Travel includes several components – air, accommodation, car rental, insurance, meals, entertainment, telephone bills, taxis, parking, drycleaning and the most-frequently disputed of all, the minibar.
For a travel policy to be effective, the first rule is to consider the purpose of travel and the various requirements in the course of the trip, according to Australian Bank Westpac portfolio manager, people & professional services, strategic sourcing, Ms Genevieve Sulway.Speaking at last year’s Corporate Travel World (CTW), Ms Sulway said: “First of all, decide who owns the policy. For it to be enforced, someone has to own it. Decide when and who it applies to, who pays for things such as vaccination, and set limits on tips that the traveller can give for services rendered.”
Other “standards” that should be included are class of travel on domestic and nternational flights, and preferred suppliers. And if you want travellers to conform to preferred ones, explain why they were selected.
Ms Sulway said: “Let travellers know the amount paid for services. Be transparent. Set standards for fuel, valet parking, insurance and car allowances.
“Put in a booking process and forms and set a payment method. For us, corporate cards are encouraged but they can only use it for corporate and not personal spending.
“Keep your travellers informed, give them links to government websites where travel advisories may be posted and put tips for travellers on the office Intranet.
“To encourage everyone to conform, illustrate incidences where senior management had followed the policy, but to do that, you must first have senior management buy-in.
Get the highest level senior management sponsorship possible in your company.
“Set up a help desk for questions and feedback, do not be afraid to say no, revisit your policy regularly and adjust it as required. The travel management company must emphasise the same points in the travel policy as the corporate travel manager.
“Have an exemption process that requires the chief financial officer to be the final person to approve as it takes the TMC out of the fight.”
A strategic sourcing process is a cycle that starts with the scope of travel, market analysis, negotiation, implementation, management, review and back again, she said.
Ms Sulway concluded: “With a good enforced policy, corporate travel managers will have the operational fundamentals, strategy and reliable data to harness the policy in negotiating, such as being able to promise suppliers the number of room nights. This makes for better relationships and alliances.
Wrisney Tan
