In the last 24 months there has been growing use of buzzwords in our sector, such as big data, behavioural science and personalisation. I get a sense from talking to prospective customers, that some travel management companies are 'jumping on bandwagons' and failing to navigate those responsible for managing travel and meetings through this tangle of latest trending words to a better position.
Big data and data insight
All the leading sector travel management players have been investing in data, but the question always to ask is "What's the data telling me and what is my actionable insight?" It is important to make the data workfor the company.
This initially saw travel spend aggregation — transactional travel data being blended with expense data. This unlocked some easy wins:
- leverage supplier agreements of previously unsighted spend (taxis and restaurant dining etc)
- inform better company policies based on joined-up and broader data sources; and
- from that evolution you start to get a sense of total trip cost
Organisations were getting more 'informed' MI reporting on what's happened.
It then evolved to allow 'what if' planning scenarios to be created. As a result organisations could look at how data could help 'influence decisions' and get a view on the binary impacts of 'if I adjusted that price what would be the financial impact and where would that financial impact sit within the organisation?'
Big data has moved on from being a buzzword to becoming mainstream through many areas of travel and meetings management. Aggregation of data has gone beyond just travel and travel-related expense, such as HR data sources, fleet, company insurance, property estates, to external data sources like crime reports, airline and rail reliability reports. These have created real opportunities to understand the impact of travel and meetings on an organisational performance, its people and real estate strategies. It has allowed organisations to get closer to understanding what they spend and how they justify it. It has also taken us to a point very quickly where 'C-suite executives' can start to truly see cause-and-effect in policy formulation beyond just the travel cost limitations of previous managed travel eras.
As organisations mature, the use of data will evolve to making smarter booking habits, before expanding out to be relevant to wider stakeholders, like HR, finance, operations and C-suite. For example, at its most sophisticated we use data to see links between travel patterns (trip type and concentration) and HR absenteeism. From data showing the correlations, companies can take practical steps, such as rest days on return to work and pre-notifying line managers to remind them to make arrangements for support, to ease fatigue, stress and ultimately reduce absenteeism.
At this point organisations are accessing data that can power 'organisational improvement' predictive and prescriptive in application.
Behavioural science
The natural spin-off from quality data meant that organisational challenges and opportunities, and the materiality of them, were more visible. In identifying the problem/opportunity, emphasis was increasingly put on better communication to influence the desired outcomes the data was now telling organisations.
Prolific in so many sectors over many years, behavioural science is now starting to awaken in the corporate travel world. Using language, visuals and online process paths in the leisure travel and consumer sectors, we are being encouraged, navigated and influenced daily to make a desired choice.
Behavioural science in corporate travel has been around for some time in the form of a 'travel policy', albeit ranging from a guide to a hard-line mandate style policy. As more companies move towards a more open and empowering employee culture, behavioural science will be critical in supporting organisational goals in the management of travel and meetings.
The typical 'top-down' policies of the corporate world, focusing on compliance-led language of 'you will do as the company wishes', has to evolve as organisations see the benefits of reducing unnecessary demand. Employees considering travel tend to do so within company policy frameworks. If you think about it, travellers can pick a preferred hotel from a programme in a location which may have five preferred hotels, within a range of £85 - £125, and the focus of the organisation historically has been to use a 'preferred property' from our selected list. But, behavioural science plays a big part; looking to influence a positive selection of a preferred property, maybe at the lower end of that cost range. It is about understanding traveller behaviour so they feel comfortable andmotivated to pick the best value option. It takes the right message, in the right tone, at the right time using proven techniques to influence decision outcomes.
The same methodology can be applied to airlines. As it is often significantly cheaper to travel long-haul via an international hub rather than direct, and there is a misconception that convenience, comfort and time are compromised, so travellers are reluctant to pick this option. If we compare, for example, an indirect flight between the London to Hong Kong via Helsinki which costs £2,223, with a direct flight from London to Hong Kong at £3,536, there are huge savings of almost 40% yet less than two hours' time difference. Moreover, if the departure airport was from a regional airport, for example, an indirect flight from Manchester or Bristol via Amsterdam to Hong Kong, the cost savings are just as great (£2,110), yet the impact on wellbeing and the overall travel time (including getting to the airport) is reduced as it is closer to the traveller's home. Nudging people towards the indirect option can result in huge cost savings with little impact on arrival time or traveller comfort.
Using behavioural science to make people question their traditional habitual 'norms' and making people conscious of personal benefit and peer set behaviours can change traveller habits. As this matures, behavioural science extends to question even the need for travel itself: can I attend this meeting in a different way or should I look to plan travel around off-peak times? All with the intent of reducing unnecessary travel cost.
Personalisation
So, we arrive at another key buzzword of our sector: personalisation. This will have leaped out at any reader working in the travel industry. Despite being a well-trodden path in leisure, personalisation struggles in the corporate sector currently — too much emphasis being on the 'target' with corporate message push — relating more to the trip than the individual themselves. In the corporate travel and meetings world we should see this as delivering the right message at the right time in the right tone to 'nudge' or 'influence' the right type of behaviours for the organisation footing the cost of travel. It should also focus on the traveller to reflect the fact that people will want relevant messaging that add value to their journey (such as safety, value, productivity and well-being).
Personalisation should be relevant to the messages and services. It will be powered by intelligent data insight and it will bring corporate outcomes and personal behaviours together, so it feels seamless and aligned.
Conclusion
Big data, behavioural science and personalisation all have to work together to work effectively.
Data insight will show the opportunity and issues, giving clear direction on the desired outcomes an organisation should be setting itself. The data will show the persona groups where corrective behaviours are desired for benefit and clearly identify the materiality of the opportunity, so the actions with the greatest return can be prioritised.
Behavioural science, on the other hand, will ensure the right 'nudge' or engagement is shaped/designed to support those desired outcomes, assuming if you keep doing the same things you will get the same results. In mature travel programmes, new ways of influencing traveller behaviours need to be explored - and that requires expertise.
Finally, personalisation ensures that the messaging is delivered 'in the moment', at the right flow to optimise the effectiveness of the 'influencing' strategy. This has led to a greater focus on AI and chat bots — quick and relevant interventions through easy and user-selected channels is a winning approach that is increasingly getting traction in the managed corporate travel sector.
Unless these are cohesively brought together and thought through, it will be just soundbites with little value. Leaders in travel and meetings procurement should take a step back within their business, look for that 'connect' with corporate strategy and the areas where the key objectives overlap with colleagues across the organisation. Be inquisitive to want to know the impact of travel and meetings on the organisations' performance — you won't know what you don't know, but the answers will be sitting in those silos of data or colleagues' objectives.
Create actionable insight, then understand what the organisation really needs to tackle, and what you need to influence, to address these challenges.
Create a communications strategy that draws down on behavioural science and personalisation channels, using data insight to track success.