If you are noticing the costs of your employees traveling is causing a strong financial burden, and you feel you could conserve money in this area, there are some travel management companies you can look into hiring. There are also some things you can do throughout the office, and travel guidelines you can implement to improve employee motivation to reduce costs. Consider doing the following to start changing how your company spends money on travel.
Travel Programs
Look into a incentive travel program that allows you discounted rates on hotel and airfare, and on rental cars or other expenses that your employees will rack up while traveling. These programs will have a set list of hotels for your employees to stay at, they will select the flights with the lowest rates, and the most reasonable seats, and they will work to keep your corporate travel costs down. There are incentive travel programs that give you points or a reward system, so you can get reduced or free travel arraignments in the future.
Cost Breakdowns
Have a cost breakdown sheet that each employee has to fill out when they return from their trip, along with a copy of their credit card statement to ensure that the charges match the reported costs. This should include every meal, toll road fee, parking expense or other cost that they have filled out to be reimbursed for, or that were charged on their company credit card. Your staff can look for errors or wasted money spent, or find out who is spending too much too often while they travel.
Employee Incentives
Create incentive programs for employees who conserve money and who spend the least amount when they travel. These incentives could be anything from a gift at the end of the year, or the free travel bonuses you get from the travel programs you’re enrolled in. The incentive should be enough that the employees want to cut down their traveling expenses so they can earn the incentive.
Enrolling in a corporate travel program and getting the employees on your payroll involved with savings goals will help you reduce the burden that corporate travel has put on your business. Having a meeting to let employees know that they will be rewarded for minimal spending, and limited on spending can show your employees you are serious about cutting costs. Look at the different incentive programs and find the best one for your travel needs.
