The TMC
SEBASTIEN MARCHON, director, global business consulting, American Express Global Business Travel
WHEN A COMPANY MAKES A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE to its travel programme, influ- encing traveller behaviour is vital to the project’s successful outcome. A change- management programme ensures a smooth transition. There are a number of best-practice principles that make the difference between success and failure. Start by assessing your company’s culture. Conduct a period of listening and investi-
gation, to understand the context for the change. This could involve workshops and interviews with travel bookers and key decision-makers, as well as travellers. Travel changes impact on a large pro- portion of the workforce. It is important, therefore, to engage the right internal stakeholders to influence change. Getting senior executives to lead by example, such as travelling economy on short-haul flights if this is required by the new travel policy, is an effective way to influence others. Human resources, procurement teams and travel teams must also be involved.
Communicating the value a change has to the company as a whole, and to individual employees, helps drive behav- ioural change. Ask the CEO to send an email explaining the proposed changes, or use social media to engage employees. Information and data provide a huge advantage when implementing change. Qualitative data can inform the project about a number of key levers such as the cultural needs of the organisation, while quantitative data can identify the key per- formance indicators, by which the success of the project will be managed. Create a roadmap for the change pro-
gramme, so project stakeholders under- stand the key milestones and how they will be achieved. Transparency, flexibility and partnership need to underpin the execu- tion in order to overcome challenges that may arise during implementation. Compliance with, and adoption of, new policies, processes and tools are vital to the success of a travel programme. Adhering to the best-practice principles outlined above could help companies achieve the behavioural changes they seek.
The CONSULTANT RACHEL WATSON, co-founder, Opteva
MANY CHANGE-MANAGEMENT PRO- GRAMMES TICK THE BOX from a functional project management perspective but fail to achieve the right level of support from the business and travel suppliers. This often results in organisations manag- ing issues post-implementation, which is time-consuming and often impacts on adoption of new processes. There are three key areas we believe are fundamen- tal to the success of managing change. First, there’s understanding the
problem. This sounds simple, but in reality, project teams are often so focused on the end goal they lose sight of what
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they were trying to solve. All parties need to be aligned on what the change- management programme is going to fix. Second, challenge yourself and your
team. The most successful teams are not afraid to question what they are doing every step of the way and make changes. Always ask if you are doing something in the best way. This can pre-empt issues further down the line. Finally, actively engage the business and suppliers. The right level of stake- holder engagement is key to project success. This is often labelled ‘commu- nication’. But these people are all too often informed of developments rather than consulted. Successful change-
management programmes engage with all relevant stakeholders in the very early stages, to help the project group struc- ture a workable solution. It makes people feel like they are part of the solution, and ensures they are committed to drive the right outcome. Suppliers are often consulted too late in the process, and go straight into implementation mode without under- standing what the project needs to solve. Suppliers have so much to offer when engaged in the right way. In short, know what you are trying to
fix, challenge yourself to get it right and ensure all stakeholders are part of the solution and success.
BBT MARCH/APRIL 2015 41
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