Chief People Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO at Planful, the pioneer of cloud financial performance management cloud software.
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While we’re beginning to see an uptick in work travel this year, many workforces are still navigating pandemic-forced new normals. With the monumental shifts in how we work, what we expect from work and what’s possible for remote workers, there’s a pressing need for companies of all sizes to rethink work travel and the travel expectations of workers. That includes adjusting pre-pandemic travel policies and shifting travel to consider the impact of everything from the Great Resignation to the proliferation of work-from-anywhere arrangements.
A recent survey by Concur found that nearly all travel managers (98%) say they’ve been preparing for an increase in business travel in 2022. We're beginning to see employees gain a renewed interest in potential business travel this year.
But that travel will bear little resemblance to the business travel experienced prior to 2020. More of us work from home, at least partially, and some of us have moved to different locations that may not have metropolitan airport convenience. Remote work technologies, like video conferencing, chat and cloud services, have facilitated an "it doesn’t matter where I’m sitting" approach that most people have come to rely on. Two-plus years of work-from-anywhere flexibility have changed the work-life balance equation.
So how should these and other changes affect the expectations of employers and employees when it comes to business travel? Here are my five tips to help you update your approach while maintaining employee wellness, boosting worker retention and even helping with recruiting efforts.
1. Be sensitive to everyone's concerns.
Are you sure that customer wants your team dropping by their offices? Do some of your colleagues have health concerns or at-risk family members? Keep an eye out for any hesitation and acknowledge the flexibility now of hybrid and remote work arrangements.
2. Ease back in with internal travel.
Co-workers are a mostly known bunch, so people are likely more comfortable traveling to visit your own offices rather than being face-to-face with unknown groups. For instance, at Planful, we started small with team meetings, which then helped us expand to companywide in-person meetings and Palooza, our annual company kick-off. Of course, remember to always keep a virtual option available for anyone who isn’t comfortable with travel.
3. Rewrite your travel policies.
This requires not just an update but a total rewrite. First, when was the last time you took a critical eye to those rules? Yeah, it’s probably time. Second, so much has changed that it’s worth the time and effort. There is also a lot more to consider these days, such as rising fuel prices, the Great Resignation and relatively new travel options, like Turo and Airbnb. When we reconsidered the impact of work travel in 2022, we decided to allow our people to expense child care, pet-sitting and meals for families left at home while they travel for work.
4. Offer travel as a perk.
A few new terms have been added to our travel lexicon over the last two years: bleisure, workcation and blended travel. These refer to people combining work and personal travel. For example, have work pay for airfare to see a Salt Lake City-based prospect on Friday, and then spend the weekend carving the slopes in Park City, on your own dime of course.
That’s been a wink-wink arrangement between workers and managers for years, but maybe it’s time you turn that into an employee benefit. When you consider the potential cost savings of booking a Thursday-to-Monday flight versus a midweek flight, you might even save more money in the long run.
5. Clearly communicate everything.
We’re all still feeling our way through this post-pandemic era. Work travel will eventually return, but it won’t be the same. There are surely things we have yet to learn and consider, but you’ll want your people to know you’re accommodating their concerns while your business gets back to work. So be sure to over-communicate any changes, expectations and new perks.
Your employees are both your biggest investment and your most valuable resource. Your success relies on their performance, for sure, but also on their well-being and retention. Work travel has now become an exciting prospect for some and a stressful burden for others. You want your people to be happy, focused and enthusiastic about their roles, feeling like they are in an environment where they can do their best work. That should be your goal as an HR executive, right?
Now is your time to get back to business travel in a way that benefits your organization and your people.
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