All too often buyers insist that their organisation needs a high-touch service and plough intricate details of their extravagant requirements into a tender document. But scratch beneath the surface and you often discover a whole different picture.
When curating the requirements for any procurement exercise there is always a danger that the picture gets blurred by a few particularly vocal stakeholders. The problem is particularly acute where travel is concerned because it tends to be a very emotive subject. It's also typical for the top brass of a firm to do a lot of travelling, hence delivering a service that misfires on their exacting requirements could be career-killing mistake.
But on average, we find most organisations follow a similar pattern, in that less than 5% of the bookings are of such an intricate nature that it made sense to talk to a travel expert rather than book it online themselves.
Also time and time again we see tenders which, when won and implemented, don't reflect the requirements in the tender whatsoever. One organisation literally stated in their tender that they did not require an online service, nor did they want to read about one in tender responses because booking online did not fit their organisation's culture. That organisation is now trading at 96% online.
Today's modern workforce is full of people used to the instant access afforded them by modern technology, who prefer email, instant messaging, and self-service, as opposed to picking up the phone and having actually to speak to someone. In fact, Facebook is the number one app on all major mobile platforms, across all age groups, beating the phone app hands down. It's not just the so-called millennials that are driving online adoption these days - it's your parents. And their parents too.
That's not to say that traditionalists don't exist; every organisation has people who insist on speaking to someone over self-booking. It remains true that such individuals are usually in a tiny minority, one which is shrinking all the time. However, it's worth bearing in mind that these individuals are usually older and are often in senior positions, meaning tenders are often disproportionately weighted towards their opinions.
By getting the focus of your tender wrong, you could end up massively overpaying for the vast majority of your requirements. Worse still, because the vast majority of your users potentially don't want - nor do they like - high touch services, you're likely to inadvertently push your end users away from your travel management company and towards out of policy bookings, as they seek to arrange their own travel their own way. Leakage is an unwanted by-product of too high touch and is a surefire way to increase internal frustration and limit cost-saving opportunities. That's something no organisation wants to encourage.
Is your final contract getting the requirements and return you asked for? ©RapidEye/iStock
There are a number of ways in which organisations can approach their level of 'touch' to make sure they are getting the very best and most appropriate service for all of their bookers and travellers. The first step is to ensure you get a complete and balanced picture of your organisation's requirements - be sure to consider the needs of all of your travellers, not just those who are best represented at the top level.
If your organisation follows the "less than 5%" rule, which it most likely will, your key focus from a cost control and reduction perspective should be getting the 95+% of bookings under control. To do this you need high service adoption - ie staff actually using the service, rather than leaking around the edges, which means you need to deliver a service the majority are going to love using and want to turn to. In today's environment, that normally means delivering a top-of-the-class online system, hence finding the right technology should be your priority.
If you are investigating the right technology, there are a few things you can do to make sure your final decision is made from a position of authority. Consider the booking channels available, are they limited to traditional GDS offerings, or do they include online booking websites? This may help cut down on leakage by offering your users sites with which they are already familiar. Also, insist on a live, not pre-recorded, demonstration of each TMC booking tool, only then will you be able to judge the ease of use. Finally, request figures regarding existing clients' online adoption rates, this will give you a good idea as to the success or otherwise of a travel management company's online booking tool.
Many organisations fall into the trap of assuming that to satisfy their high touch requirements, they need a traditional travel management company ie one that focuses principally on an offline, telephone-lead service. In fact, TMCs that have high online adoption often deliver superior offline services, because their offline teams are by and large less busy and more experienced. Traditional TMCs generally have to maintain huge workforces of an inevitable varying standard of staff to satisfy the high volumes of calls they are required to service.
Ultimately, the final decision regarding the level of touch you require should be based on the necessity of frequent contact. If the majority of your travellers regularly travel long distances to far-flung destinations, on highly complex routes and in higher classes, it makes sense to seek a high touch service. But unless you have that particular need, ruling out potentially more efficient, better serviced alternatives due to a perceived, not actual, need could cost your organisation valuable time and money.