Travel policy is always a hot topic for corporates, particularly in belt-tightening times as better compliance means cost savings, but Mark Frary discovers how travellers are still finding ways to dodge the rules. Names have been changed to protect the guilty…
Earlier this year, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) surveyed 187 of its clients to rank their top travel management priorities for the year 2011. Coming out on top, cited by 68 per cent of the respondents, was the need to improve traveller compliance. The global financial crisis means companies have been looking at cutting costs, but still need to keep travelling in order to carry on doing business. Increasing compliance with travel policy is clearly seen as a way of delivering on those requirements. CWT’s survey also looked at what measures companies were planning to take to improve compliance. So where do the problems in employee compliance lie?
Buying Business Travel asked five business travellers to explain just how they managed to get around their companies’ travel policies. The five, who are understandably reserving the right to anonymity, have differing reasons for their lack of compliance, ranging from a belief that their companies’ policies are unjust, to a feeling that they are being taken advantage of.
We then asked two travel buyers for their ideas on how their companies deal with such behaviour. Our buyers, too, did not wish to be identified for fear that doing so would show just what measures they are taking against their own travellers. “Brendan” (not his real name) works for a large company in the pharmaceutical sector, while “Shawna” handles procurement of travel along with several other categories for a financial services company.
We also asked Andy Hampshaw of TMC Travel by Appointment (TBA) to say how travel consultants would attempt to challenge some of this maverick behaviour.
THE TRAVELLING SALESMAN
Darren is a regional sales manager with an IT company, with responsibility for the north of England. He makes regular sales calls throughout the region in his car and is always a little creative with his mileage claims. “I use my own car to travel between sales meetings all over the north of England and each week I have to submit a tally of how many miles I have driven on business,” says Darren. “I travel hundreds of miles a week so a few hundred extra is not noticed. I then use those miles to go and visit my relatives in other parts of the country – all courtesy of the company’s fuel card.”
Darren does not see this as wrong but rather as an earned perk of the job. It is not the only thing he does to make sure he gets what he deserves. “I have this deal with my line manager that if we are both out having some drinks with some mates I’ll submit the expense claim and then he will sign it off. He knows full well that we are not out at a client meeting, but his boss would query it if he submitted it,” he says with a laugh.
BRENDAN SAYS: “This kind of behaviour is classed as gross misconduct and is a sackable offence. The most senior manager should always foot the bill so that this kind of thing cannot happen, although it is also the responsibility of the most senior boss to identify this kind of pattern as he/she is ultimately responsible.”
SHAWNA SAYS: “This is fraud, pure and simple. Our expense management system uses mileage calculators so that employees have to enter the start and finish of their trips. It means that the distance between London and Leeds, for example, doesn’t vary according to who is submitting the claim.
THE TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT
Jayne is a consultant working for a globally known technology company who travels extensively on business around the world, usually on British Airways.“I always fly with BA to make sure I get the miles and the best way to do that is to make sure the timings of the meeting mean BA is the best choice. Alternatively, I’ll argue that because the company constantly rearranges my diary at the last minute, it is better to go with a flexible option,” she says.
Jayne always makes sure meetings abroad finish on a Thursday, too. “That way, I can have a long weekend and travel home on Sunday night, ‘when the flights are cheaper’. My best one of these was a weekend skiing in Breckenridge after a trip ending in Denver, but I have also been on a rodeo in Kansas City using the same trick.”
BRENDAN SAYS: “This is all about educating senior stakeholders and presenting data in a clear and concise manner. If managers are aware of the cost savings available, they can then foster an environment where traveller booking behaviour takes advantage of savings opportunities.
“Our policy states very clear guidelines around adding extra days on trips and there are also legal implications due to ‘benefit in kind’ regulations. It is correct that a Saturday night stay can significantly reduce the fare; however, a company should clearly outline what they will cover and what the employee should cover when it comes to additional travel days.”
