How to keep your employees healthy, happy and productive when they travel for work?
05 strategies to manage traveler well-being:
- Organizational remit
- Trip discipline (whether or not to travel)
- Travel policy
- Health management
- Disruption management
Incentivize well-being management
All too often, travel manager performance bonuses are linked solely to financial savings. It could be interesting to analyze alternative ways of rewarding travel managers for other strategic goals, such as employee retention, medical claims, or employee days off work. Alternatively, program milestones related to well-being could be set as a target for travel managers to aim for.
Improved internal coordination
Earlier research sponsored by Amadeus has shown that travel management requires a strategic and global approach to maximize a company’s return on investment in travel9 . As a contributor to travel ROI, that same holistic attitude is also important for managing traveler well-being. A transversal team involving not just travel managers but other relevant departments, such as HR, health & safety and risk & security management are more likely to have the knowledge, internal influence and buy-in to make their travel well-being program a success. This team could lead a multi-disciplinary approach to identify ways to improve traveler well-being, put them into action, and measure their effectiveness.
1. Organizational remit
Research Survey your travelers to better understand their stress points, their views on productivity, and what would help improve their well-being. You could learn many specific insights that could quickly be addressed, such as hotels in your preferred program that are inconveniently located. With the help of HR, ‘ teams’ could track anonymized data such as absenteeism, medical claims and retention rates of frequent travelers, and compare results with non-travelers in order to identify potential problems and measure progress in traveler well-being over time.
Gain C-suite buy-in
As with all aspects of travel management, endorsement from the C-suite will open many doors. There may be senior managers in the company, such as the head of human resources or the person with lead responsibility for risk management, who could help get the buy-in to implement well-being projects. To do so, teams may consider:
_ Creating a concise but compelling cost-benefit analysis using internal research.
_ Identify highlights from medical research papers.
_ Summarize the risks of inaction and the ROI of proposed actions to improve traveler well-being.
_ Highlight that some of initiatives will cost the company little or nothing.
Finally, let’s not forget that C-suite leaders most probably travel a lot and could also personally benefit from proposed measures.
Make travel managers well-being champions
If corporations want to show they take traveler wellbeing seriously, it needs to be clear who is responsible for it and who manages it. Our survey showed that when travel managers suggested changes to improve traveler well-being, their organization accepted these suggestions in 73% of the cases. This presents a great opportunity for travel managers to become well-being champions. This would:
_ Ensure a balanced approach to travel management priorities (meeting the needs of both employer and employee).
_ Give travelers a voice in the rest of the organization.
2. Policy
Make policy more flexible
Most travelers are happier if they have more selfcontrol over their travel arrangements. As a result, policies have become more flexible in recent years, sometimes even to the point of telling travelers simply to do ‘what is right’. A typical way of showing greater flexibility and accountability is letting them choose any hotel in a city, or even to stay with friends, family or in collaborative housing, as long as it costs less than a set price cap.
Technology can play a major role in giving travelers more choice, while still trying to influence their decisions. An example of this influence would be displaying a message telling them how much their colleagues normally spend on a similar itinerary.
Reduce indirect flights
Flying indirect also emerged as an important stress factor in the traveler survey. In another survey of business travelers, allowing non-stop travel was also chosen as the number one way to reduce traveler stress.
Allow trip recovery time Some companies allow business travelers to take a day off after a long-haul flight to help overcome jet lag, especially when flying economy.
Minimize travel outside working hours Extensive time spent away from families affects not only travelers but also their partners and children, which becomes another source of stress for travelers. It is rarely possible to mandate travel during normal working hours only, but the principle can at least be encouraged.
Choose your preferred hotels carefully Avoid selecting hotels located far away from where your employees will have their meeting, especially in cities with chronic traffic problems. And since connectivity problems are identified in our survey as another major source of stress, it’s equally important to ensure hotels have the required phone or Wi-Fi connections that travelers need to do their job.
Maximize ability to work while traveling The results of this research show that inability to stay “connected” and work productively while on a trip is a major source of stress. Take steps to help, such as selecting airlines that offer in-flight Wi-Fi, or allow employees to purchase airport lounge access.
Support “bleisure” In the past, business trips used to be swift and clinical. However, according to an Expedia study from 2018, 60% of business travelers extend their trip to include leisure activities and this applies to all age groups, not just millennials. With constant advances in technology, business travelers have greater control and connectivity while on the road which means the corporate travel experience has taken on a different dimension. Increasingly employees on the road want more from their trips which is why it’s important for companies that they can make the most of their trip. Allowing travelers to add a day or two to their business trip can reduce stress caused by early or late flights and increase overall satisfaction with the trip. This flexibility will not only benefit the employee but might also translate in savings for the company as weekend flights are typically cheaper.
Introduce trusted reviews Travelers use consumer review tools to find the hotels that best suit their sense of well-being – for example in a quiet location or with a well-equipped gym. Consider introducing tools where reviews are written by fellow employees.
