The generational gap has perhaps never been as big and apparent as it is today, as the new generation of millennials are slowly forming a substantial part of the global workforce. As a result of the information and technology age in which they have grown up, the skills and habits of the new generation differ quite a bit from previous ones.
Take for instance the concept of BYOD, or bring your own device, which the world-leading information technology research and advisory company Gartner just a few years ago called the most radical change to the economics and the culture of client computing in business in decades. The millennial generation relies more heavily on their own personal devices, such as smartphones and tablets, than their work PCs, which is certain to have caused severe headaches for numerous IT and security managers.
These behavioural and habitual changes bring into question the future of corporate employee routines and security management. Within travel management especially, where matters such as policy compliance are of great importance and the new way of doing things calls for a new focus. Traveller centricity is the latest concept spreading across the collective subconscious all over the world, and it basically means that the needs and demands of the corporate traveller are the priority when managing company travel. This shift seems inevitable and totally necessary for an employer considering, not only the performance and well-being of the newer generation, but also the potential practical and economic benefits.
Policy compliance - from stick to carrot
Make no mistake. In this new online, DIY, world of business travel, corporate management still expects nothing less than that no unnecessary resources are wasted, and the safety of the traveller is always the highest priority. Travel policies "‹indeed obviously still have to be in place in the future. The problem now, however, is that traveller centricity doesn't exactly gel frictionless with rigid rules and routines. New types of policies have to be invented and better tools have to be utilised. The traveller also has to realise the personal benefits of complying. There has to be some carrots, or nudges if you like, to make the traveller stick to the preferred routines, channels and suppliers.
1 Easy travel
Easy travel should mean that all aspects of a business trip are seamlessly integrated, paper free and could be handled, with 'a few clicks', in the traveller's preferred device. Many workplaces have already made tools available to accomplish a uniform and policy compliant travel behaviour, but most still lack some critical elements. The content is often limited, oligopoly-like and the travel process from booking and payment to travel and expense reporting is not integrated sufficiently.
Today, generally speaking, travel is not easy. There is evidence indicating that time spent searching and comparing, before booking the business trip, is actually increasing. Post-trip, there is a pile of receipts which need to be handled, and more often than not, the traveller is personally liable for the travel payment. This will simply not do if companies are trying to attract and coerce millennials to abide by their policies. Time is wasted, money is lost and the individual traveller is suffering the most.
Cutting out expenses through paper receipts would please many travellers ©DNY59/iStock
In the new, traveller-centric way of thinking, the client must be considered to be both the decision-maker and the actual traveller, and travel management has to take both of these aspects into account. The company that manages to deliver an entirely comprehensive set of travel destinations and options, combined with an integrated and automated administration, along with an understanding of user-friendly interfaces, has found a perfect carrot to attract the new generation.
2 Door-to-door solution
Corporate travel commonly begins and ends with some mode of local or regional travel, such as taxi or public transportation. An important aspect of newer tools is the ability to link local travel to air and railway bookings.
But there are some obstacles in the way of this development. The public transportation sector faces huge challenges when it comes to booking accessibility and standardised means of ticket distribution. In the excitement over new technology in order to get rid of cashiers and cash handling, they seem to simply have forgotten about visitors to their region.
More travel service providers in general also need to offer the possibility of paying for business travel with modern and efficient tools such as a corporate travel account. The reason why this doesn't happen can mainly be attributed to ignorance and a low level of technology maturity, and not the quality of the tools. The major breakthrough of easy travel solutions will likely arrive when the entire trip is tied together. A door-to-door-solution where bookings, payment, ticket distribution and T&E reporting are all included and performed in one simple package.
3 Receiptless travel
Despite all of the new cool technologies, companies still waste huge resources managing the after-trip administration in terms of T&E reporting, attests, accounting and receipt archiving. You don't have to be a millennial to have the natural reaction of shying away from the pile of receipts on your desk after returning from a business trip. There is indeed a need for most companies to identify unnecessarily time consuming activities of the travel process and replace these with efficient and automated systems of payment and settlement.
Many companies address this challenge with improved travel and expense management solutions and integrated electronic credit card statements. One really should question, however, whether this process is actually necessary in the future. By expanding the use of travel accounts and virtual cards, thereby automating reconciliation and settlement, the T&E process can basically be removed altogether. Sweden is a good example of a country where this receiptless way of travelling is actually happening, through a comprehensive coverage of the travel account payment solution for all modes of travel.
Receiptless travel is simply superior and might in fact be the most effective carrot to be found for attracting travellers to stick to corporate policies and routines, since it directly affects the individual traveller in the most obvious way.
Approaching the tipping point
As in most cases, the corporate world is eventually quite likely to follow the lead of the consumers in regards to travel arrangements. The direct and indirect gains of embracing travel centricity and new technology are simply too great to resist. Concepts such as door-to-door booking tools and receiptless travel are carrots companies can use to motivate the traveller to stick to the more rigid rules of travel policies. The question is just when we will reach the tipping point, and it is approaching quickly. Very soon, the principles of traveller centricity will not be a choice but a requirement to attract top talent. Technology is available and solutions are in place.
For companies who do not want travel to turn into maverick spend the time to act is now.