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In today’s business world, and in the aftermath of the global pandemic, we’ve all been forced to review our policies in order to claw back unnecessary spending. 

The cost of business travel is a large expense for companies, but also a necessary one. However, instead of cutting budgets, is it time to review policies to prevent unnecessary business expenses? We think so, and here’s why… 

 

What is a corporate travel policy? 

But first, a corporate travel policy is a company’s framework and set of guidelines around acceptable business spending when travelling for work. This should lay out clear parameters around expenses and costs when visiting clients and colleagues, when attending conferences and when being on-site or at events. Plus, it should offer guidance around safe travel, wellbeing and claiming back expenses. 

Done correctly, a travel policy can save your business thousands of pounds – but any loopholes will expose your company, potentially resulting in excess business spending. Here’s how:  

 

No policy in place 

You might be surprised to learn that 40% of companies don’t have a travel policy at all. This is the biggest mistake in expense management, since it allows colleagues to spend without any guidance - and is subject to abuse. However, putting a travel policy in place will help to instantly reduce the cost of business travel and encourage compliance. 

 

Track spending 

One of the benefits of having a travel policy, is that it encourages accurate reporting of business spending. This is especially true if you use automated or digital expense management. Having an overview of company spend will help you to plan better and allocate budgets accordingly. 

 

Recruitment and retention 

In today’s candidate-bias market, businesses have to work hard to recruit and retain talent. Therefore, creating an attractive company with a people-centric culture will serve you well. And yes, your travel policy plays a crucial part in this, since it’s part of the overall colleague experience. A robust and well thought out travel policy which includes ‘perks’ such as ‘bleisure travel’ will help to retain talent and reduce the cost of recruitment.  With two-thirds of young workers seeing business trips as a status symbol, you don’t want to overlook this in the post-covid travel climate. 

 

Overcharging expenses 

We know that overspending can easily happen on the road. If your business policy doesn’t lay out acceptable spending limits around hotels, rental cars, mileage limits, and meals for instance, you are exposing your company to unnecessary business spending costs, which you will have no grounds to dispute. Ideally your travel policy should protect budgets whilst supporting colleagues needs. 

 

Duty of care and obligation 

As an employer, you have a moral and legal obligation to care for colleagues whenever and wherever they are working – this extends to wellbeing and safety. In light of post-covid travel, your travel policy should include protocols around covid-secure working, as well as testing and reporting procedures when travelling for work. It should also include emergency contacts, healthcare and insurance cover details. If this is overlooked, your company could be liable for any potential issues that arise out of it, which comes at a personal and financial cost.  

 

Supports sustainable targets 

A robust travel policy will encourage better ways of operating too, which in turn may help to support sustainable targets. For instance, you can opt for socially responsible hotels as part of your corporate travel platform or encourage public transport over other modes of travel. Meeting these environmental targets may have numerous financial implications too. 

 

Streamline savings 

One of the major costs in business spending for travel is transport and accommodation. If your corporate travel policy falls short on these elements, you can expert to incur the financial repercussions. 

A well-thought-out travel policy will include a process or partner for making hotel and transport bookings, that are within budget. What’s more, if you use a streamlined self-service platform, you’ll be able to benefit from reduced corporate rates and the ability to pay only after checking out, which helps with cashflow. 

 

Good employee experience 

As a final thought, it’s easy to think of a travel policy as a corporate requirement, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an extension of your business and company culture, which forms part of the crucial employee experience. Making it easy and stress-free to make and amend travel bookings, as well as quick and easy processing of expenses goes a long way in employee satisfaction scores, and that as they say, is good for business! 

 

If you’re looking for a trusted all-in-one solution for workforce travel and expense management, visit Roomex to find out more. 

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Sophia Walker
Post by Sophia Walker
August 24, 2022
Sophia Walker is a freelance content writer with a passion for travel, wellbeing and storytelling. With over 15 years’ experience in the industry, her work has been published extensively in print and online. This includes The Huffington Post and various corporate websites and blogs. Sophia is often found in far-flung destinations, when not in her native home of London.

 

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