Does a company’s culture enable rogue traveller behaviour?

IT’S no secret that, in the
current global economy,
many companies are
initiating strict procurement
policies to curb spiralling
overheads. However, some
employees still abuse
loopholes in the system,
particularly when it comes to
business travel.
This irresponsible
behaviour is often due to a
particular type of company
culture that enables rogue
travel expenditure and
a lack of adherence to
corporate travel policies,
says Kim.
“We have definitely seen
a correlation between
corporate culture and
traveller behaviour,”
says Kim. “For example, we
have a client whose ceo will
only travel in economy
class.He has very low
tolerance for any C-level
executive or line manager
who travels outside of this
policy and, consequently,
there are hardly any rogue
travellers who do not
conform to policy.
“However, another of our
clients is far less strict on
policy. If a C-level employee
travels to London and books
a business-class seat it
does not really concern the
powers that be, because
the value that the traveller
is going to bring to the
business is in the millions.
In this company culture,
they do not really mind if
travel is not strictly in line
with company policy. This
culture filters down and
employees lower in the
hierarchy feel that if those
C-level travellers can fly
business class, then so
can they. In the long run,
the cost associated with
non-adherence and nonenforcement
of company
policies can run into the
millions.”
Bad booking behaviour
Another aspect of traveller
behaviour that can prove
costly to companies is
when a traveller books a
flight with a very short time
period prior to departure or
makes last-minute changes
to flight details, says Kim.
For instance, a traveller
may come out of a meeting
early and decide to change
their ticket to catch an
earlier flight.
What’s more, she notes
that there is a trend towards
travellers disregarding
company policy when it
comes to airline choices
and booking flights on
certain carriers to gain
frequent flyer benefits,
instead of booking with the
most cost-effective carriers.
Similarly, employees may
book a hotel of their
preference instead of
accommodation that is in
line with company policy.
They might also choose to
drive a luxury rental car or
make use of a chauffeurdrive
service instead of
the most financially viable
option.
Once an employee
engages in this
behaviour without any
repercussions from the
line manager, others
learn that they can
also ignore the rules.
“This is, unfortunately,
something that the
travel management
company cannot
address,” says Kim.
“It is up to the line
manager to take this
up with the employee
and develop a culture
where rogue behaviour
is not tolerated.
“However, a TMC
can play an important role
in helping companies to
curb their expenditure. We
highlight the impact that
certain behaviours could
have on travel spend for
the travel manager. Our
suppliers also keep us up to
date on traveller behaviour
and we can relay this
information to the company,
to help them devise costsaving
initiatives.”
She further explains
that in these instances,
Wings Travel Management
will send a goData report
to the client to provide
a breakdown of the
traveller behaviour and its
implications for company
expenditure. “We also
advise around implementing
strategies to improve
savings, such as booking
flights no less than one
week in advance.”
The worst consequence
of poor traveller behaviour
is the financial burden it
places on the company,
maintains Kim. However,
there are also non-financial
repercussions. “For
instance, when travellers
are ‘under the influence’ on
a flight or arrive late at a
guesthouse and are abusive
to the staff, we often
hear about this from our
suppliers, and the traveller’s
company can suffer
considerable reputational
damage as a result.”
Kim explains that, in
these instances, Wings
does get in touch with the
client to discuss what
could be a sensitive
subject. “Fortunately,
we maintain a close
relationship with our clients
to ensure that we can be
frank about poor behaviour
from their employees,” she
comments.