Team Traveller: The Playbook for Engaging Business Travellers

ContentsWhat is Engagement?

Business Travel and Engagement: Perfect Opportunity

Social Engagement: The Value of Relationships Creating Your Own Traveller Engagement Strategy

Creating Your Own Traveller Engagement Strategy

Taking Pulse: Collecting Traveller Feedback •Performancereviews •Collectfeedback •Conductasurvey

Starting Small: Easy, Low-Maintenance Traveller Engagement Initiatives •Regularstand-ups •Leveragingsocialmedia •GivingRecognition

Scaling Up: Larger-scale Traveller Engagement Initiatives •Globetrotter’sgala •Bringingtravelintothenetwork •Strategiceducation •Beingflexible

A Worthwhile Investment: Engagement Makes a Difference

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Team Traveller: The Playbook for Engaging Business TravellersTraveller engagement has never been so important now that millennials are changing the face of the business travel community. As our Travel Trends 2018 Global Trends survey reveals, business travellers today, especially millennials, are interested in doing meaningful work and creating a happy work-life balance. This makes it more important than ever to keep employees engaged. Whether you’re looking to drive compliance to preferred suppliers, reduce travel costs, improve traveller satisfaction or mitigate risk, engagement can be one of your most powerful tools.This is your playbook for turning your organisation’s business travellers into a happy, social and highly engaged team. It provides research-based insights into how creating a more engaged staff promotes your organisation’s business goals. It also examines the human psychological factors that contribute to motivation. Then, it shows you how to determine the best strategies for boosting engagement using your company’s travel programme. So, get ready to explore the group dynamics at work among your travellers and learn how to take advantage of all the opportunities for boosting engagement.

What is Engagement?Whenemployeesare‘engaged’atwork,itmeanstheyseetheirrolewithintheorganisationasmorethanjust‘makingaliving’.Theydrawpersonalsatisfactionfromtheirworkandareemotionallyinvestedinthesuccessoftheirteams,projectsandcompanies.Theytakeagenuineinterestintheircompany’sperformanceandfeellikepartof adynamic,interestingteam.

Business Travel and Engagement: Perfect OpportunityWithitspotentialforcombiningworkwithexcitingexperiences,businesstravelisaperfectopportunityforanyorganisationtoboostemployeeengagement.Smart,forward-thinkingorganisationsarealreadyrevampingtheirtravelpoliciesandprocedurestodaytoalignthemwithemployees’changingexpectations.Whentravellersareengagedintheirwork,theygaingreatersatisfactionandfeelmorepositivelytowardstheiremployers.Asaresult,theyperformbetteronthejobandbecomemorevaluableemployeesallaround.Researchershavefoundthathigherengagementlevelsresultinbetteremployeeretentionrates,betterbusinessoutcomesandstrongermanagementteams.Employeeengagementevenresultsinbettercustomerrelations,becausecustomersrespondpositivelywhendealingwithhappy,highlymotivatedrepresentativesofacompany.Inshort,engagedemployeesarebetteremployees.Engagementmakesthemmoreeagertocontributetothecompany’ssuccessbyworkingharderandcomplyingwithcompanypolicies.Whenitcomestobusinesstravellers,engagementmaybeevenmoreimportantthanforotheremployees.That’sbecausebusinesstravellersfaceunusuallyhighstresslevels,oftenspendingtimeawayfromtheir

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familieswhoaretheirsupportsystems.It’seasyforthemtobecomedistractedordiscouragedunderthesecircumstances.Feelingliketheyarepartofsomethingimportantmotivatesthemandgivesthemamuch-neededboostwhenthey’remilesawayfromhome.Travellersalsooftenhavemorefreedominplanningandcarryingouttheirtasks.Beingengagedmakesthemmorelikelytocomplytopolicyrules,forexample,whenchargingtravelexpensestothecompany.Whydoesengagementhavesuchapowerfulinfluenceonanemployee’sjobperformance?Therearemanytheoriesonthis,butmostexpertsagreethatourbasicneedforbelongingplaysanimportantpart.Let’stakeashortlookatthehumanpsychologyofengagement.

