Travel managers enjoy elevated status

There is a certain irony that at a time when business travel was brought to a screeching halt and now, when very few trips are taking place, that the profile of corporate travel managers has been elevated to new levels.

When Covid-19 struck, the spotlight immediately fell upon travel managers whose responsibility it was to safely bring employees home and put future trips on hold. Suddenly, travel managers had the attention of senior leadership teams and CEOs and a place at the top table.

Buyers at larger companies joined newly established steering committees and taskforces to work closely alongside HR and security, and the c-suite threw its weight behind new travel policy decrees.

Back in April, an ITM survey of 162 travel managers found 80 per cent agreed the pandemic had presented the opportunity for greater c-suite buy-in to drive travel policy compliance.

And it didn’t stop there. One travel manager said they now have regular roundtable discussions with their CEO “that would not previously have happened”; another now participates in weekly global operational calls; one buyer said there is now a greater understanding of what the travel department does beyond booking trips; and several travel managers reported more attentive leadership teams.

One participant said their CEO’s new involvement and interest in their role “raises the profile of the travel department within their company". More recently, in June, an ITM report said its members continue to enjoy “high-profile visibility from their leadership teams”. 

“We have really put travel at OSRL on the map," says Alice Linley-Munro, Travel Manager at Oil Spill Response Limited. "We've even been given access to some of our member companies to show off what we do, which was unheard of before. We’ve really been called on throughout this to help with projects in all sorts of departments. They have definitely realised we do a lot more than just book travel."

She adds: "As horrific as the pandemic has been, the chance to increase engagement and visibility of my travel department and the knowledge we have has been a real silver lining."

When the UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was launched in March, there was a significant contrast in its uptake across the business travel industry. While suppliers and TMCs grappled with difficult decisions around furloughing staff and reducing workforces – and continue to do so – the ITM estimates only 10 to 15 per cent of travel managers were furloughed. 

“It was noticeable early in the situation that buyers were going through a different experience to suppliers,” said the ITM’s chief executive Scott Davies in a webinar last week.

Speaking in the same webinar, BTA chief executive Clive Wratten estimated 75 per cent of TMC staff remain furloughed.

Once travellers were brought home, the focus turned to establishing and implementing new travel policies and approvals processes, and deciding what is best practice in this new environment. How and when is it appropriate for business travellers to set off once again? As those conversations and plans proceed, travel managers are once again integral.

“There really has been a shift in profile,” says Davies. “There are always opportunities in the challenges we’ve all been facing. Buyers have now got the focus of their leadership teams.”

He continues: “Once you have that focus it’s all about what you do with it. The role and purpose of the travel function within an organisation has to evolve as an enabler that helps them succeed against their competitors.”

Chris Pouney, associate at GoldSpring Consulting, agrees the profile of travel managers has been elevated, adding that “the role of the travel manager was starting to feel slightly exposed in companies where maturity had either been reached or was in sight.”  

Davies, however, has a word of caution. “Alongside increased c-suite engagement, there’s also a flipside. Travel has been almost zero now for four months... some travel buyers also [as well as TMCs] have a fight on their hands to prove their value right now.”

While some travel managers will be enjoying a sense of indispensability, others will recognise that their roles are changing. As Pouney says, some companies might decide that “travel spend in the ‘new normal’ will not warrant a dedicated resource”.

On the other hand, he believes, “intense effort is needed to create and deploy new thinking to ensure that business-critical travel can happen and that employees’ concerns are being adequately addressed.” 

He adds: “Assuming the latter, the post-Covid travel manager needs to collaborate with internal stakeholders such as HR and security like never before, while communicating eloquently and confidently at levels they have rarely had access to previously.”