Last Updated on: March 7, 2023 at 9:27 am

The reintroduction of travel makes now the right time to think about the impact on your people’s lives. Taking care of your business traveller well-being is more than just about meeting legal ‘Duty of Care’ obligations. A good company travel programme can significantly boost staff morale, productivity and engagement.

“Few business activities engage people on such an emotive level as travel. At one end, it can be personal, exciting and rewarding. At the other end, it can be tiring, uncomfortable and daunting.”

Business Travel in Asia Pacific, Amadeus

Business travel is resuming, but not quite in the same way as before. International travel is far more stressful in 2021 with ever-changing entry requirements and travel restrictions; in addition to the underlying concerns about the health risks of COVID-19. 

On top of that, business travellers are faced with the traditional challenges of working while on the move, long durations spent in transit and separation from the family. Making people the “heart” of your company travel policy is not only the right thing to do. It is also beneficial for your business.

Good staff members are important to every company. Ensuring that they know that you care about their health and happiness is important to them – especially through enduring many hours of travel and endless hotel rooms to help drive business. 

Here are 3 main benefits of happy and healthy business travellers, and how your travel programme can put this into focus. 

1) Higher morale and productivity 

With ever-changing entry requirements, travel restrictions and rules to navigate, travelling post-pandemic can be complex. By making travel easy and safe for your employees, it allows them to focus on what is more important – their job and your business.

The stress of business travel can accumulate for frequent travellers. This can manifest itself as exhaustion, stress or illness and in time, can affect their performance at work and lead to days off sick. Having a clear and well-communicated company ‘Duty of Care” and health policy goes a long way in supporting employees on their business trips. 

If your employees encounter any difficulties during travel, they shouldn’t have to deal with it themselves. Give them relief by making sure they have 24/7 travel support at their fingertips.

2) Better staff retention levels

Even seasoned travellers will experience exhaustion and a feeling that their efforts are undervalued. When these become frequent feelings, many employees resign and company’s lose their top performers.

Treating your employees well and showing your appreciation will nurture greater loyalty from them. Your travel programme can be a great way to build trust and provide incentives to your staff. By empowering them to book their own hotel and flight arrangements, they have better control over their travel comfort and itinerary.

You can control booking costs by automating your company travel policy within your travel booking tool. This gives employees the freedom to decide and comply with company travel policy at the same time. 

3) Lower health care costs

When employees are ill and take sick days and make medical claims, this brings far greater healthcare costs to your company and can begin to impact key events and meetings. A robust duty of care programme and good travel management can help you avoid unexpected and significant costs when responding to an employee emergency, not to mention potential legal issues and unhappy travellers. 

Keep up to date with travel alerts and real-time information of your employees whereabouts. With access to travel risk information at all times, you can react quickly and protect your staff if something unexpected happens. 

Thoughtful business travel 

Do you want to travel worry-free once again? No time is better than now to start planning. Book a demo with us or sign up for a free trial (no credit card required) to find out more about TruTrip.