Building a Modern Travel Program with ZS – Direct Travel

In at present’s fast-changing enterprise panorama, journey managers are being known as to steer in new and strategic methods. Direct Travel’s podcast sequence, Altitude with Attitude, explores this shift by means of the lens of real-world experiences.

For the inaugural episode, SVP of Corporate Marketing Chris Taylor is joined by Sarah Hayden, Travel Lead at ZS. The pair focus on what it takes to construct a contemporary journey program that balances value, care, and flexibility. Their dialog presents well timed insights for journey managers seeking to elevate their affect, align journey with broader firm objectives, and navigate the complexity of at present’s enterprise surroundings.

Listen to the complete podcast right here, and comply with alongside as we unpack the highest takeaways under.

Redefining the Role of the Travel Manager

Travel shouldn’t be the toughest a part of a enterprise journey. Eliminating friction is essential in order that vacationers can give attention to what issues once they’re on the street, like constructing relationships, successful new enterprise, and driving outcomes. This is the place the trendy journey supervisor steps in.

“We’re here to support our travelers while they’re on the road, because travel is such a strategic part of a business. It touches so much, from compliance and customer experience to cost savings and procurement.”

— Sarah Hayden, Travel Lead, ZS

Today’s journey managers should stability value management, worker expertise, and operational effectivity, and so they’re shaping the way forward for enterprise journey in actual time. They are liable for overseeing a posh ecosystem of suppliers, applied sciences, and inner stakeholders. Travel managers should guarantee each a part of their program works in sync. If methods don’t discuss to one another, the corporate loses visibility — and with it, the flexibility to help and defend vacationers on the street.

Supporting Company Culture & Client Success

Your individuals are your group’s biggest differentiator, particularly in at present’s aggressive panorama. Business journey performs a crucial position in bringing firm tradition to life, permitting staff to be current with purchasers, or work shoulder to shoulder with colleagues. Travel is a enterprise crucial that fuels buyer loyalty and drives development.

“We learned the importance of working right next to our clients, not just virtually, but being in person with them and helping them solve their problems side by side. This became a huge selling factor for why a client wants to work with us.”

While digital instruments might help keep momentum, there’s no substitute for being within the room. In-person collaboration builds belief, deepens relationships, and reinforces an organization’s dedication to fixing shopper challenges collectively.

Building a Travel Program with Flexibility  

One dimension not often suits all in a enterprise surroundings, and that is very true in relation to journey. Rather than forcing staff right into a inflexible system, give attention to constructing a program that displays how your staff truly needs to journey. Begin by contemplating these two questions:

• Do my vacationers need a self-managed expertise?
• Will additionally they profit from hands-on help?

Building a versatile program means supporting each of those preferences. As Hayden factors out, “Why resist what our people want? Instead, embrace it and put a program in place that brings them options for how they want to book their travel. Why create more friction for our folks?”

Balancing Traveler Experience with Program Discipline

A versatile program doesn’t have to come back on the expense of construction. Travel managers ought to develop a framework that prioritizes the traveler expertise whereas additionally sustaining value management and compliance. To make this attainable, each provider and programming determination ought to be held accountable to a few pillars:

1. Positive Traveler Experience: Partner with airways, motels, and rental automotive suppliers to safe perks that assist vacationers arrive snug, assured, and able to carry out.
2. Smart Financial Decisions: Make each journey reserving a mirrored image of each cost-conscious planning and the belief others place in your monetary stewardship.
3. Strong Duty of Care: Ensure traveler security by means of real-time location visibility, dependable communication, and built-in know-how for fast response.

A profitable journey program ought to serve each the enterprise and its vacationers. With the best guardrails in place and a transparent set of guiding rules, it’s attainable to construct a program that checks each field.

Leaders in Motion

As the demographics of our workforce shift, so do the expectations round enterprise journey. Today’s vacationers have a variety of preferences, habits, and luxury ranges. This variety means journey packages can now not be one-size-fits-all. Those who handle journey for his or her group ought to usually verify in with and gather information from their vacationers. This suggestions can inform the standards used to guage new companions and applied sciences.

By embracing flexibility, prioritizing the traveler expertise, and deciding on the best companions, journey leaders can construct a program that not solely meets at present’s calls for however evolves with tomorrow’s expectations.

To hear much more insights from the Altitude with Attitude podcast, listen to the episode in its entirety.