“Mainstream travel management culture has shifted the user experience to the centre of travel programmes”
amalgamate and make use of the right data as so much of it now comes from sources other than the travel management company (TMC). However, a subject matter expert, such as a TMC, can be invaluable when data doesn’t sit all in one place but instead comes from many sources and needs to be consoli- dated. “It’s where their [TMCs’] experience is and their knowledge gleaned from looking at their wider client base,” says Pilcher. “This should be part of a standard routine
where you will be picking up live data ac- cording to the algorithm and intelligence you put into collecting that data. If you have set it up in the right way, it’s pushed to you rather than you having to search it out.”
CHANGE MANAGEMENT Modern technology enables policy to be changed easily. Letting travellers know that a change has been introduced is no more onerous than a push notification. Changing policy may cost little in mon-
etary terms but it can cost a lot in the time it takes to consult and involve all other inter- nal stakeholders, from HR to finance. It can also be costly in aggravation if the change is unlikely to be cheerfully accepted – for example, by making eligibility for a higher class of travel more difficult or mandating the use of an unpopular supplier. Carol Randall advises managers to “pick
your battles and choose the rules that have the most impact on savings for the
organisation. There are many pros but the cons all come down to management consid- erations in updating – but you could change the rules under a policy such as a lowest- logical-fare policy so that it doesn’t become a weighty change management procedure.”
ASSESSING VALUE A kneejerk reaction of many to the idea of using more sophisticated data analytics to refine travel policy and programme maybe that it’s too expensive, and appropriate only for large or multinational organisations. But as Tony Pilcher puts it: “Whether you’re spending £100,000 or £100 million, it’s your responsibility to maximise value out of cost and look after your travellers.” He adds: “Cost is down to how you want
to use it. Do you want to push it out to your different agents or hold it centrally? There are different financial models for how you pay for services – shared savings rather than a straight transactional model, for example.” And, of course, there is the ‘as a service’
solution which requires only a licence (see Dynamic pricing & policy, p66).
THE FUTURE Matthew Pancaldi emphasises how policies have adapted and evolved dynamically since the advent of multimedia and data analytics. Mainstream travel management culture has shifted the user experience to the centre of travel programmes. This means investing
A uniform policy for all, or personalisation?
PERSONALISATION INCREASINGLY LINKS BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS in other industries, but there is still some resistance to the practice among travel buyers. Unlike The Data Exchange’s Susan Hopley (see Dynamic pricing & policy, p66), who believes that personalisation will appeal to a company’s travellers, HRG’s Matthew Pancaldi thinks that today’s
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
younger and more tech- savvy travellers want more standardisation and a more egalitarian approach – that is, one-size-fits-all – rather than different policies for different sets of employees. People might not generally want policies to vary by seniority, but many see a rationale for different policies for different trip needs.
According to Pilcher Associates’ Tony Pilcher: “There could be a different policy for someone going to a branch office from that for someone going straight in to do a deal. So look at the purpose of a trip. There can be flexibility for the reason for the trip rather than just duration. “Policy should allow for the ability to take
the individual traveller’s circumstances into consideration.” Sage Travel Consulting’s
Carol Randall agrees. “You can use data to make different policies for different circumstances,” she says. “You can have different policies for internal versus external meetings, by seniority, different objectives, or length of stay.”
January/February 2017 69
in what policy looks like and keeping it relevant. For example, things that get in- troduced into travel programmes, such as sharing economy suppliers, increasingly reflect travellers’ taste. Susan Hopley, founder and CEO of analyt-
ics company The Data Exchange, thinks that in the future we’ll see more of how tech- nology affects how both travellers and travel bookers book travel. Online booking tools and mobile devices mean that corporates can narrow choices for travellers and create a great user experience. Like football, the object is always the same – to get a result.
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