8 Corporate Travel Policy Best Practices

Corporate travel policies need to address some of the most complex and important issues related to business travel.

When written well, corporate travel policies provide both employees and employers with clarity and answers to common questions and scenarios.

Developing, reviewing, and revising corporate travel policies is an ongoing process, one that should consider multiple perspectives and needs and evaluate data. A business travel policy for employees should also adapt to changing patterns of travel, employee needs, and practical considerations.

Best Practices in Corporate Travel Policies

Here is a closer look at some best practices of corporate travel policies that you can consider. It can help your organisation decide point of consideration for your travel policies and guidelines.

1. Involve Key Stakeholders

Your travel policy will touch nearly every employee and department within your organisation. Involving key stakeholders in human resources, payroll, finance, and operations ensures that the policy reflects all unique perspectives and needs. If there are departments that are frequent travellers, they too should be included in conversations.

Bringing together the major players allows for more effective collaboration and discussion of complex or controversial elements of the policy. Regular meetings among the stakeholders allows for a well-rounded policy, easing the process of review and revisions when necessary.

2. Track Expenses for Reporting and Analysis

Organisations will benefit from systems that can collect, report, and analyse data related to your corporate travel programme. These data points help leaders understand what is or is not working within the programme, providing insights that can guide revisions to the policy.

Having the right tools and applications provide policy leaders with the necessary information to make important decisions. The company needs a standardised system for completing expenses to avoid data duplication and create a consistent reporting process for all employees.

Accurate expense reporting helps to develop the true return on investment of your corporate travel programme.

When developing your systems, consider integrating your policy with your travel management software. Doing so creates automated enforcement of certain policy elements, making it easier for employees and managers to be compliant, and helping to accelerate processing and approval.

3. Factor in Employee Satisfaction, with a Focus on Communication

For business travellers, policies can generate lots of emotions and feelings, especially if policy alterations force changes in the way people travel for business. For example, some employees prefer certain hotel or airline brands. A change to mandated providers can create significant ill-will.

The key is to communicate regularly about the process by which the policy is created, evaluated, and modified. There may be generational or departmental differences in how employees prefer to travel, and any changes can become problematic.

Remember to emphasise the importance and necessity of corporate travel policies. The policy itself should be clear and easy to understand, using subheadings, bullet points, examples, and short paragraphs to make it more readable.

4. Provide Resources

A good corporate travel policy does more than list do’s and don’ts. It can also be an effective resource that employees and managers turn to, resources to consider including are:

• Links to your travel management and booking platform
• Forms for expense reporting
• Travel insurance coverage with a link to your carrier
• Lists of purchases that are and are not allowed
• What to do in case of an emergency
• Key phone numbers – human resources, finance, corporate travel office (if applicable)

5. Set Clear Policies for Booking and Costs

Your policy can clear up many grey areas around corporate travel. Be sure that the policy addresses some of the following areas that can often cause concern for business travellers and administrators:

• Whether business travellers must use a corporate travel agency or website
• Expected turnaround times for expense reports and reimbursements
• Budgetary guidelines for airfare, hotel and ground transportation, including whether there are mandatory vendors
• Guidance on bleisure (combining business and leisure travel), including whether it’s allowed and cost-sharing guidance
• Procedures for handling rejected expense submissions or requests

 

Guidelines for Effective Business Travel Management 

Whether you’re making updates to your travel policy, or starting from scratch, download this guide for tips on writing travel policy.

Learn more