Business travel is entering a new era. Three years on from the start of the pandemic, a variety of factors – a distributed US workforce with people working from virtual offices, concern about employee engagement and retention, and the call for more corporate social responsibility – are flipping the script on how we view business travel. Organizations are now weighing both the costs and the benefits of their corporate travel program in a more holistic fashion that takes into consideration the monetary costs of travel, as well as the impact on employees when determining travel programs and policies.
Business travel isn’t going away. Whether it is for client meetings, conferences, or sales pitches, travel is a key component of an organization’s success. Conferences and trade shows can build brand awareness, expose your products to new audiences, and provide a vehicle for sharing ideas and information between colleagues. Face-to-face meetings are often essential to forming meaningful connections between clients and suppliers. But business travel that has become rote or habitual – travel for the sake of travel – is expensive and can lead to missed opportunities, unproductive meetings, and wasted resources.
“Intentional or purposeful business travel ensures that every trip aligns with the organization’s business objectives.”
What Does it Mean to Travel with Intention?
Intentional or purposeful business travel ensures that every trip aligns with the organization’s business objectives. Having a clear understanding of what the business hopes to achieve in advance of booking a trip, allows travelers to plan and prepare accordingly to ensure that the trip is worthwhile. Going on a trip without a clear objective or forethought can squander both time and resources. Intentionality in business travel can lead to more productive meetings. When travelers are focused on what they hope to achieve through the trip, they are better prepared to capture opportunities.
Understanding why their people travel can help travel managers institute travel policies and guidelines that align with the corporate culture and business objectives. Additionally, it can lead to better time management, ensuring that all meetings and activities are scheduled and executed effectively. Ultimately, this can lead to better relationships with clients and partners and improved business outcomes.
The Care and Feeding of Business Travelers
Companies are recognizing that their employees’ mental, physical, and emotional well-being must be an integral part of an organization’s travel operations. Intentionality in business travel can have a positive impact on employee well-being. Business travel can be stressful, and without clear objectives or plans, employees can feel overwhelmed, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. By having a clear understanding of what they hope to achieve through a business trip, employees can plan more proactively, including getting sufficient rest, scheduling downtime, and ensuring they have the necessary resources to complete their tasks. Ultimately, this approach can improve work-life balance and job satisfaction, which can positively impact the organization’s overall productivity and success.
More and more corporate travel managers are looking for ways to measure and mitigate the adverse impact of business travel on employees. For example, travel giants, Egencia and TripActions have debuted online dashboards that collect and analyze data relative to traveler wellbeing. John Sturino, Senior Vice President of Product and Engineering at American Express GBT, was quoted in a recent article on purposeful travel in Phocuswire as saying: “Before the pandemic there were certain things that weren’t thought of as part of the travel manager’s job, and I think wellness was one of them. Once you get into a position as a general manager where you don’t see people every day, a lot of those signals you used to have to say whether your folks are doing okay, went away.”
Purposeful Travel is More Cost Effective
Intentionality in business travel leads to cost savings. Travel managers implementing wellness metrics report seeing direct links between traveler well-being and successful business outcomes, with measurable return on investment of time, money, and effort. When employees have a clear understanding of what they hope to achieve through the trip, they can choose the most cost-effective travel options and accommodations.
Additionally, having clear objectives can help prioritize travel expenses, ensuring that travelers spend only on what is necessary to achieve the company’s goals. Ultimately, these cost savings can be reinvested in other areas of the business. As travel managers evolve better ways to measure and assess the overall impact of business travel, they can be more effect in implementing ways to help their travelers continually improve both their wellness and their business results.
Intentionality is Good for the Planet
Intentionality in business travel can also have a positive impact on the environment. Global business travel leaves a significant carbon footprint, which contributes to climate change. At the “Purposeful Travel Summit” hosted by Microsoft last year, attendees, comprised of a broad swath of industry professionals including buyers and suppliers, concluded that it is imperative that business travel management in the future incorporate sustainability goals and endeavor to have “higher impact, lower footprint and greater inclusivity” including minimal impact on traveler health.
Objective, purposeful travel policies let employees schedule their trips more effectively and choose the most environmentally friendly travel options. Additionally, assessing intentionality in business travel decisions can lead to more virtual meetings, reducing the need for travel and decreasing the organization’s total carbon footprint.
In Conclusion
Business travel is essential for the success of an organization. In the past, business travel management was limited to simply logistical and cost considerations. Incorporating the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of business travel into an overarching travel philosophy can result in more positive business outcomes with minimal adverse impact.
Today’s travel managers have a unique opportunity to expand their scope and contribute towards a more successful, productive, and sustainable organization. Purposeful travel policies improve productivity, ensure employee well-being, deliver measurable cost savings, and can have a positive impact on the environment. As such, travel managers should encourage employees to plan their trips with intentionality; setting clear objectives, preparing effectively for meetings, prioritizing expenses, and choosing the most environmentally friendly travel options.
