How to Keep Business Travel Costs Down
In business, we have to travel. It is important that we go to meetings, conferences and to visit clients. It is just a part of the working world. This travel is a really important aspect of any business. Not only can you allow team members to build on their skill set through corporate travel, but you can also allow one-to-one meetings with clients. These are all things that contribute to making your business successful, having happy clients and, of course, retaining staff too! But what do we do when the cost of sending our employees on trips is beginning to get a little bit too much? Take a look at a few of the ways that you can save money on work travel!
#1 Setting a realistic budget
Now we aren’t going to name names, but we all know that some employees get a little carried away when they know that their lunch is on the company. To stop this frivolity from occurring, it may just be worth setting budgets for your employees. If you are planning a trip for one of your workers then have a meeting with them before they go. Let them know that this is not a three-bottles-of-champagne-and-a-steak kind of gig. Let them know that you will be watching what they are spending, and that you will not be paying for their food, drinks, transport and accommodation over a certain cost. This will force your workers to be a little bit more frugal with their company spending when they go abroad! If you cay “no budget” they hear “no limit”, so be sure to set out a lower – but still realistic – budget.
#2 Being more nifty
Let your worker figure out most of the finances for themselves. You don’t need to spend hours looking into the cheapest deals or more financially realistic options. Let the employees do that for you! Get them to look into parking at airports and other online avenues for saving money, then review their spending after!
#3 Have a pre and post travel meeting
By having a talk with your employees before they head off on their travels, you will ensure that they are aware of budget, schedules and any other necessities. Always mention that there will be a post travel meeting as well, as this will ensure that they are professional while traveling, keeping to their budgets and prepared to give you positive feedback too! You can even get them to do a little bit of self-teaching. Get employees to do finance sheets, set targets and think of actionable ways that they can shed some pennies off their travels!
#4 Mock up a travel/work schedule
Just because your employee is abroad or out of the office, doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t continue to do work. Make sure that you are still getting a good working day out of them (without overworking them, of course). If your worker is heading out for a meeting that requires an overnight stay then make sure that they have enough work to keep them busy post-meeting too. This will mean that they are still being both useful and productive even after they have been to the meeting!
#5 Let them know that you are concerned about the money
Most people are very understanding if you do not have the money to put them up in a five star hotel, and they will more often than not be okay with a slightly downgraded option. Simply take your employee to one side, explain that you can’t afford pop them in first class seats or accommodations and that they will have to downgrade for this journey. If they are a good and loyal employee then they will understand.
Corporate travel is an imperative part of leading a good business, so making sure that you can continue is really important! So, follow some of these top tips and lower those costs today!