Improve T&E Program Compliance with These 3 Program Communication Tips.

Getting everyone on board with your Travel and Entertainment (T & E) program can be a challenge. I have found that these three tips make compliance improve significantly.

1.   Request compliance with your T&E system not just your suppliers. I often hear at kick off meetings for new customers that the company will be requiring everyone to use their new agency - MacNair Travel. While that may be true, aren’t you asking them to commit to the system that you selected to manage this significant line item with you TMC as one fulfilling supplier of this process? You want them to follow your T&E policies, your procedures for booking and filing travel expenses, preferred supplier agreements, security and more. And your TMC is here to help direct some of these items and support them. The process has many pieces that you have carefully selected. Sell your process. Maybe even name it.

2.   Make sure T AND E are addressed in your policies and procedures for everyone to understand.Seeing the big picture of the procurement ecosystem that you want them to comply with to manage this big line item makes for a bigger case for following this generally accepted procurement process. 

3.   Explain what is in it for the company and them. They haven’t heard the case for procuring versus simply buying travel. Explain it to them. Travel management is the ying and yang of making sure the company and the travelers are as happy as they can be together. A win-win. Win-lose scenarios never work out. So what are you looking to accomplish, what are the numbers behind it, how have you determined it will deliver an ROI. Then update this at least once a year with data from the TMC.

 

 

I hope this helps rejuvenate you on the opportunities and inspires you to relaunch with better results. This is the right thing to do

25 Transformations in 25 Years: Association Saves Fees and Fares by Implementing Online Booking Tool with MacNair Travel Management

An Arlington telecommunications association wanted a travel program that was high-tech and high-touch that would save on fares and fees. In 2002, they selected MacNair Travel Management to implement a program to provide top-shelf support and quality technology that would drive high online adoption rates, save money through policy creation and enforcement, and offer a wide range of fare savings opportunities. We implemented several important features: we implemented GetThere, an industry leading online reservation tool, we provided comprehensive kickoff meetings and on going training to introduce the association staff to MacNair’s team and technology, we helped update and enforce a new travel policy that clearly defined when online should be used, we helped the association justify their new travel program and policy decisions with data and best practices, and we instituted reporting system to include a central credit card reconciliation process that made their finance department giddy with excitement.  

Results:

The association's average ticket cost in the last year (we tracked from April 2013 through March 2014) was $415, which was far below the national average for the same timeframe of $545*, providing a per-ticket savings of $130. Based on its ticket count of 402, the association saved $52,260. Of these 402 transactions, 93% were online. The association's online adoption rate has increased by 30% since their first year with us in 2002 – that year the percentage was 63%. Since each on-line transaction saves $20 in fees over the industry average for full service transactions, the association saved a total of $7,460 on fees. Thus, the association saved $59,720 in the past year in combined airfares and fees. Twelve years later they are still finding a savings with us and still going strong.

*Numbers are based on national averages provided my Topaz International and GBTA

Uber and Lyft are cool. Can cool get you in hot water?

I love how technology is revolutionizing the world. I am amazed how bureaucracies like taxi commissions are being challenged by new ideas and products like Uber and Lyft. I even love how being able to book black cars and taxis online are making their way into our capabilities. I personally use Uber myself and love it, but I thought about how products like this need to be evaluated and vetted by your procurement team like every other supplier used by your company.

I have been watching taxi commissions trying to address the public use of these tools and can understand both sides of the argument on the subject. Governments have set expectations about what taxi services should have to protect consumers up until now and in most locations, services like Uber have not had to comply with these requirements. On the other hand, I have sat in bad dirty taxi vehicles driven by drivers that don’t know there way around for too much money. Drivers who don’t talk to me because they are on their phones with a friend, who have ancient technology on board, and who I have no easy way to rate their service.

As you may know, Uber gives you the capability to rate their drivers and even pick the highest rated ones. I am by no means trying to throw taxi drivers under the bus, but inconsistencies are rampant in a system that was developed to protect consumers and ensure quality. As in anything, I think that the answer of what to do with the revolution started by companies like this lies somewhere in the middle. Some regulation, more competition, and automation. I am pretty confident that that is where this will end up.

That being said, this is an example of the risks that your travelers can be obliging your organization to if you do not vet and pay attention to the suppliers used by your staff. If an accident does occur, if an executive misses appointment, if a road warrior spends way too much (price should also be vetted in the process), or your credit card data is stolen, there will be costs to your organization. I am not stating what your policy should be, I am only confirming that directing your people to approved suppliers is a good habit. I will add that many limo companies and rental car companies are trying to play catch up, and they too are an option that should be considered.

