If you’ve never been a travel manager before, it sounds like a dream job where you spend all your time booking business vacations for your employees. In reality, this is part of the role, but many responsibilities go along with the duty.
As a corporate travel manager, you’re on the ground floor of every aspect of trip planning execution. From designing travel policies to ensuring each traveler returns without a (serious) hitch, it’s all on your capable shoulders.
Thinking about making this role your next career path? Here are some of the most important responsibilities you’ll handle in your travel manager position.
1. Designing Updating Travel Policies
Travel policies are the rules workflows those involved in a company’s business trip planning must follow. These policies are usually combined in one central “book” that is easily accessible as necessary.
Part of your job is to outline the procedures required when employees need approval for a business trip, how they go about booking their travel, what expenses are aren’t covered. The more thorough clearcut the policy is, the fewer questions you’ll need to answer from confused employees.
The corporate policy book is a fluid document that will need continual updating. COVID-19 showed us one glaring example of this necessity. Most business travel policies weren’t ready to handle the restrictions of the pandemic, but now, things like hygiene sanitization are permanent parts of the hospitality industry.
It’s up to you to follow the latest changes that affect aspects of employee travel update the corporate policies to reflect them.
2. Implementing Effective Technology
Using technology in the office is an evolutionary experience, never staying the same for long. What works today may be obsolete tomorrow.
As the travel manager, your role includes staying at the forefront of these changes as they come down the pipeline.
The software hardware you’re currently using to book travel should be the latest greatest, your staff must know how to operate their part. They’ll be using it to make arrangements, turn in per diems, complete other essential paperwork.
Your Booking Tools Matter
Sounds simple enough, right?
While it’s not difficult, it can be complex. Travel booking companies are always fighting to stay relevant by adapting their programs to better serve the consumer. We all have individual preferences, so these adjustments might or might not benefit your company.
It’s up to you to provide your employees with booking tools that they can use efficiently seamlessly while staying in line with the company’s travel program compliance requirements.
It’s a fine line to walk, but the right technology apps make it easier. If the current software program you’re using makes it a struggle to balance user satisfaction business budgeting compliance, it’s time to change the travel technology in your office.
3. Keeping Your Travelers Safe
Setting up the logistics of a trip, from transportation to lodging per diems, is the easy part. Much of those processes are automated or done by the employee, with your approval.
The hard part is keeping your travelers safe in the midst of variables you can’t control. Your responsibility is for the well-being of each person. It’s considered a duty of care that falls to your position.
How the Right Tools Minimize Risk
Your travel policy procedures must be designed with safety security measures that meet legal regulations. If your employee needs help while they’re on a trip that you sent them on, it’s your legal duty of care to aid them.
The business travel tools you use can help minimize these issues. For example, if a flight is delayed, it looks like your traveler is going to miss their connection, the booking tool should warn you. With enough time, you can adjust the next flight, alert your employee, reduce their stress.
Risk crisis management are a vital part of your role. Your employees rely on you to handle any hiccup or emergency that they can’t take care of themselves. The processes you have in place in your corporate policy book help, but they’re not a substitute for real-time human care.
Conclusion
Travel managers have a vast job duty definition that involves socializing, booking trips, handling paperwork until it’s all completed. There’s never a dull moment for long, your days won’t look the same.
If this sounds up your alley, you could be the ideal person for a corporate travel management role.
