11 Secrets for Managing the Risks of Business Travel Through 2022
11 Secrets for Managing the Risks of Business Travel Through 2022
Introduction Cancelled flights, traveler health and safety: Travel has always involved a certain amount of risk. But the pandemic has put the topic of risk into stark focus, expanding the ramifications and accelerating the need for steps like enhanced duty of care, personal support, transparent reporting, and intelligence gathering. After all, there’s no such thing as zero risk. Of course, risk mitigation steps are squarely the responsibility of a company. And that responsibility—for both new and traditional risks—cuts across departments, from travel managers to HR, ops, and finance. So what does it mean to manage risk during an era of seemingly constant uncertainty? And what are some of the most important risks to keep in mind?
Introduction This guide will cover: 01. 02. 03. Insider secrets Checklists to help Risk factors your on how to mitigate company should create a travel risk those risks monitor management system The Time to Focus on Risk Is Now “Optimism has given way to action, and the gradual support of corporate policies to resume business travel has actually begun.” —GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang, in June 2021
Risk Factors to Consider
Risk Factors Traveler Safety: Pandemic-Related Issues COVID-19 created some new risks for program managers. COVID-19 Outbreaks Cleanliness Vaccines and Testing Are they recommended or mandated Travelers need to be informed, Are your preferred suppliers doing by your company for travel? What quickly, when a destination has been enough to keep their environments about for returning to the office? deemed too risky for travel. free of COVID-19? Risk Mitigation Secrets ● Use destination blockers on modern corporate travel management platforms to prevent bookings to areas with health or safety concerns. ● Implement dynamic travel policies to easily make changes to priorities as the need arises.
Risk Factors Traveler Safety: Legacy Concerns Longtime risks still remain part of the equation. Trouble Spots Health Crime Political events and natural disasters Non-COVID-19 illnesses and Beyond the obvious physical remain a constant concern—and diseases may result in travelers safety issues, cybercrime and data may require immediate action. needing medical care. protection should be areas of focus. Risk Mitigation Secrets ● Plan for employee illnesses and emergencies—for both simple issues and extreme cases that may require Medivac. ● Protect company equipment and digital information by working closely with IT and data security experts.
Risk Factors Traveler Support Inadequate support can lead to interrupted plans—and lost opportunities. Navigating today’s ever-changing landscape means ensuring that travelers have access to the information they need to travel, as well as live agents to lean on when necessary. That information includes: Destination entry and Testing, vaccine, and quarantine Flight delays and visa restrictions requirements for a destination rebookings or supplier Risk Mitigation Secrets ● Use real-time messages, pushed to travelers through a corporate travel management platform, to keep them up to date on changing conditions. ● Have access to knowledgeable agents, available 24/7 in native languages, who can assist with difficult travel planning or changes.
Risk Factors Leakage Because you can’t manage what you can’t see. Having travelers book trips on the company’s approved platform is the way to maintain duty of care. Yet a recent survey showed that travelers aren’t always happy with the tool their company uses. 68% 57% of business travelers said their solution was of business travelers said their service does not easy to use.* not support them well on a trip.* This unhappiness can result in out-of-policy bookings, which puts limits on the duty of care travel managers can offer. And that means greater risk for the company. Risk Mitigation Secret ● Encourage or incentivize employees to book in policy and on an approved booking platform that’s useful and intuitive to navigate. * Skift + TripActions Research: The State of Business Travel 2021
Risk Factors Flight Cancellations They’re not just a hassle for travelers; they cost companies real money. Flight cancellations are a risk no travel manager can control. But you can recoup the money from unused tickets to use elsewhere in your travel program. What kind of money are we talking about? The average value of an unused ticket is: $413 $1,384 for domestic flights for international flights In fact, airlines held $11.7 billion in credits at the end of 2020, and many companies have thousands of dollars in unused credits they could apply to bookings. Risk Mitigation Secret ● Automate your unused ticket management to capture otherwise wasted dollars. According to BTN, only 36% of travel managers automate this process.
Risk Factors Financial Considerations Because the bottom line is a risk for any business. Risk doesn’t stop when the traveler lands; it continues on through to what they expensed while on the road. Of concern to any finance team are: Minimizing costs Reducing Fraud Custom policy tools can be tailored to your needs and Organizations lose 5% of their revenue to fraud every account for the factors necessary to drive compliance. year, and only 43% of frauds are discovered.* Risk Mitigation Secret ● Implement a spend management platform with dynamic policy and real-time visibility into spend, as well as AI to flag irregular or out-of-policy spend. * Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Risk Factors Protecting the Planet Because every company needs to be current on what matters now. For the most successful companies, global consciousness and transparency are fast becoming essential traits known as Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG). As Harvard Business Review put it in March 2021, “An ESG reckoning is coming.” And not incorporating ESG into your travel and finance programs could be damaging to your business. Two areas to consider: Measuring the carbon Creating sustainable footprint of travelers spend processes Risk Mitigation Secrets ● Show travelers a carbon footprint comparison when they book and encourage options that are less impactful to the environment (ie. train vs. flying) when possible. ● Hold everyone on your business’s supply chain accountable for their carbon footprint and ESG goals, to assist in building a sustainable spending program.
