When we travel matters: navigating hybrid work and corporate travel

May 10, 2022

Last updated: May 18, 2022

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Ken Pfaffmann 

Vice President, Business Development – Americas, Amadeus

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The corporate travel landscape is evolving as hybrid and remote work policies gather steam in the United States and across the globe.

The corporate travel landscape is evolving as hybrid and remote work policies gather steam in the United States and across the globe. The move to hybrid has also shifted the traditional corporate travel paradigm. We’re now seeing leaders approachbusiness travel as a strategy and expanding corporate travel opportunities to improve employee mobility and retention and build culture across the organization.

When we think about “how often should our teams meet” or “how do we recruit talent”, travel can be a catalyst for answering those questions and fulfilling the company’s strategic goals. And with the right travel and expense technology and processes, organizations can assess those opportunities and tap into this “new frontier” to manage future trips.

A changing workplace changes business travel

Newly published research from tClara's white paper,“How We Meet Matters ” – sponsored by Cytric by Amadeus, CWT and Delta Airlines – shows that 42% of leaders say they prefer the freedom to work from anywhere, while 58% prefer to work near an office or travel to meet with colleagues as and when needed. With companies pivoting to flexible working models, this opens the door to new travel opportunities for employees. For example, while people will still travel to close deals, nurture business relationships and attend conferences, the hybrid and remote work models have created the need for more employees to travel for face-to-face team building and collaboration. In fact, tClara's study found that eight out of 10 business leaders agree that meeting in person with co-workers contributes to their engagement, emotional health, and ability to trust and develop their staff. When we think aboutsuper commuters – mainly senior executives with long-haul commutes – the pandemic has intensified this phenomenon as more employees pivot between remote work and occasional visits to the office.

In the tClara study, CEOs echo the sentiment that business travel will be necessary and take on many forms as corporate culture evolves. There will be more of a strategic focus on earning customer trust and winning revenue but also building culture, teamwork and employee relationships.

As companies onboard new work policies, leaders will need to handle the potential volume of business travel and create new policies and categories for what constitutes corporate travel. They’ll need to consider how the trip fits into the bigger picture of the organization. Is each trip linked to a strategic goal? Is the travel program viewed as acompetitive advantage when recruiting? Does the program enhance the employee experience and engagement with tools that make work life easier? Is the trip monetarily prudent, especially if budgets are limited? According to tClara’s research, 43% of leaders say that judging the trip’s importance is the best guideline for approving travel when budgets are tight. The value of travel will be assessed differently. And those questions will play a defining role in how corporations manage their travel programs.

The rise of digital integration and simplification

Over the last couple of years, there has been an acceleration in implementing digital processes and integrated technology platforms. As with corporate travel programs, new technology will be key in streamlining operations, ensuring continuity and adoption, and improving the user experience. As companies re-imagine work policy and embrace new variations of business travel, technology will help them manage those changes and simplify the booking and expense process - especially for those working from anywhere.

The change within the work culture is setting in motion a need for greater collaboration – among tools andpeople. Recently, Amadeus took a major step toward redefining corporate travel with theintegration of Amadeus Cytric Travel & Expense in Microsoft 365. Called Cytric Easy, users can search fortrips, book and pay, and even share their plans with colleagues. All of this, with more to come,can be done today without users ever having to leave their day-to-day applications such as Microsoft Teams or Outlook.

Knowing where and how the new corporate travelers book and expense trips will be more critical now than ever.Cytric Travel and Expense ,Amadeus’ online booking and expense management tool is built to provide visibility over a company’s travel investment and increase adoption.

It’s no doubt, the pandemic has blurred the lines between the business traveler and office employee. Now, employees who’ve never done an expense report have found themselves navigating the inevitable. It’s important to put in place systems and processes that new road warriors and veterans alike can quickly adopt to both save time and strengthen collaboration.

Future of work creates more (strategic) travel opportunities

Corporate travel remains a crucial aspect of any business. However, it’s now being viewed through a wider and more strategic lens. Having a robust corporate travel program that considers both technology and business strategy will help corporations navigate emerging corporate travel opportunities. This evolution will trigger leaders to start thinking about how travel programs can enable their business strategy rather than simply thinking of travel as an expense. Organizations who preparefor the changes and embrace technology that supports ournew future of work will capitalize on the opportunitiesto grow their business and meet their goals.

Reach out to me onLinkedIn if you'd like to connect and discuss this topic more.

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