from basic to brilliant.
It’s also a great way to benchmark against others in the industry. Ready to see how your policy is doing?
Take the test
Template: Kick-start your business travel policy
Creating a rock-solid business travel policy is about:
- Asking the right questions.
- Answering those questions according to your business’s goals and traveller needs.
- Specifying your preferences on a policy document.
- Telling your people about the policy and making it stick.
Got it? Goodo.
A starter policy could include instructions on booking information, domestic and international flights, accommodation and car hire/transport.
Taking your travel policy from good to great will take a bit of time. And generally, when you’re developing a more detailed policy, the process will involve input from a few key stakeholders. But, to kick-start the process for you, here’s a template of questions to guide the first draft of your policy.
Download the Template
Take your policy from drab to fab
It might be just a few lines in an email, a one-page doc or even a few pages of detailed travel info. No matter how formal or lengthy your policy is, there are ways to take it from good to great.
There are commonalities in travel policies but really, they’re different for every company. Your culture and your ways of working are unique, and your travel policy will be too.
Read more and download our example of what a good visual travel policy looks like for today’s SME.
Read blog
It's time for a travel policy fit for 2022
Since selecting Corporate Traveller, we have gained far greater insight into our travel trends which has allowed us to implement new policies while providing our staff with the necessary flexibility.
Peter Rendall, Chief Financial Officer @ Unispace
Look, we’re lucky. Travel sells itself...it’s in our human nature to connect with others; whether it’s pleasure or business. We know that every plane has a seat, every hotel has a bed, and you have choice! So how do we step up? By knowing what will make that airplane seat more comfortable, how to make that room more enjoyable and what will make the whole journey way smoother. That way, your travellers can perform at their peak.
That starts and ends with our people. And we’re not just talking about our Travel Managers. It’s also all of our other people who sit behind the scenes. The onboarding experts that hold your hand through the process, the in-house emergency service team, the customer success teams and the negotiators that work with the airlines and hotels to secure the best possible rates. It takes an army of travel experts, all fighting for you and your success (and here at Corporate Traveller we’ve been doing it for 40 years).
Who's on your team
Customer Success Manager...does what it says in the title
Once you look closer, there's a lot of moving parts, and people, in corporate travel. To run like clockwork is totally possible and we’re here to make it happen. That's why all of our clients get a Customer Success Manager. What they do? Well, the clue’s in the job title but find out more here.
Read about customer success
Travel wizards, ready to help
Plenty of our travel teams have more than 100 years of experience between them! That’s phenomenal, right? All that knowledge and expertise, waiting to help travellers with booking, changes and advice at the touch of a button or over the phone.
Discover more about dedicated travel expertise
Case study: Extending Bboxx’s team
Natasha Cooper, EA to Bboxx Founder Mansoor Hamayun considers the Corporate Traveller team as colleagues of her own. The power of their bond and communication was tested during the COVID pandemic, only to be energised and better than ever.
Read case study
The onboarding process
Q&A with Global Head of Onboarding, James McIlvenna
Onboarding a new customer is the bridge between sales and on-going customer success. It’s all about people, culture and goals!
Spend 2 minutes with James to hear what the onboarding team’s priorities are in 2022.
Read Q&A
Service – The #1 Concern
Service has never been more important. We all feel it when things go wrong or we’re waiting in a queue, which is why we’re so committed to ensuring our clients don’t. Find out what a recent survey of our people and some clients have to say about service when it comes to their business trips.
Read blog
Change Loading...getting buy-in
The technical challenges of introducing new technology or admin processes often pale in comparison to the most significant change obstacle of all: internal resistance.
This guide includes:
- Clarifying leadership & change management across the generations
- 3 steps: designing, deploying and driving change
- Bringing an expert on board
Download your copy of the guide
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