Social Engagement: The Value of RelationshipsEngagementisvisiblemostclearlyinourrelationshipswithothers.High-engagementrelationshipsarethemostmeaningfulandsatisfyingconnectionswemakewitheachotherashumanbeings.Wefeelrewardedforinvestinginrelationshipsthatmakeusfeelrespected,acceptedandappreciated.Thinkaboutbeinginlove:youfeelsostronglyinvestedintheotherperson,there’snothingyouwouldn’tdotohelpthem.Beingaparentoralovingpetownercreatesasimilarlevelofengagement.Wefeelanintenseinterestinthewell-beingofourchildrenorpets,andwearewillingtomakepersonalsacrificestoensuretheycontinuetothrive.Justaskanyparentofanew-bornbabyhowmanyhoursofsleepthey’regettinginanightandyou’llseehowengagedtheyarewiththeirlittlesonordaughter.

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Ofcourse,mostemployeeswillneverfeelanythingevenclosetothesamelevelofengagementtowardstheircompanyoremployerastheydotowardstheirfamilymembers.However,manyemployeesfinddeepsatisfactionintheprofessionalandpersonalrelationshipstheycultivatewiththeirco-workers.Workplacesareagreatopportunityformanyofustomeetnewpeopleandestablishlastingfriendships.Wefeelloyaltowardsourfriendsandarewillingtoinvestintherelationship–sometimeswithoutevennoticingwe’re‘working’.Researchershavefoundthat69percentofemployeeswhohavemultiplefriendsatworkremainhighlyengagedonthejob.Thesameresearchshowsthatlessthanonethirdofemployeeswithoutfriendsatworkarehighlyengaged.Clearly,asupportive,friendlyandsocialworkingenvironmentgreatlyimprovesemployeeengagement.That’swhytravelmanagerscanmakeamajordifferenceinemployeeengagementlevelsbymakingsuretravellersfeelliketheyarepartofastrong,caringteam.

Creating Your Own Traveller Engagement StrategyAsyoucansee,engagementisapowerfulfactorforbusinesssuccess.Itisalsostronglyrootedinhumanrelationships.Therefore,travelmanagerscanboosttravellerengagementbycreatingasociallyconnectedworkenvironment.Below,welookatsomeoptionsforengagingtravellersbycreatingstrongerteamdynamics.Notwotravelteamsarealike.Therefore,youshouldalwaystakearealistic,customisedapproachwhendesigninginitiativestoboostengagement.Considerwhatworksbestforyourteammembersandcompanycultureandwhatisfeasiblewithinyourcompany’sstructureandbudget.Thetipsandideasdiscussedbelowwillgetyouthinkingintherightdirection.

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Taking Pulse: Collecting Traveller FeedbackTofigureoutthemosteffectivewaystoboosttravellerengagementinyourowncompany,startbyaskingyourtravellersfortheiropinion.Doesyourcompanyalreadygivetravellersanopportunitytosubmitregularfeedbackandsuggestionsforimprovingtravelpoliciesorinteractionswithintheteam?Ifso,besuretocarefullyreadthroughfeedbackatregularintervalsanddiscussitwithyourfellowmanagers.Lookforopportunitiesforimprovementorsweetspotswhereyoucantakeadvantageofwhat’salreadyworking.Ifyourcompanyisn’tcollectingtravellerfeedbackalready,whynotstartnow?Youcanalwaysusethetravellerfeedbackformcontained intheHandyToolkitforBusyTravelOrganisersfromBooking.com forBusiness.Ifyouwantthefeedbacktoaccuratelyrepresenthowemployees reallyfeel,youneedtogetasmanypeopletosubmittheiropinions aspossible.Tryoneofthefollowingfeedbackmethods:

Performance reviews:Mostcompaniesconductregularperformancereviewsandfeedbacksessionssuchasone-on-onemeetingsbetweenemployeesandmanagers.Asksupervisorstoincludeasimplequestionabouttravelpolicyduringthereviewprocessforemployeeswhoregularlytravelforwork.Employees’responseswillenableyoutodetermineanytrendsthatmighthelpimproveengagementthroughreasonablepolicyadjustments.

Youprobablywon’tbeabletomakeeveryemployee’swishescometruebutaskingtheiropinioninthefirstplacewillalreadymakethemfeelmoreengaged.

Collect feedback:Createafeedbacksystemthatasks employeesfortheiropinionsaboutthecurrenttravelpolicy. Thiscouldbeanold-schoolsuggestionsbox,dependingon thesizeandstructureofyourcompany.Alternatively, setupane-mailaddressoronlineformwhereemployees

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cansubmittheirfeedbackaboutthetravelpolicy.Ifyourcompanyusesonlinetravelexpensesmanagement,seewhetherafeedbackformcanbeaddedtotheexpensesdeclarationprocessforemployees.

