HUMAN RESOURCES BY TOM NEWCOMBE
Lisa Johnson, practice leader at reloca- tion specialist Crown Worldwide, says that at smaller firms the travel policy can be too rigid if set by finance, and this can create “conflict” and an increase in “non-compliant employees”. She adds: “I think in smaller firms there is a danger of a ‘policy says no’ attitude to many traveller requests, whereas HR can look at cases on a more individual basis.”
COMPLIANCE ISSUES It’s no secret that traveller compliance to a company’s preferred supplier policy is an ongoing issue for many buyers. The equa- tion that better compliance equals better savings lends another reason as to why the travel budget should sit under procure- ment. But should buyers be moving away from traditional strategies and focusing on areas more intrinsically linked to the ‘human-side’ of business? De Costa explains: “At Sapient we have
extremely high levels of compliance within our policy and one of the main reasons for this is company culture. This culture plays a huge part in our organisation, and every travel programme we put in place has this at the heart of it. Improving that culture can boost compliance within some companies by significant amounts – and this can be done by focusing on key HR issues, such as measuring employee engagement and putting the right learning and development initiatives in place.” She adds: “It’s about listening to indi- vidual needs and creating a policy that allows for times when a traveller can travel first class over economy, or stay at the more expensive hotel.” De Costa says that at Sapient, travel operates outside of procurement because
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“Putting that human aspect in place in a travel policy can boost compliance, as you’re improving company culture”
it “simply makes everything easier for our travellers”. This is a view shared by Jackie Bornor, global head of HR at financial derivatives trading firm IG, who says travel within a company should never be just about the numbers. “Putting that human aspect in place in a travel policy can boost compliance, as you’re improving company culture – which every HR director will tell you is fundamental to a successful busi- ness,” she says. “And I think this is why, post-2008, travel is shifting towards the people-side of the
company.This thought- process may not be as important for well- established multinational companies, who will probably have dedicated travel depart- ments, and relocation and security teams. But for growing companies, you’re looking to have business development, so there will be more and more travel involved, which is more of a reason to get policies right from the start.”
YOUNGER TRAVELLERS According to professional services firm PWC’s Next Gen survey published last year, the current Generation Y (aka
‘millennials’ – those aged 18-35) will make up more than 50 per cent of the British workforce by 2020. It looks at how com- panies should adapt to fit the demands of both millennial and non-millennial employees. This shifting demographic is an area of business buyers could be focusing on with their HR department? “It’s clear younger travellers act differ-
ently, and have different requirements to some of the older workers, and want to change certain aspects of travel that have become the norm for most companies over the years,” says Lisa Johnson. “Gen Ys want to book their own travel with the technology they use to book at home and extend trips over weekends, and are more likely to stay in accommo- dation out of policy. This poses a risk to the buyer in terms of duty-of-care and traveller tracking, so the buyer needs to better explain how the policy works. This is where HR can play a more effective role than procurement.”
TALENT STRATEGY CEOs and HR directors are now fully aware of the bottom-line effect on retain- ing quality employees, with the conversa- tion around talent one of the more regular in boardrooms: how do I attract the best people and the brightest graduates, and retain my most ambitious employees? And as companies deal with ‘talent shortages’ in sectors such as oil and gas, and engineer- ing, could a company’s travel programme become a key component for HR teams when setting out their talent strategy? East says: “What’s emerging in certain
areas of business is people are becoming a rare commodity. So to ensure some of these companies retain and attract the best
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