Is this addressed in your travel policy? Do you tell your travelers which process to follow, which suppliers to use, and which payment system to utilize? The recommended process, your preferred suppliers, and why should be identified. As always, engage your travel squad (a team involved the most in travel who helps evolve your travel program including legal and HR staff). Then, finally, tell your TMC what to enforce.

Do We Deliver Freedom to Our Customers or a Capability or Both?

I was asked recently by a friend of mine, who also happens to be business consultant, if ours is a freedom sale or a capability sale. A freedom sale allows the customer to gain freedom from the supplier by having them do something faster, better, and cheaper.  The capability sale brings a unique solution to a problem many customers have.

 

Your travelers and our agents would probably answer a freedom sale as we deliver a better trip faster, better, and cheaper than the traveler could deliver on their own. Your Travel Managers and our Account Managers would respond that it’s a capability sale because we are helping to create and manage a travel procurement system that the company neither has the expertise, data, personnel or time to do completely on their own. So the freedom sale is transactional (trip management) and the capability sale is the part that we do that is strategic (systems development or travel management) for Travel and Expense.

What about both? What we know is that when both are leveraged together well, the results are exponential – and it is exciting.  The right system is developed based on the right best practices, tools, and company culture, and as a result the transactions come out better because both the company and the traveler are as happy as possible.  So the key here is to make sure you are leveraging your TMC’s support on the freedom sale side (trips) and the capability side (travel). What we often find is that because travel management systems and processes are so unknown to so many, that the focus is usually solely on trip management.

Our focus for years has been on the development of a healthy travel management ecosystem that balances the desires of the company and its travelers. Guidance, training, education and evolution are at the core of the travel leadership consulting we intend to deliver to those who seek this capability. A great example of this is one of our customers who saved $250,000 out of its 1.5 million dollar travel budget and gained control and support in the process. Got freedom and capability?

How Do You Best Survey the Health and Effectiveness of Your Travel Program?

I would like to share that when surveying or measuring your travel program you should consider two best practices we have found to enhance this process. One, collect a net promoters score ("On a scale of 0-10, how likely would you be to recommend our travel program to a friend of colleague and why?"). Asking this question gives you a score to work on, it is one question so your number of respondents will increase, and the why at the end of the question allows for comments about anything that is very important to consider (good or bad). Then number two, separate the results into two different groups. Those who manage travel (the line item such as finance, your travel manager…) and those who take trips (the road warriors). The scores will be different as both parties have different goals for different reasons. Consider the opinions of these different sources will develop a more effective and logical set of follow ups. I remember being in high school and I must say that our cafeteria had the best food I had ever eaten. I remember the German baker and the amazing lunch ladies that would pump out amazing food on a dime. They never got any kudos from the students because we were all forced to eat there every day. They did win awards from the school district for their quality and value. So the scores will be different for legitimate different reason that you need to evaluate. We too have begun assessing survey results in these two buckets.

 

Learn about this and 13 other Key Performance Indicators to Determine the Health of your Travel Procurement Program at our webinar next week on May 29. Register for the webinar by clicking here.

Sure, your T&E costs aren’t the Wolf of Wall Street’s but are you managing the threats to this 2nd largest controllable cost?

In the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill throw hundred-dollar bills in the trash, charter planes, stay in luxury penthouses, and toss cash off a balcony. The movie follows the trajectory of DiCaprio's character, Jordan Belfort, a party-minded stockbroker who spent 22 months in prison for market manipulation and running a penny stock boiler room in the '90s. When I saw the movie I also thought of his gross miss management of his firm's Travel and Expense (T&E) budget. One scene shows Rob Reiner – who plays Belfort's father and the firm CFO– freaking out over the fact that his son spent $26,000 on one dinner. Belfort then asks his business partner Azoff to tell his dad about "the sides." "What, they cure cancer?" asks Reiner's character. So while your T&E might not be that out of control and the abuses may or may not be illegal, can you access data that will assess your T&E spending so that you can identify dangers, opportunities, and strengths in this very significant line item? The data is available from your TMC, credit card company, and/or expense tools. It is easily available today if you have the right partners and the right direction from those partners. After all, simply telling your team to book where they want and make good decisions may have been the travel policy of Belfort's firm Stratton Oakmont!

