Corporate Travel Programs and Employee Retention Strategies—A Guide
One of the most important investments your company can make is in the retention of employees. An organization’s strength depends heavily on the collective talent of its labor pool, and a revolving door with qualified talent is more than just a human resources nightmare. It creates problems with morale, impacts productivity and has a direct impact on a company’s positive financial health. You can do everything right on the front end to obtain great talent, but it can all fall apart if you don’t have great employee retention strategies in place.
The Use of Travel in Employee Retention Strategies
Many retention programs focus on things like growth opportunities, competitive salaries or strong health care benefits packages to satisfy employees, but these aren’t always enough to distinguish one good company from another. Retention is necessary for a number of reasons, as employees are leaving their jobs for things besides the opportunity to earn more money. COVID-19 burnout, more development opportunities, more flexible scheduling and the ability to have feedback heard and acknowledged are also encouraging employees to keep their options open.
Companies that focus on just one of the reasons driving employees away will end up tailoring their employee retention strategies to a singular factor and miss all of the other opportunities to create a desirable, engaging and productive work environment. When you consider the use of corporate travel as a retention strategy, you can address many of the reasons employees choose to walk away.
Business travel creates growth opportunities for employees in their positions, establishes more meaningful customer relationships and allows people to learn from the various aspects of a new experience. However, a dysfunctional travel program creates dissatisfaction.
The Influence of Dissatisfaction When Traveling
Before you can develop your corporate travel program as a key pillar of your retention strategy, you must understand that a poorly run travel program will create the opposite of your intended effect. For team members who are constantly on the go, a smooth process for scheduling a flight, booking a hotel room or arranging transportation makes the very task of traveling more acceptable and enjoyable. When the policies for travel are strict, with limited flexibility and minimal employee control, the result can be extreme employee dissatisfaction.
When an employee is frustrated or unhappy in his or her position, it can lead to a loss of productivity and a negative shift in loyalty and commitment. Employees who don’t feel valued will start to pull away from their responsibilities and the team, looking instead for a new opportunity that will meet the need to feel valued, respected and appreciated for their abilities. Creating a corporate travel program where the policies are not only clear but also easily accessible, as well as providing pre-approved travel options, can improve traveler satisfaction. Happier traveling employees can improve retention rates.
The Key Components of Travel for Successful Employee Retention Strategies
When you’re at risk of losing key employees to another company, you can’t afford mediocrity in your retention strategies. Each component should be carefully thought out to address the reasons why employees may be leaving. Here are several elements that must be a part of your corporate travel program if you want it to support your retention efforts.
Accessibility
The travel experience is defined long before an employee gets on a place, enters a rental car or checks into a hotel. The experience begins from the moment the employee becomes aware of the travel need and starts to make preparations. Employees who are able to have a say in the trip will take more ownership and responsibility for the general business purpose, as well as have a more positive opinion of the booking experience. Accessibility gives travelers the tools needed to alter their itineraries whenever needed, without a lot of corporate red tape and delays.
COVID has brought some concerns with traveling, and rather than forcing employees into uncomfortable situations through company-chosen travel options, give an employee the benefit of information. With Rocketrip, employees can access a widget to identify what COVID restrictions or testing requirements are in place where they are traveling. Accessibility to information and the ability to modify an itinerary demonstrates a priority to employee safety, which in turn, strengthens the loyalty between employer and employee.
Freedom of Choice
As seen with the option to alter itineraries, giving employees the ability to choose their lodging or transportation makes a significant impact on developing a favorable perception of the travel program. When policies are clear and concise to each traveler, there should be little need for the finance department, human resource professional or travel manager to control each detail. When the employees are aware of the rate cap for their lodging, they should be free to choose a list of pre-approved hotels provided the choice is practical to their business purpose.
Hotel choices shouldn’t be limited by cost, particularly if the only acceptable hotel is more than an hour away from the client or meeting venue. Too often, a corporate decision looks after the need of the company and not the convenience and comfort of an employee. When a part of employee retention strategies, it will cost the company less to pay a little bit more for quality lodging than the expenses of attracting, onboarding and trying to retain a new employee.
The choices within a booking platform should take into account the amenities the traveler may need or want, the proximity to transportation stations or the availability of quality dining choices. While these may seem like minor considerations, it is these choices that take an average or to-be-expected travel experience and turn it into a great one.
The Best Travelling Support To Enhance Your Employee Retention Strategies
While you can make in-house adjustments to help achieve higher retention rates, your best solution for adding value to your travel program is through Rocketrip. You can clearly define your employee retention strategies and provide first-rate service to your employees through the commitment to savings, safety and sustainability, which are the foundation of Rocketrip’s operations. Show your employees they are appreciated, valued and respected by implementing a travel program that works for them and not the other way around. Contact us today to find out more.