Developing a Travel Risk Management Plan
Developing a Plan Guidelines When launching or improving a risk management program, keep the following steps in mind.* Define operational processes Set rules and levels Carry out an in-depth related to traveling. of security. risk analysis. Provide adequate information Adopt specific mitigation and training. measures. *According to the Business Continuity Institute
Developing a Plan Checklist for Travel Managers ❏ Know your travelers. If non-essential workers are on ❏ Determine protocols. Do you have contingency the road, are they adequately prepared with protocols and communication in place when there’s information and technology? a traveler issue or emergency? ❏ Promote platform acceptance. Booking through the ❏ Get dynamic with policy. Is your policy flexible company system is always safer; consider mandating enough to shift quickly when changes in the travel or incentivizing travelers to use it. landscape emerge? ❏ Incorporate training. Keep travelers up to date on ❏ Stay on message. Be sure travelers are receiving how to use the tool. real-time mobile alerts and messaging for any kind of issue that might require action. ❏ Consider COVID-19. Continually reevaluate policies around COVID-19 testing and vaccines to help keep ❏ Get feedback. Gather intel from returning travelers to travelers and employees safe. help define program success or improvements.
Developing a Plan Checklist for Finance Managers ❏ Recapture dollars. Be sure your system is automating ❏ Keep it dynamic. Ensure your expense policies and the processing of unused tickets. approvals processes are flexible enough to adjust to changing conditions, such as allowing for unexpected ❏ Consider ESG. Sustainability can be a focus of spend expenses on the road. Delays could lead to a management as well as travel, and that can only help bogged-down finance team or lengthy with reputation management. Start by rethinking your reimbursements for employees. procurement processes and prioritize suppliers with more sustainable track records. ❏ Don’t forget fraud. Be sure to monitor your spend management system for fraud, whether it’s intentionally fraudulent activity or simply accidental out-of-policy spend. An automated, AI-driven system can help.
Resources TripActions’ Traveler Toolkit Here are just some of the ways TripActions is supporting the return to business travel. ✔ Know Before You Go. Access real-time, destination- ✔ Self-Serve Trip Changes. Control your travel plans specific information to make the most informed travel with flight and hotel change features on web and decisions. mobile. ✔ Airline and Hotel Sanitization. Understand airline and ✔ COVID-19 Travel Notifications. Stay updated as travel hotel sanitization practices with access to detailed restrictions change, with real-time notifications covering information while booking. everything from entry restrictions to quarantine policies. ✔ COVID-19 Information. Monitor the COVID-19 ✔ TripActions Digital Health Passport. Store health landscape, review CDC travel ratings, and track local documents for easy access when traveling, directly in restrictions. the TripActions app. ✔ Unused Ticket Application. Automatically apply any ✔ 24/7 Travel Agent Support. Rely on the service of new or partially used flight credits to future bookings. professional travel agents who are available via chat, phone, or email. ✔ Self-Serve Trip Cancel. Easily cancel your trip if plans change, on web or mobile.
Resources Explore More Take a deeper dive into the unique ways TripActions can support your company. Check out the suite of Return to Travel tools Use the TripActions Team Travel from TripActions. Platform for your next offsite! Get our insider guide on how to How do vaccines fit in to your plan? save money in 2021. Here are the factors to consider.
Conclusion Business travel has become even more complex since the onset of the pandemic. Fortunately for everyone in a company, platforms exist that combine technology and personal service to help manage today’s risks. That combination is what TripActions was built on. And as challenges evolve over time, TripActions will keep finding unique ways to mitigate risk so companies can provide the safest, most trusted travel experience possible. Learn more about all of the ways TripActions can help your company manage the risk of business travel.
Fast becoming the default for corporate travel and spend management, TripActions is the leading cloud-based T&E platform that combines industry-first technology with best-in-class travel agency service. Trusted by travel managers and finance teams alike at more than 5,000 companies globally, TripActions leverages real-time data to keep traveling employees safe, control costs, and save time. Learn more at www.tripactions.com. Join the TripActions Community at https://community.tripactions.com. #LetsGo tripactions.com | #tripactions | #LetsGo