Thisopenfeedbackcollectionmethodisrelativelyeasytoimplementbuthassomelimitations.Theresponseratewillbelower,andthemessagesyoureceivemayvaryinform,whichmakesithardertocomparethem.

Conduct a survey:UseanonlinesurveygeneratorlikeSurveyMonkeytocreateashortpollfortravellers.Tokeepthefeedbackfocussedandspecific,askclearquestionslike“Doyouthinkourtravelpolicymakesourcompanyabetterplacetowork?”Pollsareparticularlyusefulforhelpingyouidentifygeneralareasthatneedimprovement,thoughtheymaynotgiveyouasmuchspecificinformationasafeedbacksessionwould,forexample.

Starting Small: Easy, Low-Maintenance Traveller Engagement InitiativesAfteryou’vegainedanoverviewofwhatemployeesexpectand whatmighthelpengagethem,it’stimetostartdesigninginitiatives.Boostingengagementcanbesimplerthanyouthink.Thegoalisalwaystocreatebetterrelationshipswithinyourteam.Rememberthatthekeytobetterrelationshipsiscommunication.Herearesomeinexpensive,low-maintenanceoptionstoreallygettheteamvibesflowing:

Regular stand-ups:A‘stand-up’isaregularlyscheduled,generalteammeeting.Ideally,itisheldatleastonceaweek,andsometeamsevenprefertoholdastand-upeverymorning.Thisisa

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practicethatoriginatedinSiliconValleystart-upsandhastakenthecorporateworldbystorminrecentyears.That’sbecauseit’ssuchaneffectivewaytogeteveryoneinvolvedandletthemfeeltheyareworkingtogetheraspartofagreaterwhole.

Stand-upsshouldonlylastabout10-15minutesandshouldbe heldatthebeginningofeverymonth,weekorday.Allemployees inateamorprojectcometogether,ideallyfacetofaceinoneroom.TravellerscaneasilydialinusingfreeteleconferencingappslikeSkypeorZoom,ifnecessary.Onepersonisresponsibleforopeningthemeetingwithaquicksummaryofthelatestdevelopments,successesandsetbacks.Theyendbygivingasummaryofthingsthatstillneedtobedonetoreachspecificshort-termgoals.Then,theflooropensforquickquestionsandinputfromeveryoneintheteam.

Itmaytakesomepracticeandorganisationatfirst,especiallytoavoidtakinguptoomuchtime.However,thestand-upisagreatmethodformakingsureeveryoneintheteamisonthesamepage.Thiscreatesamuchstrongersenseofunity.It’stheperfectvenueforgivingrecognitiontoemployeesforajobwelldone.Youcanalsousethestand-uptointroduceandcollectquickfeedbackontravelpolicychanges,forexample.

Leveraging social media: Socialmediaisapowerfulforceforbuildingpersonalrelationshipstoday,notjustamongmillennials.Statisticallyspeaking,mostpeopleintheworkforceareactiveusersonsocialmediaapps.Facebook,WhatsAppandInstagramarethethreemostpopularplatformsaccordingtorecentmarketresearch.

Startinganinitiativetoimprovetravellerengagementusingthesepopularplatformsmakesgoodbusinesssense.Yourcompany’stravellersaregenerallyalreadyfamiliarwiththem,sonoadditionaltrainingorsetupisrequired.Plus,therearenoextracostsinvolved.

Photocompetitionsareagreatwaytogettravellersexchangingexperiencesandlikingeachotheronsocialmedia.Asktravellerstoposttheirmostinterestingtravelphotos.Youmightwanttochooseathemelike‘bestbusinesstravelfood’or‘unforgettablebusinesstravelexperiences’.Setadeadlineforemployeestoposttheirpics

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onsocialmediausinghashtags,thenholdavotetosee whichpicturewins.

Justremembertokeepthethemespositiveandencourageemployeestodothesame.Sincepostingtravelexperiencesonsocialmediahasbecomeintuitiveformostofus,initiativesliketheseenjoyahighacceptancerate.Also,byincludingyourcompany’snameasahashtag,socialmediainitiativeshelpraisebrandawareness.

Giving recognition:Everyonelovestobeacknowledgedforajobwelldone.Thefeelingisevenbetterwhenwereceivepraiseandrecognitionfromourpeers.Manycompaniesalreadyholdoccasionalawardceremoniesandeventstorecogniseoutstandingachievements.Awardsforreachingsalestargetsorcustomersatisfactiongoalsarequitestandard,butwhynotgivespecialrecognitiontotravellerstoo?

