Companies can be quick to implement a new technology but are not always as quick to provide training. Travel managers have faced more challenging conditions over the last 12 months with travel disruptions commonplace. And although there are tools to help these managers with their jobs, it is important to provide up-to-date training. The same applies to new AI tools. Paul Dear, Regional Vice President – Supplier Services EMEA from SAP Concur, outlines how important upskilling is in the travel industry.
2024 has been a busy year in the skies. The summer holiday season coincided with several major tourist events happening across the continent, including the UEFA European Football Championship and the European leg of Taylor Swift’s record-shattering Eras Tour.
Events likes these can result in vital transport, hotels and amenities being overbooked, and for business travellers and travel managers, this can spell chaos.
Business travel provides employees with important opportunities for networking, collaboration and personal and professional development. To avoid the costly effects of disruption, new data from SAP Concur suggests that leaders need to change their approach to business travel – or it could be grounded completely.
Disruptions are bad for businesses and their people
Travel disruption stalls productivity and blocks vital meetings from taking place, with repercussions for business productivity and employee wellbeing.
Our data shows nearly two in five travellers have had to cancel or reschedule meetings or needed to spend additional, unplanned days while on a business trip (38%).
Meanwhile, travel managers are feeling the pinch of unrealistic expectations. Demands could soon leave companies short-staffed in this critical role, with 41% of travel managers likely to search for a new position in the next year. It’s not just travellers experiencing the stress of disruptions, but the administrative and strategic teams at home too.
Leaders should take steps to mitigate the effects of disruption
The effects of travel disruptions are wide-reaching and difficult to navigate. That said, there are ways that business leaders can help staff manage last-minute delays and cancellations while maximising productivity and ensuring a strong work/life balance.
What data-informed strategies could make business travel more efficient and less stressful? Based on our findings, here are some recommendations:
Allow greater travel flexibility
Eighty-eight percent of business travellers have been forced to make last-minute changes in the past year due to unexpected delays, cancellations or re-routing. The situation has become so commonplace – and so frustrating – that over a quarter of travellers are willing to decline a trip due to the likelihood of disruption.
But travellers have had enough of losing out on their critical career connections. Now, four in five are taking steps to counteract schedule changes, including booking extra time, or ‘booking buffers’, for arrival, departure, or both.
At the same time, 91% of business travellers report cuts to travel flexibility over the past 12 months.
To ensure employees can reach their destination with minimal stress – even amidst time-consuming disruptions – leaders should grant greater allowances for flexibility. Provisions may include allowing travellers extra time turnaround for each booking, private connecting transport or adding features to tools to allow easy rebooking when disruptions take place.
Offer learning and development opportunities for travel managers
According to SAP Concur data, 99% of travel managers anticipate their jobs becoming more challenging in the next 12 months. Nearly all face disconnects between the tasks they are being asked to perform and the tools, support or budget their company has provided them.
The root of this disparity is the demand placed on travel managers. One-third of managers feel they are expected to take on a more strategic role without additional training or education, causing tension between the expectation of high-quality travel programmes and the increased stress they are experiencing.
As a vital cog in the business travel machine, leaders must ensure managers feel supported – to improve both their wellbeing and retention rates.
Organisations can offer targeted training to support managers in their roles. For example, they might run workshops for strategic tasks like planning, negotiation and budget management, or provide funding for upskilling initiatives to keep staff abreast of new regulations and technologies.
Explore tactical AI implementation
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one example of technology that’s capable of improving business travel efficiency. Currently, travel managers report administrative disconnects with their tools. For example, more than one-third indicate they are expected to support traveller duty of care without visibility into all travel taking place.
To help solve these challenges, two-thirds of managers would like to see AI-enabled components incorporated into their tools. Similarly, 95% of travellers are open to using AI-enabled options to book travel.
Minimising the effects of disruptions, business leaders could offer AI solutions to streamline workflows such as expense reporting or finding cancellation and rebooking recommendations.
However, as with any significant business transformation, leaders should practise caution. Prematurely introducing AI could stall progress rather than accelerate it.
Our data shows that 89% of business travellers need company support to feel comfortable using AI options for booking. For around a third of travel managers, the expectation of using AI-powered tools without proper training is already making it difficult to succeed in their role.
To ensure successful AI implementation, leaders should offer comprehensive training for AI systems and integrate assurances into their policies to address common AI concerns, such as data protection and bias risks.
Dealing with travel disruption in the long haul
The modern business climate sees the workforce farther dispersed – but better connected – than ever before. However, as it becomes easier to meet colleagues, clients and prospects through a screen, those rare in-person interactions become all the more valuable for some. That is to say, streamlined business travel remains a top priority for businesses.
Unfortunately, leaders won’t be able to solve travel disruption overnight – but they can make it more manageable for staff. By introducing measures to improve travel flexibility, training opportunities and next-generation software solutions, organisations can adapt to a challenging market and future-proof their business travel posture for the long-term.
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