A business travel management policy helps businesses to organise and regulate business trips effectively, provide appropriate support for the company’s employees on the road, and manage their travel-related expenses. If your company doesn’t have a business travel policy in place or if you’re struggling to implement it, you might be missing opportunities to strengthen internal relationships, improve your bottom line and possibly put the company at risk for legal action.

A good business travel policy needs to be clear and straightforward — so that employees know exactly how to comply with company standards as well as the company’s obligations to them while they are travelling. In this business travel management policy guide, we will look at some of the key elements of a successful business travel policy and provide you with a high-level checklist on how you can create one for your organisation.

Part 1: Set the foundation right

Before creating a business travel management policy for your business, you must be sure about the purpose of creating such a document, as well as the form that the document will take. This requires strategic brainstorming among leaders in various departments such as HR, Finance, Admin, as well as senior management. This business travel management policy guide shows how everyone can work towards the same goal and create a document that aligns with the company’s objectives. 

Why have a travel policy

Travel policies are a vital part of any corporate travel management program. They are designed to look after the interests of both businesses and employees. They set out clearly what is expected of travellers and provide a framework for them to follow when booking flights, accommodation arrangements, and other needs. 

This creates accountability and transparency over expenses while allowing employees to take advantage of all the benefits that come with working remotely. A well-crafted business travel management policy will help your employees focus on work while they are travelling instead of spending time worrying about their expenses. 

Having a well-rounded business travel management policy will help travel managers keep everyone in sync, safe and satisfied. It also helps protect the company from possible lawsuits and employees taking advantage of the company’s travel budget. 

Business travel management policy writing tips

1. Concise, simple, and easy to understand

The purpose of a travel policy is to provide clear guidelines for employees who need to use their company’s travel services and for managers who must approve those expenses. A long, complicated policy will confuse employees and managers alike, slowing down approval processes and making mistakes more likely.

2. Cover as much ground as you can

This may seem obvious, but many policies are written with a specific situation in mind and do not address other conditions that might arise. It’s better to be over-inclusive than under-inclusive in your travel policy. As a rule, if there’s a question about whether something is covered by the policy, it probably should be. 

3. Decide ahead of time on the level of austerity in the implementation

You are free to formulate a laxer or more structured travel policy depending on the nature of your company. However, it is recommended that you err on the side of flexibility because the travel industry is highly susceptible to changes. Adapting to these changes would be smoother if your travel policy were already pliable. 

Part 2: The travel policy checklist

Once you have a high-level strategy for formulating your travel policy, the next step is to create the policy itself. If you are not sure how to go about yours, the following sub-sections contain a checklist of important items that should feature in the policy. 

Feel free to modify this travel policy guide according to your company’s needs and objectives. You might want to add more items to your final document because this list only highlights the essentials. 

A concise Introduction

A good travel policy introduction should have at least these essentials: 

• The synopsis of the policy: The initial sections of the policy should state what employees should look forward to in the rest of the document. For instance, if you have separate policies for separate travel types, specify that right from the introduction. Make sure to include what’s in it for them, and how reading the travel policy benefits their role in business travel. A business traveller may be interested to know that by knowing the company’s travel policy they will know what trips that company would shoulder, or if they will be paid overtime during business travel.

• Terminologies: The travel policy should include a list of definitions that will help users understand the terminology used in the document, to ensure that both the employers and employee are on the same page as well. Clearly define terms such as reimbursement, claim, refund, cancellation, per diem allowance, authorisation, expense report, and so on.

• A clear scope:  Be clear about when the travel policy is in effect. Define what type of trips are covered by the company or the policy itself. Some companies may have different policies for different travel types or different roles. Most travel policies cover meetings with clients and partners, visits to company offices in other locations, research trips, or events such as lectures, talks, and presentations where an employee represents the company. Will the travel policy still be in place should the employee consider lengthening or mixing leisure with the business trip? These are some things you will have to state early on.  

• Clear responsibilities for different roles: Include the roles of persons responsible for approving travel. This may get complicated when different persons approve various kinds of travel or when approvals for a trip are required from more than one person. These hierarchies should be clearly stated in the policy document. 

• Eligibility: There should be specific guidelines on which employees are eligible for what privileges, such as travel methods, flight classifications, business or economy class, VIP or regular seats on trains, and so on. This applies to accommodation types, the number of stars for the hotel, serviced or non-serviced. Down to something as specific as luggage privileges, qualification for reimbursements, and so on. 

• Exceptions: If any exceptions apply to this policy, then make sure you include them here as well. For instance, some companies may choose to not pay for training trips undertaken by employees – this should be clearly stated. 

An efficient workflow of the entire process

• Acceptable timeframe: Specify the number of days or weeks before a trip when an employee can submit a request. If days, clarify whether you are referring to working days or calendar days – 15 calendar days are half a month, about two weeks, while 15 business days take three weeks.

• Who approves: The approval process should be standardized across departments so that each person knows exactly who they need to contact when they want approval for business travel. If your company does not have dedicated travel managers, this role usually goes to the HR department, although it could involve management executives and finance leaders too. 

• Condition for approval and rejection of business travel: This helps both employees and managers because employees won’t waste time requesting approval for a trip that’s not in line with the policy; also, managers won’t get bogged down by such frivolous requests. This is where an automated travel policy is particularly crucial.

