Initially, the thought of business travel is one that’s met with excitement. The indulgence of staying in a hotel, not having to cook for yourself, and being within walking distance of your colleagues for getting work done can be exciting.
However, when you’re away for lengths of time, the gloss of travel can also quickly disappear. Yet, the importance of traveling for work is something that greatly benefits businesses, and it’s therefore in everyone’s best interest to make it an enjoyable experience.
If you’re tasked with the job of employee welfare, travel bookings or HR at large, this feature is for you. Here are eight ways you can make business travel a pleasant experience.
Make travel easy
Lessen the administration of business travel with an easy streamlined booking process that allows colleagues to make accommodation and transport bookings with ease. Travel booking platforms are one of the best ways to automate the process, whilst ensuring that budgets are met and colleagues aren’t inconvenienced by unnecessary expenses. It’s also helpful for travel managers too, since staff can make amendments and cancellations 24hrs without any office support.
Gratitude
Acknowledging the personal sacrifice of business travel can go a long way to dedicated co-workers. This means respecting that colleagues often give up many personal hours travelling back and forth around the country, as well as lost hours in the evening. For some this means missing family events and personal occasions. What’s more, 88% of people agree that expressing gratitude to colleagues makes them feel happier and more fulfilled. This is an easy win – offer your colleagues time off in lieu, give them a bonus, offer them a business perk – and simply thank them personally for their contribution. A little goes a long way.
Front end expenses
With the cost of living crisis, it’s a worrying time for the commuter-heavy workforce. The uncertainty around having enough money to cover costs and expenses may even prevent them from traveling in the first place. Help your teams by offering a pre-loaded staff travel card that covers their expenses. The Roomex pre-paid expense card is one of the best business travel credit cards, which helps with expense management too. No more being out of pocket for your employees.
Provide helpful local information
When on location it can be hard to get your bearings, for some they just don’t have the time. Take this burden away by providing a local travel guide for colleagues. This could include information about local points of interest, nearby restaurant recommendations, local gyms and places of sport. It’s important to remember that it’s not just about work, but wellbeing too – showing that you’re a responsible and caring employer will certainly make that trip more bearable.
Offer support in and out of office hours
Being away on business has its tough moments when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. Having someone that staff can talk to is an important way to support colleagues. This could be an out-of-hours counselling phone line for those on the road, or perhaps membership to a mental health group or expert, or perhaps even something as simple as subscriptions to calming podcasts or meditation apps.
Check in on team members
Similar to the above, it shouldn’t always be left for the employee to ask for help. Encourage line managers to contact their teams while away for business and check-in on them. A quick phone call, or Zoom face-to-face is a touching way of staying connected and making the out-of-office experience more palatable.
Say yes to ‘belisure’
You’ve heard of ‘belisure’ travel for good reason. Giving colleagues the opportunity to tag on holiday to the end of a business trip, is a great way of bringing the feel-good-factor to business travel. Being able to experience a new destination is one of the great joys of work travel, allow colleagues to embrace it and see the difference it makes.
Wellbeing matters
And finally, as we’ve already touched on – personal wellbeing matters. When away for lengths of time from home, it’s important to keep employee morale and wellbeing up. To this end, offering free vouchers to local gyms, swimming pools or sports facilities is a great way to promote a healthy work-life balance, and one they’ll thank you for too.
To learn more about how Roomex can help your remote workforce, check out roomex.com today.
