Travelling for work is a daily reality for many employees. While jealous colleagues may wish they too could travel around the country as part of their job, ask any seasoned corporate traveller what they really think about this ‘perk’ and you’ll probably be met with a furrowed brow and an eye-roll.
That’s not to say travelling for business isn’t without its pleasures – travelling for work allows employees to see new places, meet new people and do interesting things. But it can also be stressful, tiring and emotionally difficult. As an HR manager, how can you ensure corporate travel remains a pleasurable undertaking for your staff, rather than a week-long drudge fest? Here are five ways you can help your ‘road warriors’ stay productive when they’re out of the office.
1. Hire them a car
Corporate road trip? If your company’s upcoming business travel will involve travelling across the country or heading to multiple sites, you might want to hire a car so they can get around easily. It can work out much cheaper than using public transport, and it’s certainly a more efficient way of getting from A to B than taxis – handy when your staff are trying to make deadlines and get to meetings on time. When shopping around for a good deal, use a comparison website such as easycar.com to easily find the best value car.
2. Flight time doesn’t have to be downtime
To encourage employees to really maximise productivity when they’re away, remind them that they don’t have to spend their flight or train journey staring into space. There is plenty of work they can do from their laptops – whether it’s preparing and sending emails, making last-minute tweaks to that all-important client pitch or checking in with colleagues for updates. While working from the plane or train might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it will actually save employees time and make their corporate trip much less stressful.
3. Create itineraries
Planning ahead is key. Give your business travellers all the information they need well in advance of their trip. This can cover a whole gamut of stuff: flight departure and arrival times, hotel check-in details, where the clients they’ll be meeting are based, cafes and restaurants close to where they’re staying, emergency contact numbers … Give your road warriors the tools they need to do the job – they’ll thank you for making their working life a whole lot easier.
4. Communicate rules
In order for corporate travel to be efficient and productive, it’s crucial that some ground rules are set. When guidelines aren’t in place, things can start to slide. Give your employees a clear and consistent spending policy – the upper limit for a hotel stay per night, or how much they should spend on a taxi. This will give everyone piece of mind.
5. Reward saving
If you have a set travel budget to spend, you’d spend it as much as possible, right? Reaching the upper limit of a corporate travel spending pot isn’t breaking any rules, but it’s not saving you much money as a company. Instead, reward those who go the extra mile to save. If a corporate traveler is able to save, say, 50% of their allocated fund, give them a financial reward for doing so, or perhaps a day of vacation time. This will help both the company and the employee financially, as well as help keep things productive.
6. Help your travellers stay connected
Set up clear ways to help your employees stay connected while travelling by empowering them with all the tools needed to do so. Whether it’s a work iPad, a portable wifi router, an unlocked phone, cloud-based storage, or remote access to your internal server, these communication and work-related tools can easily become necessities when working on the road. Making sure your team is fully equipped to manage regular tasks and stay in contact is the best way to keep them productive and efficient.