SHAWNA SAYS: “At our company, we think we have quite an enlightened view about worklife balance. If an employee wants to add on a few extra days of leisure time at the end of a trip and the cost to the company for the flight and hotels was lower, then we would encourage that.”
THE CONSUMER GOODS MANAGER
David works for a household name consumer goods company and feels that the company travel policy is “fair game”. He says: “I would get various fare options from the travel agency but then just cherry-pick what option to put through for authorisation with the department head. They would just see the BA business class fare to New York and not the Delta fare a grand cheaper.”
David also checks to see which flights are already full. “I check the availability of flights and pick options to make sure the cheaper options are full,” he says. But the one that wins every time, according to David, is to play the client card. “I tell the travel agent that I have to travel in business class or on a particular airline because there is a client travelling with me on the same flight,” he says.
BRENDAN SAYS: “Regarding cherry-picking, the only way to get around this would be to make these missed savings more visible to the department head – in particular, ranking the top 20 travellers who consistently ignore savings opportunities. It is the travel manager’s role to present the facts and then the departmental head can decide on further action.”
TBA’S ANDY HAMPSHAW SAYS: “Only putting through the more expensive flights to the department head or only those more expensive flights with seats is very easy to rectify. We can send all flight options through to the department head.”
He adds: “We counter the client card using our pre-trip reporting capabilities, which flags to the travel manager any agreed travel policy violation.”
THE TELECOMS MARKETEER
Sara works for one of the biggest telecoms companies in the world. Policy, she says, is a waste of time: “There is a companywide travel policy to use our appointed travel agency, but I never follow it because I always seem to find cheaper flights when I look myself. I think the agency earns a commission on each flight so they never seem too eager to find a cheap flight.”
As a solo female traveller, Sara also uses that to her advantage. “Sometimes the ‘lone female’ needs to be in the – nice – hotel where the conference is to avoid dangerous travel in a strange city to the cheap hotel...”
SHAWNA SAYS: “Communication with your travellers about the value of a mandated travel programme is vital. Even though using a travel management company can seem more expensive to the traveller, you need to show them that the management information gained from being compliant and the additional benefits – such as lounge access at airports, last room availability and cancellation charge waivers – are just as important to the company as the price.”
BRENDAN SAYS: “Companies need a strong policy in place with senior level support – messaging should be consistent at all levels of the business. There should be clear and concise data reporting to senior management with consultancy on traveller behaviour and savings opportunities.”
THE FINANCIAL WHIZZ
Jay works in the equities department for an investment bank, which like most others, has seen its fair share of belttightening recently thanks to the global financial crisis. Timing, it seems, is everything. “My organisation has a policy that they will fly me business class if I have to have a meeting within two hours of arriving – needless to say, that happens with astonishing regularity,” says Jay.
Jay also feels that he is subsidising the company thanks to the slow payment of expenses. “I often find myself out of pocket after a business trip because there are always receipts I lose,” he says. “I always ask taxi drivers for a few spare blank receipts and fill them in so I don’t end up out of pocket.”
BRENDAN SAYS: “There should be strong support and reiteration of the policy at the point of sale and clear exception processes. Travellers also need to be properly educated – reporting practices should be transparent and the consequences of non-compliance should be clear.”
SHAWNA SAYS: “We moved to an expense management system in order to get a better overview of spend but also to streamline the expense claim process. This means that our travellers can now submit their claims quickly and get paid within days rather than weeks.”
TBA’S ANDY HAMPSHAW SAYS: “We employ the PNR Watcher Software system, which is programmed to block or advise of any out-of-policy request, be it if the booking is made by the travel consultant or directly by the travel booker via our online booking system. By adopting this approach we have ensured we have met every target in our client’s service level agreements for rejected savings [the difference between the fare taken and the lowest available] for the last two years.”
This article was first published in ABTN's sister title Buying Business Travel, the award-winning magazine for company travel & meetings buyers and arrangers.
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