Does your business require your employees to travel frequently as a part of their job description? If so, it may be time to reevaluate the general satisfaction levels of your staff. While travelling for business is mostly seen as a boon, a recent study by a leading global hospitality company with world-class locations in 100+ countries found that there are certain stressors that could potentially put staff members off travelling.
When your employees represent your business at conferences, meetings and other important engagements around the globe, you want them to show your company in the best light possible. As such, it makes sense to turn stressors into perks as far as possible. Here are three easy steps to make corporate travel more rewarding for your staff members:
One of the most frequently-cited travel stressors is the inability to keep up with regular work while travelling. When you send an employee on a trip, make sure that they have sufficient support from the team members who stay behind. This way they won’t dread an overflowing inbox and impossible to-do list when they get back.
Is there anything more heartbreaking than travelling to a new and exciting city, only to realise that you won’t have a moment to explore between meetings? Many employees feel intimidated to ask their employers if they are allowed to extend their stay to enjoy some personal exploration time on their own dime once business is taken care of. Provide open lines of communication in this regard - your staff members are far more likely to look forward to work journeys if they have the option of tacking on some well-deserved downtime at the end.
Do you employees know what they are allowed to charge to their expense accounts and which expenses they have to take care of themselves? According to the recent poll, many travelling staff members end up dipping into their own funds due to unclear expense policies, which is obviously not a great incentive. Make sure that your travel policy stipulates claimable expenses clearly, and set up an HR meeting to discuss the particulars if need be.
By making these few changes you’ll be well on your way to ensuring that corporate travel is seen as a major perk within your company. Keep an eye on the blog in coming weeks and months for more insider tips on taking care of your employees when they travel for business. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with our team of expert corporate travel planners if you’d like to learn more about our services and how we can help your company to turn travel into an undisputed perk throughout your organisation.