Proposetoincludeatleastonetravel-relatedawardatyourcompany’snextawardceremony.Forexample,acknowledgethetravellerwhocoveredthemostmiles,orthetravellerwiththestrongestpolicycompliancerecord.Thisisalow-costinitiativethatcanraisetheprestigeofyourtravellerswithinthecompanyandgivethemthered-carpettreatmenttheydeserve.

Scaling Up: Larger-scale Traveller Engagement InitiativesIfyourcompany’sstructureandbudgetallowforit,trylaunchingahigher-profileinitiativetoboostengagementandmakeyourtravellersfeeltrulyvalued.

Globetrotter’s gala:Mostemployeesloveacompanyparty,andtravellersarenoexception.Tryplanningaspecial,invitation-onlyeventjustforyourcompany’stravellerstogettogetherandcelebrateasateam.Setthetonewithanadventuroustraveltheme.Askemployeestodresstoimpressandbringphotosorsharepresentationsabouttheirinterestingrecenttravelexperiences.

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Aneventlikethismayinvolvesignificantplanningandcosts,butthebudgetandcomplexitycanalwaysbescaledtomeetyourcompany’sspecificneeds.Themostimportantthingisthattravellershaveachancetointeractwiththeirteammatesinafun,socialsetting.

Bringing travel into the network:Makesureyourtravellersneverfeelleftout.Keepthemintheloopwithtargeted,informativecommunications,pre-trip,enrouteandpost-trip.TryworkingwithyourITteamtointegratemessagingservicesintoyourtravelmanagementsoftwaresystems.Besuretocontacttravellersusingthemosteffectivechannel.Youmaywanttopolltravellersfirsttoseeiftheyprefermessagingbye-mail,textmessageorsocialmediawhentravelling.Sendthemrelevantdetailsrelatedtotheirtravelarrangementsordestination,aswellashealthandsafetycontactinformation.

Strategic education:Offerregulartrainingeventsandprovideplentyofclearcommunicationstokeepalltravellersonthesamepagewhenitcomestotravelpolicyandothertravel-relatedtopicslikehealth,safetyandculturalawareness.Trainingsessionsarenotjustanopportunityforlearning.Manyemployeesalsoexperiencethemasachancetointeractwithcolleagueswithwhomtheymaynotnormallywork.

Besuretomakeroomforsocialisingandnetworkingduringtrainingsessions.Tryincludingfungroupactivitiesthatencourageemployeestoworktogethertosolveproblemsoranswerquestions.Ideally,trainemployeesinsmallgroups(10to20employeesatatime).Alwaysstartwithaquickintroductionroundorusenametags,soeveryoneisonafirstnamebasis.Besuretoincludeashortbreakwheneverpossible.Investingmoretimeandeffortintrainingmaycomeatahighercostbutitalsoincreasesengagementandboostsemployeecommitment.

Beingflexible:Lastly,allowyourtravellersasmuchfreedomaspossibletomaketheirowntravelchoices.Itwillinevitablybenecessarytosetsomeboundaries(suchasairfareclasslimitsandpreferredsuppliersforeachrouteanddestination)butbestrategicabouthowyoucommunicatelimitationswithtravellers.Givetravellersthefeelingthatalltheoptionshavecertainadvantages,andallhavebeencarefullychosenwiththetravellers’bestinterestsatheart.

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Atthesametime,beflexibleenoughtoallowtravellersexceptionsincertaincases.Forexample,travellerswhohaveputinsomanykilometresinayearmaybecomeeligibleforspecialupgradesorotherextraexpenses.Formulateclearguidelinesthatfocusnotjustonsavingthecompanymoney,butalsomakingtravellersfeelvalued.

A Worthwhile Investment: EngagementMakesaDifferenceConsideringthehugeimpactengagementhasonemployeeperformance,retentionandcommitment,companiesshouldseeitasaworthwhileinvestment.It’snotjustaboutmakingtheworkplacefunnerormoresocial.Engagementactuallydrivesforwardacompany’sbusinessgoalstoo.Asyoucansee,therearemanywaysforcompaniestoinvestinamoreengagingrelationshipwiththeiremployees.Whichevermethodsworkbestforyourtravellers,allareagreatinvestmentinyourcompany’sfuturesuccess.

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