To avoid these pitfalls and determine where you can determine the health of your travel program reach out to your TMC or join us on our webinar on May 29 at noon. For details on the webinar check here  14 Indicators of T & E Health for 2014 or contact Jess Cardenas at jcardenas@macnairtravel.com.

My iPhone was and will be even more my secret weapon on the road. How do you address communications and smartphone tools in your travel policy?

While on my trek to Everest base camp in Nepal my phone was my secret weapon. It was the single most important device that I had with me and I used it often. In thinking about this critical business travel tool, I wondered how companies should direct and advise their road warriors on the use of such a tool, what should be required as policy, what is recommended as important uses of such a tool,  and what is an approved expense. I would love to hear your comments, I’d love to see what is written in your company policy, and I’d like to inspire a useful discussion for those of you who would like to enhance how you address communications while on travel.



Power. A critical commodity. Charging my phone on the way to Base Camp.

Here are some of the ways I used my device and some observations:

Communication. I used my iPhone to communicate and had many options to enhance how this tool would operate. I checked with Verizon before I departed and understood the local charges. They were quite high. Many on the trip visited a local communications shop and purchased either a local Nepalese phone or a Nepalese SIM card. The other option is to communicate when Wi-Fi was accessible. I used FaceTime a few times, emailed the office and friends and family often from the phone, posted pictures and distributed updates on Facebook via the phone. To take it a step further, climbers at base camp had purchased a sleeve that turns the iPhone into a satellite phone. So from a communication standpoint, the options were endless. What do you direct employees to do and what constitutes approval for some upgraded communication tools when traveling to developing companies like Nepal?

Camera. My camera on my phone was the only camera I had. With a swipe of my thumb my camera was ready to take the amazing shots that I took. Panoramas, videos, selfies and more were easy to take, of high quality, and ready to post. I have had cameras before and others lugged around big cameras but I was amazed and satisfied with what I secured from this amazing device. While on work related projects do you limit what people are able to post or do you require or encourage them to take and post pictures so that the company is more engaged with the work related projects and activities that are going on? 



Me at Everest Base Camp. Photo taken with my iPhone.

Travel tools. I used it for my itinerary, boarding pass, confirmations, and more. These are all best practices for the most part. You could take it further in some parts of the world to secure an uber car, etc. (surely not in Nepal). Sharing best practices like this is also an important part of a great travel policy. Not all travelers are experienced in all types of travel (like travel to third world countries). They may assume they can do some things that wont work and may need to be directed to some other options. What do you do to train or brief travelers on before they travel for company business?

Maps/GPS. It was amazing to use this tool to map where we were on the trek. Many companies have tools to allow the phone to track where their employee is in case of emergencies. Safety and awareness are surely items to address.

 Medical. I am in my fifties with some failing body parts including my eyes. I used the phone for magnification and light when necessary. I wondered what other medical tools and best practices could be incorporated into the phone. Where should a traveler house and hold their medical details, lists of medications, right hospital to see in case of emergency, insurance data, evacuation data, etc.?

 Translation. I could get some Nepalese words and translation help from my translation app. I thought that some direction on how to secure some language knowledge before travel would be helpful and respectful.

Currency Conversation and Math. Determining the right currency conversion and the math that went along with it was extremely useful. Again with currency, there are many ways to secure foreign currency. What is your best practice and is it shared in your travel policy? 

Answers. Google anything when connected and you have your answer. That said, modern travelers want to know where to eat, what to see, what is dangerous, who to connect with, etc. There are many sources for this data. What is the best practice at your firm that sends your people to the right places while keeping them safe? 

Clock and Alarm. Knowing the local time and the time at home and elsewhere was helpful. 

Payment. Even some suppliers used their phone to allow me to pay for items by credit card that I would have needed cash for before. What is safe, what approved? 

I had the phone at arms length away in the side pocket of my hiking pants at all times and it was a revelation to see how useful this tool was and will be-even for this old man. I now know I could have used it more, been better prepared with it, and have some specific recommendations for our travelers. What are your best practices and how easily are they found?

On a sie note, one day in Kathmandu there was a street festival and while this impoverished country has significant hurdles to overcome, it's youth were doing what youth do worldwide. They were texting one another, taking selfies, and sharing pictures of the fun they were having. The world is coming together with tools like this and there are pros and cons to this. While seeing a Sherpa talk on the phone while hiking in the kumbu is a change from the past, the benefits and conveniences of these devices are powerful.