Even with the best automated travel policy, there will always be times that trips outside of your policy have to be approved. But just because they’re outside of policy doesn’t mean they can’t be managed. In fact, by tracking compliance issues and trends you can very easily make decisions that drive more value from your travel management.
Why does compliance matter?
Travel policy compliance isn’t just about saving money. It also helps you keep travelers safe, promote fairness, and allocate travel budgets more accurately.
Is compliance an issue at your company? Are more than 15% of trips booked outside of your approved travel booking platform? Even though travel policy compliance is challenging, you should never toss it out the window in favor of unmanaged travel.
Are you experiencing any of these issues at your company?
The average cost for a business trip for tech companies booking with us was €422.33, with the cheapest coming in at €5.08, for a train ticket in the Netherlands.
These issues are common amongst companies that are either relying on unmanaged travel (no travel management solution or processes).
However, these issues can be equally prevalent at companies where employees don’t like whatever travel management solution is in place. If they don’t enjoy the tool or agency, they will book outside of it, causing administrative and financial concerns.
Here are six reasons why compliance matters:
Cost reduction
You’re constantly reminding all travelers to spend only what’s needed and to choose affordable flight dates and hotel locations.
Employee fairness
You know which departments are currently over their monthly or quarterly budget and you can see who books outside of policy or above benchmarks.
Invoice tracking
When a department is close to going over budget, you show their spend data and ask whether the upcoming trip warrants going over budget.
Sticking to your budget
You’re constantly reminding all travelers to spend only what’s needed and to choose affordable flight dates and hotel locations.
Optimizing travel
You know which departments are currently over their monthly or quarterly budget and you can see who books outside of policy or above benchmarks.
Traveler safety
When a department is close to going over budget, you show their spend data and ask whether the upcoming trip warrants going over budget.
Let your team know that compliance isn’t just for the sake of bureaucracy. Share all of the below reasons (or whatever reasons matter to you) for why your company is working on improving travel policy compliance.Showcase these motivations in a company-wide memo, during a company meeting, and at the top of your updated travel policy document.
Why don’t employees comply?
It can feel nearly impossible to achieve 100% policy compliance, and sometimes that is due to matters you can’t control like extreme weather. But often, it’s due to sneaky little issues that pile up.