6 Benefits of Business Travel for Employees
There are lots of benefits to business travel, it can be a great perk to your job. Corporate travel is an opportunity to meet new prospects, close sales deals, grow the top line, retain employees and strengthen client relationships. Those are some of the many benefits for an organization, however, there are also many advantages for individual employees. Corporate travel provides opportunities for both personal and professional growth.
With 1.3 million business trips taken every single day in the U.S, it is not surprising that most consider corporate travel to be an enriching experience. Employees who travel often feel more empowered and engaged. Organizations with a strong travel policy, along with an automated travel program, are able to provide employees with these full and rewarding experiences.
6 Benefits to Corporate Travel
Improved Business Profile: Being willing and interested in traveling for the company lets them know you are all in and are looking out for the best interests of the organization. This could lead to more high-profile projects and greater exposure to new elements of the organization. You will meet new people within your firm, providing excellent opportunities for networking.
Face-to-face meetings are essential: Remote interactions are adequate, but not as effective as a real-life meeting. In-person meetings allow people to express themselves better and read facial expressions and body language. A study from Harvard Business Review found that face-to-face requests were 34 times more successful than just sending an email. Virtual conferencing and collaboration tools are not as effective in fostering and maintaining successful and long-lasting business relationships.
Accumulate valuable travel rewards: There are many companies and websites that offer travelers the ability to accumulate rewards for their travel. These programs are easy to enroll in and typically free and can help you get more for your business travel dollar. They offer a range of benefits such as tiered discounts on fares, special check-in lanes, access to lounges, priority boarding status, and seat or room upgrades.
Bleisure – fusing business travel with leisure: One of the highlights of business travel is the opportunity to add additional days to the trip for sightseeing. With this popular travel trend, individuals are adding weekends, or even weeks, to a trip in which the destination is appealing and often brings along a partner or even the entire family. A recent Hilton survey found that 7 out of 10 business travelers ages 25-30 want to extend work trips for mini vacations. Additionally, they found that younger generations are ready to embrace this combination of business travel with leisure time.
Bleisure trips have the potential to improve employer-employee relations and rejuvenate productivity, however, it is important to incorporate rules and expectations for this travel in a company travel policy. This could help to alleviate any friction that may arise with bleisure travel. Adding bleisure guidelines to the travel policy will help define the lines between business and leisure in advance. As long as travelers agree to the cost of accommodations for the leisure days, adding additional days to a trip does not usually cost the company anything extra.
Broaden your mind and expand your knowledge: Travel is an excellent opportunity to meet new people, and explore new places and cultures. It is a fantastic way to learn new things. Experiencing different cultures can foster creativity and productivity, which can help improve anyone’s work ethic and mindset. Travel has the ability to push us out of our comfort zone and build self-confidence. Building a new business relationship and closing a deal can give a person a huge boost in confidence.
Avoids employee burnout: Business travel is often a much-needed break from doing the same things over and over. Traveling to new places helps you feel that your life is experiencing changes, rather than doing the same thing over and over. Traveling is good for the body and mind.
How can an automated travel program improve corporate travel?
More and more companies are acknowledging the effects and seeing the link between business and travel. A strong corporate travel program can be used to improve employee retention, encourage employee engagement, and drive organizational growth.
Automation has had a profound effect on the corporate travel industry, saving costs and stimulating growth potential. In this age of computers, big data, artificial intelligence, and comprehensive automation systems greatly relieve human workers from mundane and repetitive tasks, and better results are achieved! Adopting a customized, automated platform for your travel needs equips you with a reliable tool, provides greater control over your sales and operations, and unlocks insights through data collection. It helps make the process go smoothly for employees, making the overall travel experience a positive one.
Cornerstone Information Systems is a technology and service provider of mid and back-office automation for the travel industry. We work with travel management companies, online travel agencies, corporate travel departments, and suppliers to help them automate travel operations and programs. Our mission is to provide the platform and tools that automate what results in accurately completed and transacted travel reservations for travelers, their buyers, and travel service providers. Contact Cornerstone today to learn more.