How can compliance with the travel policy be incentivized?

CLARA SÁNCHEZ PICOUT, Travel manager de GRUPO EULEN.

 

Business culture is increasingly looking more and more to convince rather than impose. It is more effective, especially with the new digital generations. On the one hand, it is the companies that develop travel policies, but then it is the travelers who have to comply with them, so the human factor must be taken into account.

Thinking about the traveler means that it cannot be a unidirectional task from the travel manager, but a two-way communication. The travel policy has to be clear and it is necessary to have the capacity to communicate it, but it is more reasonable and profitable to establish action guidelines rather than rigid processes. Moreover, monitoring is essential, because if there is no compliance target, it is useless.

Policy is something that is alive. It needs to be reviewed frequently, and more so in these times when the travel market is changing so rapidly. In this sense, the parameterization of self-booking tools has been a revolution.


Corporate social networks are very useful for circulating incidents, complaints or first-hand warnings that can serve to guide other travelers and the travel manager. It is a new channel that is becoming more and more important, but it can also be a double-edged sword. If it is anonymous, it can be a breeding ground for other uses, and if it is nominative, employees may be cautious about expressing themselves.