How can you update your company's travel policies?

Travel policies are essential for any company that sends its employees on business trips. They help ensure safety, compliance, and cost-effectiveness. However, travel policies are not static. They need to be updated regularly to reflect changes in the travel industry, regulations, and best practices. How can you update your company's travel policies as an administrative assistant? Here are some tips.

1 Assess the current situation

The first step in evaluating the effectiveness of existing travel policies is to review them and gather feedback from travelers, managers, and finance staff. Analyzing the travel data and expenses can also help identify any issues or gaps. When reviewing the policies, ask yourself questions such as: are they clear and easy to follow? Do they cover all relevant scenarios and risks? Do they align with the company's goals and values? Are they compliant with legal and ethical standards? Do they provide enough flexibility and options for travelers? And, do they optimize the travel budget and minimize waste?

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Claudia PALACIOS GTP, CCM, CMS, CIS

Regional Director | Travel & Event Management | Travel & Event procurement category management | Multidisciplinary team leadership | Multicultural expertise
(edited)
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Your travel policy is the corner stone in every corporate travel program. This document establishes guidelines based on the company's values, goals and expected behaviour from the travelers. As Travel Manager, you should not only consider budget or preferred suppliers, you should also work on a cross-functional ecosystem. Having an overview of the main market conditions, social, political and financial situation across the globe will help you update or adjust your travel policy sorting out the most common difficulties those road warriors face on a daily basis. Our travelers will be pleased to know that their voice is heard and confident that they will have our support when needed.

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Haseeb Hanif

HR Officer at HTA C/O Coronet Food pvt.ltd
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An outdated travel policy can create unnecessary complications for employees and lead to financial waste for businesses. Here's how to update your travel policy and ensure it is up-to-date and effective: Review and update your policy regularly: Travel policies should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that they reflect changes in business needs, travel trends, and employee feedback. Consider conducting a policy review every 12-18 months to ensure your policy remains current and relevant.

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Diana-rose Bandason

Office Administration & Management, Executive support
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Travel documents can be updated according to changes in the legal, financial and political environment a company is operating within. The companies objective can see the need to adjust policies in a bid to reduce cost or to improve the travel quality of its employees as the company is vicariously liable for its employees when travelling on work duty. In a nutshell cost savings measures or improvement of the quality of travel for employees and changes is the legal environment can determine adjustments of company policies.

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2 Research the best practices

The next step is to research the best practices and trends in the travel industry. Consulting reputable sources, such as industry associations, travel agencies, and experts, can help you stay up-to-date on the latest developments. Additionally, benchmarking your company's travel policies against those of similar or leading organizations can provide valuable insights. Moreover, exploring topics like leveraging technology and digital tools to streamline the travel process and enhance the traveler experience, incorporating sustainability and social responsibility into travel policies and practices, addressing health and safety concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies, adapting to changing traveler preferences and expectations, and negotiating for the best deals from travel suppliers and partners can help you stay ahead of the curve.

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3 Draft the updates

The third step is to draft the updates to the travel policies based on your findings and recommendations. You should use clear and concise language, formatting, and visuals to communicate the changes. Additionally, you can rely on templates and examples to guide you. It's important to focus on the most important and relevant changes and avoid unnecessary or minor details. To ensure consistency, use simple terms and definitions throughout the document. Organize the information logically by using headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break it down. Furthermore, include examples, scenarios, and FAQs to illustrate and clarify the policies. Moreover, highlight the benefits and value of the updates for travelers and the company.

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4 Communicate the updates

As an administrative assistant, it is important to ensure that your company's travel policies are up to date, effective, and compliant. Communicating the updates to the relevant stakeholders is the fourth step in this process. To do this, you can use various channels such as email, intranet, newsletter, and webinar and different formats such as text, video, and infographic. It is important to announce the updates in advance and explain the rationale and objectives behind them. Additionally, provide a summary of the main changes and their impact on the travel process and procedures. Encourage feedback and questions and respond promptly and professionally. Moreover, provide training and support to help the stakeholders understand and implement the updates. Lastly, monitor and measure the results and outcomes of the updates and make adjustments if needed. Updating your company's travel policies is an ongoing process that requires regular review and revision.

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Haseeb Hanif

HR Officer at HTA C/O Coronet Food pvt.ltd
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Employees have the organization’s best interests in business travel. Without a proper understanding of the travel and expense policies, they will continue to use their best judgment, costing your business money. Excellent communication is the key to travel policy compliance. Any policy changes must be communicated through the channels most often used in your business. Besides regularly informing your employees about travel policies, make travel policy education an integral part of the onboarding process (especially for traveling employees). You are nudging your employees towards travel and expense policy compliance by empowering them with the information.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you update your company's travel policies?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Assess the current situation

2 Research the best practices

3 Draft the updates

4 Communicate the updates

5 Here’s what else to consider

Administrative Assistance

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How can you update your company's travel policies?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Assess the current situation

2 Research the best practices

3 Draft the updates

4 Communicate the updates

5 Here’s what else to consider

Administrative Assistance

Rate this article

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