A specific travel expense section

1. What travel expenses will the company cover

Clearly state the distinct types of travel expenses and explain if they will be covered completely or to a certain extent; if the latter, specify the extent. Some of the expenses a company might be obligated for employee business travel include the following:

• Meals: state if a business traveller will receive a per diem allocation in advance for meals or if otherwise, the number or type of daily meals the company will pay for.
• Transportation: besides air, train, or taxi fares, this could also include additional costs such as parking fees, public tolls, car rentals, insurance fees, miscellaneous tickets, and the like. 
• Lodging: this includes the direct costs for accommodation bookings, but your policy might also cover added expenses such as laundry, concierge, or dining services. 
• Legal or health documentation: employees may incur costs for activities such as visa applications, medical tests, immunisations, English-speaking assessments, and so on before they are eligible to travel. They must be confident that the company will cover these costs before going ahead with applications. 

2. What can be reimbursed

Be as specific as possible when describing what can be reimbursed. For example, instead of saying “expenses incurred while travelling”, say something like “hotel accommodations, rental cars, and gas fees.” This makes it simpler for employees to submit their expenses and gives HR more clarity when reviewing them. If your company does not reimburse some types of expenses but has a travel subsidy program that pays half the cost of these items for employees who choose them such as business class travel, include this information as well.

TruTrip Tip: Or better yet, categorize the expenses. Segregating them will help in making the policy concise. Indicate what the direct travel costs are, indirect ones, and personal expenses. 

3. Reimbursement process

Corporate travel solutions should simplify how employees should submit their expense reports and the policy should specify how long they must do so after returning from their trips – say, two weeks or thirty days. Also, state how long employees should wait for their reimbursements to be processed by the HR, travel, or finance department. You can’t have employees waiting six months to be reimbursed for travel expenses for instance. In addition, specify whether receipts and credit card statements are required for processing reimbursement requests – they usually are, but you can’t expect your employees to simply know that if you don’t state it.

Risk Management

Travel risks will always be there, and as travel managers, it should be in your best interest to guarantee welfare and safety. Having solid risk management protects not just the employees, from potential harm but also the company against possible legal and financial troubles. 

1. Duty of care

The duty of care is the obligation that an employer has to its employees. This includes providing safe working conditions and taking reasonable steps to protect them from harm and injury caused by their work activities, including business travel. It normally includes a commitment to providing safe accommodation and transport for staff travelling on business. For example, the duty of care aspect of your business travel program may signify that you must provide employees with travel warnings or even prevent such trips whenever they plan to go to unstable regions.

2. Company’s liability

This refers to the legal responsibility of an employer for any injuries caused by or arising out of their employee’s employment with them, including while they’re on business trips. It’s crucial to include provisions that protect your company against legal action following an incident while someone was on a business trip. Besides personal injuries, you should also have a policy in place for the liability a company incurs for acts committed by an employee while representing the company – for instance if an employee engages in an unethical act abroad. 

Trutrip Tip: Make sure to include employees’ participation in the travel risk management, such as: updating the superiors of their whereabouts, signing a waiver and medical clearance. The travel risk management part of your policy should also include if the company will provide travel insurance.

3. Policy breaches

If you want a travel policy that is strictly adhered to, then lay out the consequences for breaching it. These could include loss of bonus or pay, disciplinary action or even dismissal for repeat offenders. Offences might include overspending, not submitting reports on time, and acting unethically while representing the company. 

4. Exceptions

Exceptions are a crucial part of any travel policy. If you don’t allow exceptions, then your policy will be highly restrictive for the employees. In your policy, including information on how employees can apply for exceptions and to whom such special requests should be directed. Examples of possible exceptions include the following:

• Emergencies: if an employee needs to travel on short notice due to an emergency, you may modify or even eliminate the approval process to avoid any hindrances.
• Employees with special needs: If you have an employee who has a disability, you might have to reimburse them for costs related to their disability, such as wheelchair assistance. Also, your duty of care section should reflect the special obligations you owe them. 
• Extended stay for business purposes: your policy should allow you to be able to adjust the budget flexibly if an employee’s trip is extended for official reasons.

Other parts you may want to cover

1. Travelling with a non-employee

For employees who might be travelling with a non-employee, such as a spouse, child, or friend, set guidelines concerning bookings and other expenses. Typically, the company covers only the employee’s expenses. But it’s important to state that to avoid any confusion.

2. Leisure extensions

Bleisure trips, a smart word play on business and leisure have taken the world of corporate travel. In global business travel, this trend is especially common with millennials and Gen Z workers. If your policy allows employees to extend their business travel for leisure, ensure that you have clear expectations regarding the time spent on business activities versus personal activities and expenses. 

3. The approval process for senior management

A common misconception is that all employees must follow the same travel policies and processes. However, this isn’t always the case. For example, senior executives may require a distinct authorisation model before they can embark on their journeys. Clarify this in your policy

4. Trip tracking process

Companies track their employees’ trips to ensure that all activities are kept within the budget. Ensure that your employees are aware of and consent to how you intend to track their trips.

5. Policy Automation

Business travel policies should be automated wherever possible so that they are easy to use by employees at all levels within your organisation. This can help make it easier to manage compliance and reduce the risk of mistakes being made. 

Engage a travel management company that’s after bettering your overall workflow

Businesses are increasingly adopting corporate travel management software solutions that allow them to manage their travel policies more efficiently. TruTrip’s software helps businesses to automate their travel policies to scale efficiency. To see how it can help your company, book a demo or sign up for the free trial and try it out.