You spend months researching it, weeks writing it, and a lifetime trying to promote it. So why let your business travel policy go to waste? 

If you’re one of the progressive organised companies that has a well-thought out travel policy and procedure, then congratulations you’re half-way there. Half-way, because a policy is only useful if colleagues use it. 

So then, how can you ensure that your travel policy for employees is widely adopted? Glad you asked, here’s eight ways to ensure every member of the team adopts your HR travel policy today. 

Make sure it’s well written

One of the most important factors in policy adoption is making sure you have an appropriate well-written document that’s easy to understand. If you’re wondering how to write a corporate travel policy, there are plenty of templates available online. However, the best policies are those that cover all FAQs in a clear and concise way. It doesn’t need to be ‘War and Peace’, in fact the more compact it is, the more likely it will be read.  

Keep points brief, using headers and sub-sections, and have a contents page for easy access. Ensure you explain your travel policy and procedure clearly with no room for misinterpretation. This should include key points such as: allowable expenses, when and how to submit expenses, how to make travel bookings, how to make hotel reservations, logins, passcodes and insurance details, behaviour expectations, along with health and safety protocols. 

Invite stakeholders from around the business

Much like anything in business, if you want buy-in from the wider company, you’ll need to involve them. To that end, why not invite various stakeholders from around the organisation to share any useful feedback to incorporate into your HR travel policy, this will also help with enforcing it too. 

Make sure it’s accessible

When it comes to policy uptake, the single most important factor is ensuring that it’s easy to locate at a moment’s notice. If you have an intranet, there should be a link on the home page, or perhaps a downloadable version could be available on laptop home screens or on a USB key. Additionally, provide a printed hard copy to all colleagues, to ensure there’s no excuse for missing it. If you send out regular company emails or newsletters, this is a prime opportunity to remind colleagues where to access the corporate travel policy. 

Make it part of onboarding

It’s far easier to get new starters to adopt a travel policy, than change old habits. In short, an induction to your corporate and HR travel policy should be an integral part of the onboarding process. This will ensure colleagues default to the corporate handbook naturally. 

Host mandatory training sessions

As for existing colleagues, it can be harder to change protocol and process. If you find that take-up is still poor around your business travel policies, it could be time to rethink the way you approach it. Introducing mandatory travel policy training is one way to do this, and doesn’t have to be onerous – it could be a simple 20-minute session outlining the key points of your policy, and where to access it. 

Use an online travel platform

Many companies today use online travel platforms to help with the ease of business travel. This is hugely advantageous when enforcing a travel policy for employees, as you can pre-select hotel partners, cap spending limits, and implement requirements that reflect your company travel policy without being heavy handed. As a further bonus, many platforms, such as Roomex, also offer a pre-paid company card, which means that you can keep tabs on expenses and help automate the process.  

Keep it up to date

As a general rule, a corporate travel policy should be reviewed and updated at least bi-annually. As the recent pandemic highlighted, it’s useful to have company travel policy and procedures in one consolidated place. This also means keeping details up to date, to reflect the ever-changing environment, as well as for compliance. This also provides you with the perfect excuse to re-share the document regularly with colleagues. 

Acknowledge colleague use

And finally, if you’re looking for a smart way to get colleagues to adopt your travel policy -  incentivise them! Some companies reward colleagues for their commitment to best practice, or for helping to saving the company money through budget control, or expense management. Incentives could range from days off in lieu to vouchers and ‘employee of the month’ awards. Either way, it’s a great opportunity to dovetail a strategy with internal communications for colleague engagement.