How a Strong Policy Can Influence Travel Behavior
An effective travel policy provides a solid foundation to any organization by ensuring continuity of service, maintaining efficient processes, managing costs, and streamlining procedures for employees.
A good policy helps narrow choices for employees, which makes planning travel much easier. For instance, your policy might provide an approved list of hotels and preferred airlines. A travel policy provides complete and transparent control over what is booked and spent by your travelers. There are many important components of a travel policy that will help ensure employee travel runs smoothly.
Essential Components of a Travel Policy
- Expense Categories – Include expense categories that you will reimburse travelers for, whether for travel or entertainment.
- Refund Policy – Be clear about non-refundable items that your company will not cover.
- Preferred/Approved Vendors – List your organizations preferred airlines, hotel chains, rental car providers.
- Payment – State whether they should pay using a company card or a personal card.
- Provide information about how far in advance an employee should book a flight.
- Agency – What platform or agency should the agency use to book the flight?
- Resources – Provide the travelers with itineraries, contact information, insurance, and any other safety information they may need.
- Services – Address the needs of modern travelers by providing travel options such as app-based taxi services and AirBnB options.
- Automation – Integrate your policy into a streamlined online booking system. With an automated system in place, your employees are less likely to deviate from the policy.
Keep the travel policy short, simple, and clear. Be sure to amend the policy as travel practices change, or if problems arise with the existing policy. Make it accessible for all. Provide training to help ensure that the policy is accepted and followed.
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