Nearly 60% of organisations say that having a strong business travel culture has improved their business performance, according to a new survey carried out by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
The report, based on a survey of 587 respondents familiar with their organisation's corporate travel policies and culture and carried out in conjunction with Egencia, found that 47% of those surveyed saw significant increases in profitability as a result of having a strong business travel culture.
Egencia president Rob Greyber says, "A strong travel culture–one where the company, its leaders, and its processes support the use of corporate travel as a form of strategic investment with business value–produces better business results."
Half of those in the survey said they had seen significant improvements in customer loyalty and retention.
Our chart this week shows the survey's findings in relation to company business travel culture.
So what is a strong business travel culture in reality? Organisations that said they had one were much more likely to say their travel programmes were adequately funded (72% of this group); had executive support and buy-in (61%); included effective, easy-to-use travel technology and tools (61%); offered travellers flexibility (57%); and programmes were treated as a strategic investment with clear business value (62%).
Mary Jo Craft, senior global travel manager at open-source software company Red Hat, told the researchers: "Travel is key to our open culture. It's important for our associates to meet face-to-face with customers, open-source communities, business partners, and one another."