Carlson Wagonlit Travel has launched a tool which aims to help companies reduce the impact of stress on their business travellers and make them more productive.
The leading TMC has unveiled its CWT Travel Stress Index which looks at the potential stress caused to a traveller through up to 22 activities associated with a business travel trip from making the initial booking to getting their trip expenses paid by the employer on their return to the office.
CWT has spent the last 18 months building the new tool which uses data from 15 million transactions to produce an individual travel stress index rating out of 100 for each company which can be benchmarked across similar firms and competitors within their sector.
The index will estimate how much time, productivity and money is lost to firms through the different types of stress endured while on a business trip. It also takes into account demographic factors such as the gender, age, nationality and salary of the firm’s travellers.
This latest development comes six months after CWT released its initial report into the main triggers for stress on business trips, ranging from lost bags to the lack of an internet connection to having to fly economy on long-haul flights.
Vincent Lebunetel, senior director of CWT Solutions Group, said: “By identifying which stressors are causing the most pain for a particular segment of travellers, we can recommend specific solutions to enhance the traveller experience and improve productivity.
“It could be advising on connectivity solutions for each stage of a trip or recommending a specific carrier based on on-time or lost luggage performances.”
The system is based on an algorithm developed by CWT and uses information such as airlines’ on time performance and their history of lost and delayed luggage. Also featured is information on the geo-political risks of going to certain destinations which has been provided by security specialist Ijet.
The new tool can also be customised to include specific information from clients if they feel the demographics of their employees differ significantly from those assumptions made within the CWT algorithm.
Lebunetel said that the aim of the new product was to show the “hidden costs of business travel” beyond the prices of components such as flights and hotels.
“From the travel buyers’ standpoint this addresses business travel in a different way,” he said. “I think companies are now looking beyond just the transactional cost of business travel. They are looking into improving traveller satisfaction and lowering travel stress as part of their duty of care - while limiting the impact on costs.
“Stress can be grouped into three categories – time lost, surprises and routine breakers, such as travelling on weekends.”
CWT has applied for a patent for its new product which is currently pending.
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