Consider the total cost of travel Some of these options could increase the initial cost of travel, however this needs to be weighed against the hidden costs of reduced productivity, increased sick leave or absenteeism for the company over time if travel well-being isn’t considered. Work with your travel management company or consultant to understand exactly how travel costs could be affected.
3. Trip discipline
Understand better when not to travel An unproductive business trip is bad for everyone. It loads unnecessary stress on employees as they know they aren’t making the best use of their time and are away from home. It also wastes the company’s money.
Find the right balance between trip length and frequency A previous study about the return on investment in travel concluded that trips are more likely to be unproductive if they involve only a small number of meetings or are booked at short notice (not giving enough time to plan meetings properly). Instead, one longer trip involving more meetings could be more productive than two shorter ones.
Set clear objectives for each trip Another way to limit unproductive trips is to establish why someone needs to travel in the first place. Technology can play a major role by automating approval requests based on specific criteria and/or requesting a trip justification. Simply going through the process of having to justify travel in black and white makes travelers (and their management) more thoughtful about when to travel or not.
Opt for virtual alternatives From desktop and mobile applications to advanced video-conferencing and, soon, via virtual reality headsets, there are increasingly good and cheaper ways to meet without having to travel. Companies can adopt a multi-disciplinary approach with other departments to invest in good quality non-travel alternatives.
4. Health Management
Communicate healthy lifestyle options Travelers rated unhealthy eating and lack of exercise as their 8th and 13th greatest sources of stress respectively. Respond by offering education on healthy nutrition, exercise and sleep practices while on the road. Companies could include a healthy traveler section on a company travel app and invite employees to contribute with their own suggestions. In addition, offer free health-friendly accessories such as compression stockings to avoid deep vein thrombosis on long-haul flights.
Choose healthier hotels Make well-being a key consideration when selecting your hotel program. Does the property have a gym or swimming pool, for example, and does the menu offer more than burgers and fries? Another option is to provide a membership to external gyms near hotels.
Help travelers manage their workloads Other stress factors which scored fairly high in the survey were working long hours during a trip and catching up with work backlogs post-trip. Collaborate with HR and other departments to mitigate these problems, such as designating time for travelers to catch up on their work upon return, allowing preparation time pre-trip and recovery time post-trip, or delegating some of their workload to colleagues.
Subsidize healthy apps Recommend and perhaps even pay for mobile apps that employees can use to monitor and improve their fitness while traveling. For example, frequent travelers could be given a budget to purchase from a selection of workout apps with exercises that can be done anywhere with no equipment, meditation apps, or some that track food and drink consumption.
Understand which travelers are most at risk Track the well-being of travelers who run the highest risk of stress. This isn’t always simply those who travel the most. Other determining factors might include those who regularly take early, late or weekend flights, cross the most time zones, or take back-to-back trips. Carry out regular traveler surveys and health checks too – perhaps an annual medical check.
Be ready to listen and intervene Again, working with HR, encourage employees to speak up if they believe travel is burning them out. That means making them feel that they will be treated sympathetically and without jeopardizing their job – especially as sensitive issues like smoking and drinking could be connected. Also encourage travelers to monitor their own health and detect tell-tale signs of stress.
Give time off Consider allowing travelers some paid time off if they have traveled extensively, especially at nights or during weekends. Recognition of this kind not only prevents potential burn-outs but could boost morale and productivity.
Intentional flexibility Financing some childcare services and giving employees more flexibility in whether they travel overnight or take day trips when feasible could benefit all parents. This will improve productivity, widen the pool of talent and ensure companies are matching the demands and expectations of the current workforce.
5. Disruption management
Put in place effective disruption management tools and processes With delayed baggage and return flights ranking in the top 5 of the 37 different travel stress factors, it is clear that mitigating disruption is critical to managing stress. Ensure your travel service providers have good processes and technology to handle flight delays, such as predicted and actual disruption alerts, and automated mobile rebooking for cancelled flights or missed transfers.
Stay informed on most punctual providers Travel management companies and corporations can track the most punctual airlines or airports, and offer other transportation options like rail for shorter journeys when available.Travel management companies and corporations can track the most punctual airlines or airports, and offer other transportation options like rail for shorter journeys when available.
Review mobile communication plans Anyone who has had to navigate a foreign city during rush hour knows the importance of a reliable international data plan. Partnerships with mobile providers are often managed by the IT department. Make sure IT understands the types of problems your travelers may face while on the road and ask them to provide input on pricing and signal availability needs in key locations.
Use trip management tools Technology can help reduce stress and improve productivity by keeping travelers better informed throughout their trip. A company travel management app could provide essential information including itineraries, destination maps and addresses, on-trip booking capability, contact numbers and much more.
There is no doubt that traveling for business is inherently good for a company and its employees. Getting out of the office and meeting customers face-to-face helps to build relationships and to move business forward. The challenge for companies is to ensure that every business trip is as productive as can be and causes the minimal amount of stress for its employees. The surveys Amadeus conducted with nearly 100 travel managers and 900 business travelers, answered these three key questions: