Darrin Grafton is CEO of travel management software provider Serko. Connect with him...
The
global spread of the coronavirus has underscored the responsibility of
travel managers to ensure the health and wellbeing of travelling
employees. It's likely the epidemic will spark a more thorough review of
company risk management and duty-of-care processes and policies once
the worst has passed.
In the immediate future, however, there are
key adjustments travel managers can make to the configuration of their
online booking tools to help address travel concerns during the Covid-19
outbreak.
Get authorisation levels right
For low-risk
domestic trips, it's likely fine to continue to follow your
organisation's current authorisation processes. For international
travel, however, it's a good idea to step up the authorisation levels
in your tool by adding a regional leader as an approver for non-domestic
trips and going a step higher to add HR as an approver for any travel
requests to high-risk areas as identified by your respective government
agencies or internal risk teams. Properly configuring your authorisation
levels will ensure the right executives and decision-makers are
informed of any trips that could be affected without introducing
unnecessary friction into day-to-day travel programmes.
Use traveller tracking to identify risks
What
was once a low-risk area at the time of booking can quickly become a
high-risk area for a traveller to visit. Your OBT should be able to track
all current and upcoming traveller trips, whether as a native function
or via an integration with your travel risk provider. Being able to
monitor trips in a visual format is a simple way to identify travellers
heading into potentially risky areas as the battle lines of infection
rapidly change.
Prevent bookings and connections entirely for no-go zones
Some
countries and regions of the world have travel advisories in place such
that travellers should not be visiting them, regardless of the purpose
of trip. Remove these locations as options for new travel bookings by
updating your OBT's policy configuration. Work with your tool provider
to deactivate the ability to book trips to or through specific airports,
cities, or even countries, then reactivate as risk conditions become
more acceptable for business travel.
Use your OBT's communication function to update travellers
OBTs
can serve as important tools for more than just booking and policy
adherence. Use your tool's communication functions to share news, advice
and updates with your organisation's travellers. Some good places to
direct your people include the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the World Health Organisation.
Your OBT or travel management company partner can help you customise
this to fit your corporate culture and communication style, as well as
keep it updated as the situation evolves.
Beyond the booking tool
In
times of crisis or uncertainty, communication in a travel programme is
critical. Aside from setting OBT configurations, companies need to get
ahead of the situation by circulating a pandemic plan. This should
include specific recommendations and advice for travellers: information
about the risk, what to do and who to contact if someone suspects they
or a colleague may be infectious, and how the organisation is addressing
the problem (we've created a template here).
This is a relatively quick and easy way to develop best practice
processes for infection risk management, assign pandemic management and
coordination roles and ensure organisational alignment around how you
can manage the impact of Covid-19.
While it's impossible to
predict the ultimate impact of Covid-19, focusing on actionable steps to
protect the safety and security of travelling employees will help travel
managers direct their attention where it's most critically needed.