Geopolitical
uncertainties and natural disasters in destinations normally deemed safe will
keep risk management top of mind for travel managers in 2018. Meanwhile, business
leaders are grappling with how to ensure the safety of their business travelers
through comprehensive duty of care programs. I share this concern with
executives around the world, and I believe the answer to keeping travelers safe
lies in a more sophisticated approach to handling their data.
Travel data
is only valuable when it is accessible, accurate and comprehensive. Companies
have had trouble using data for travel risk management in the past, largely
because it is disparate and disconnected. Today, business travel data is spread
among numerous channels: corporate credit cards, personal credit cards, online
booking tools, supplier-direct sites and more. When gaps in data exist,
companies lack complete and accurate pictures.
Technology
can bridge those gaps. Cloud computing has made it easier to access and
aggregate information in real time. Developers have created application
programming interfaces that allow disparate systems to talk to each other,
bringing data sources together. In 2018, businesses will build on these
advancements to improve travel risk management services and ensure duty of
care. Three strategies will drive this result:
Cross-functional
strategies for travel risk management: Duty of care extends beyond the
corporate travel department into HR, legal, security and more. In addition to
working more closely with these teams, travel managers will integrate HR data,
corporate card data and digital receipts with travel data. Real-time, multidata
sources will enable companies to pinpoint and communicate with employees in
emergencies. Continuous automated data capture and aggregation will remove
security gaps caused by old data and/or heavy reliance on the traveler to take
action.
Consumer-friendly
tools: Employees expect seamless experiences across all their technology
applications, both consumer and enterprise. In the coming year, companies will
prioritize the traveler experience and choose tools that employees will love to
use. Improved compliance will lead to more comprehensive travel data and
greater visibility.
Accepting and
aggregating out-of-channel bookings: The sharing economy and proliferation of
booking and purchase options at employees’ fingertips has made it impossible to
impose rigid travel policies and ignore out-of-channel bookings. Companies will
embrace more open travel policies that provide travelers flexibility and
options, while also employing methods to capture off-channel data.
Deploying
these strategies will give businesses accurate, real-time insights to ensure
employees are safe wherever they travel.