commitment, undergo a risk assessment and due diligence of all third parties, communicate policy to staff then monitor and test it from time to time. Morag Alabaster, director of MWB Meeting
Venues, gave a more practical perspective, warning of the danger of ‘workarounds’ when taking a day’s holiday rather than using the ‘bribe’ in company time or being sent grand stand tickets then swapping them for entry to a box on arrival. She advised using the 'Red Face' test to check if employees are too embarrassed to tell their bosses what they’re really doing. Alabaster highlighted the results of a pre- conference delegate survey, which showed that 68 per cent of buyers have briefed employees on the new law but only 38 per cent set a monetary value, and that only 21 per cent of buyers accepted hospitality from suppliers they are not working with. Kathryn Gilbertson, director, litigation department at Greenwoods, gave an update on the Corporate Manslaughter Act cautioning that team building was a real issue, due to the fine line between calculated risk and reckless- ness. Her checklist included a paper trail of all checks being made: “The more pieces of paper you have the easier it is to get an acquittal. It’s a reverse burden of proof so it’s up to the defendant to prove their innocence.”
WORKSHOP: BEEN THERE, DONE IT Chris Banks, category manager, business travel for the Department of Work and Pensions, had a great cost cutting story to share, having taken out 40 per cent of spend last year, and on target to take a further 15 to 20 per cent this year. He highlighted that demand management was one of biggest areas to make savings from, but also to move as much online as possible, to stop first class rail and not to forget M&E spend. “We took the most spend out of the M&E category by stopping use of external space,” he said. *The full story of how DWP achieved this can
be found in the May/June 2011 issue of TBTM and on our website.
WORKSHOP: ONLINE BOOKING TOOLS Michelle Kipling, directorate and projects manager at Manchester Business School, shared her experiences of trying to implement a self- booking tool. The first pilot failed but the second attempt, with Egencia, was successful. Her list of lessons learnt from the experience included the painful realisation that
people don’t like change; to identify the need for continual training; to make the use of the SBT mandatory; to do a pilot and stagger the roll-out; to identify a super user to help buy-in; to draw up a wish list of functionality; and most importantly, to use a provider who owns the technology. *The full story of how MBS successfully implemented a SBT can be found in the Jan/ Feb 2011 issue of TBTM and on our website.
“TBTC sets a high benchmark for all corporate travel events. The format and content exceed expectations”
Anya Browne, senior project manager, Kuoni Events
CONFERENCE SESSION: THE KNOWLEDGE – LEARNING FROM THE BEST Angela Smith, travel manager at Carillion and Nicola Smith, operations manager at Omega World Travel, gave a tennis- match style presentation of the 28 per cent of travel spend saved in one year. They explained how brain- storming potential cost-cutting ideas led to mandating Carillion’s hotel programme, introducing approval for rail spend over £150, banning 'anytime' rail tickets, consolidating hotels to three per area, introducing approval on any external meetings venue, refused payment of
16 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 18 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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