Crucial for the company and often frustrating for the business traveller, travel policy is regularly the subject of studies of all kinds, aimed at reconciling - or reconciling - control and comfort. Such is the case of a report published this summer by Egencia, entitled "Policy vs. Policing: Ten Ways to Empower and Take Care of Your Travelers".
Unsurprisingly, the crux of the 'war' remains financial: for 54% of business travellers surveyed internationally by Egencia, the cost of the trip is the factor to which the company pays the most attention when booking. Moreover, in the vast majority of cases (78%), the tougher travel policies in recent years would have been motivated by the cost reduction. The result is a certain frustration of its passengers, as only 38% of them consider that the travel policy truly meets their needs.
As is often the case, the conclusion is clear: implementing a policy that is too strict will ultimately prove counter-productive. In fact, according to the Egencia study, almost one traveller in two would be tempted to flout company rules if they were too restrictive in terms of hotel or airline bookings. A fact which leads the business travel agency to consider that " companies have the opportunity to better reflect travellers' wishes while improving compliance with travel policy ". The TMC has therefore published an animated infographic designed to provide travel managers with a few tips, focusing on four areas for improvement: choice, comfort, safety and communication.
These recommendations can at least be based on one sure thing: the importance attached by employees to business travel and "real" meetings, despite the rise of new technologies. Indeed, for 86% of the business travellers surveyed, nothing beats the physical meeting, in terms of efficiency and productivity. The average even reaches 90% in countries such as Australia, Canada, China and the United States. Two-thirds of the business travellers surveyed (67%) believe that they would be less successful in their jobs if they did not travel.
