Ryan BushellMany human resources and travel teams tell us that business travel is becoming a significant factor in employee satisfaction. They are looking for solutions to create a policy that is more reflective of modern working patterns – and especially for employees who need to travel for work and may not have access to a company car.
A business travel policy that provides a hierarchy of mobility options for these ad hoc business trips can help to outline the company’s preferences for using public transport, rental or even privately-owned vehicles, aligning travel behaviour with broader corporate objectives and values.
Yet this mobility hierarchy may not always offer the most appropriate choices, especially if it has not been recently reviewed and aligned to an era of increased travel options and shaped by flexible and hybrid working.
Today there is a host of new transport choices such as car clubs and rental bikes, a desire to encourage more active travel and micromobility, and new technology platforms that enable much more detailed journey planning and ride sharing.
When we surveyed people who travel for business, we asked them to what extent an employer’s business travel offering was a factor in their job selection, especially where people are expected to drive their own car for work. Almost two thirds (61%) of UK employees said they’d consider changing jobs to work for a company that had better measures for business travel than using privately-owned cars.
So, rethinking that travel hierarchy can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and support organisational sustainability goals. By tracking data on colleagues who travel together, organisations can reduce the cumulative costs of multiple travel tickets or single-occupant journeys, encouraging people to make better decisions.
It can also improve the employee experience for business travellers. We’ve identified that employees attending the same event or location can benefit from more collaborative approaches to travel, potentially using one vehicle to transport several people.
A more dynamic approach to business travel
Designing an effective travel policy begins with what the organisation is looking to achieve, whether reduced cost, lower emissions or other goals, combined with using existing data – or collecting it over time – to identify the best options for real-world scenarios.
Journey planning and booking tools can then help to prompt employees to think about the best way to approach a specific trip.
For example, public transport is often seen as the best option if reducing emissions is key. The increase in electric vehicle (EV) availability means that a journey by car can also help to reduce emissions during use and enables several people to ride in one vehicle, reducing the per-capita cost of travel.
Some employees make lots of shorter trips or journeys that can be taken mostly by public transport, but with a car picked up at a station or transport hub at the end. In that case, either a dedicated vehicle parked on-site as part of an employee car club or access to an on-street network might be good options.
This evolution in travel options has led to a need for more dynamic decision-making. The travel hierarchy might become a travel ‘suite’, where business trips are still policy-compliant, but there is more situational awareness and flexibility to encompass the wider range of choices.
Data and technology play a central role in making this possible. Many mobility partners offer customisable booking platforms which can be programmed to prompt behaviours such as:
- Influencing a travel policy that identifies the right mode of transport for the right journey
- Identifying opportunities for shared journeys to the same event or site
- Tracking vehicle occupancy to optimise fleet use
- Analysing the number of ‘last minute’ bookings (less than 24 hours before the trip) and determining the best way to manage them
- Supporting EV deployment and charging strategies based on where employees travel.
Building a more diverse travel policy
In many cases, we work with HR and travel teams to revisit and review the travel policy. We often find that this can lead to a useful conversation around how to make contracts with mobility providers and travel management companies more efficient, increasing value.
By analysing employee travel and joining the dots, organisations can create a more nuanced travel policy that aligns with how and where employees work, encourages smarter trip planning, supports business goals such as reducing miles, emissions and cost, and improves overall compliance.
We find that when employees are given options and tools to plan and think ahead about the best way to integrate transport and mobility options for a journey, especially as part of a team, the outcome is a more employee-friendly, cost-effective, and environmentally conscious approach to business travel.
Ryan Bushell is head of public sector at UK & Ireland at Enterprise Mobility
