New research conducted by SAP Concur in May-June 2020 examines the concerns and expectations of business travellers post COVID-19
While the data suggests that travel will continue to play an irreplaceable role in meeting critical business needs, it also shows that employees are top-of-minded in terms of health and safety. The survey reveals that it is essential for business travellers to ensure their health and safety while travelling, with 65% placing it in their top three considerations.
The top business travel concerns also include infecting their families (55%) and getting sick themselves (53%).
The SAP Concur survey found that 96% of travel manager respondents reported that their business was not fully prepared to handle evolving travel demands during the outbreak.
As business travel resumes, by adopting the following tips, travel managers can meet the expectations of business travellers to keep them healthy and safe:
Update travel policies: Travel managers should examine their current travel policies and make updates to suit the current situation. What the company will consider essential travel is one crucial guideline to update. They should work with human resources and their business leaders to determine which business functions should be performed in person, and which can be performed online. Approximately 39% of business travellers say that they consider limiting business travel to just the most critical business trips as vital for their company to implement when travel resumes. It will not only help minimise the exposure of employees, but it can also make a difference in the firm’s bottom line.
Consult the experts: National health organisations and hospitals offer free travel information for businesses and consumers. Travel managers should keep updated on the latest guidance and ensure that employees are aware of these resources. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a Travel resources page with helpful information on travelling within the country and internationally. The Mayo Clinic also has a web page with COVID-19 travel advice. TripIt from Concur offers a helpful Travellers Resource Centre that gathers a collection of resources to make finding information about public health, safety advisories, and travel guidelines easy.
Health checks and personal protective equipment (PPE): Travel managers should look into how they can implement compulsory personal health screenings for employees before and after travel. Indeed, 39% of business travellers think this is an important measure that companies should take. This can help to alleviate the concerns of business travellers about infecting others and being infected during travel. Furthermore, 33% of business travellers want easier access to PPEs such as gloves or facemasks and expect their company to supply them with this equipment.
Implement technology that gives insight into employees' travel plans: Knowing where employees are during business trips is vital for travel managers so that they can communicate with them if an incident occurs. An integrated technology solution that provides up-to-date business traveller data and the ability to reach out to employees in case of an emergency provides both business traveller and travel manager with peace of mind.
While these tips will not solve all business travel challenges fully, they can help alleviate some of the concerns that employees have when it comes to travelling back and assisting businesses to adapt, stabilise and re-imagine business travel in the new normal.
