PROFILE
New Priorities Changed
Focus, But Not Goals
C-Suite now pushes compliance; cost control still critical
Tetyana Carten
Global Travel Manager, TTEC
Moving from a pricing role to manage travel just prior to the pandemic threw new priorities at this travel manager: understanding the value of travel beyond cost and prioritizing that value while also managing demand.
What changed the most, from pre-pandemic to now, in your role?
I’ve been with TTEC for more than eight years. I was in finance in a pricing role previously, and the year I took over the travel manager role, the pandemic started. I had not managed travel prior to the pandemic.
For managing travel, it was mostly like the company was managing resources, making sure that we don’t overspend, managing spend, managing safety. Now [travel management] shifted to being a priority. So we are not as concerned about the volumes of travel, and we’re not as concerned about traveler satisfaction. We’re more concerned about how safe they are and that they are compliant, so we can track spend we can make sure that everything’s going [well]. This has become a No. 1 goal in my world at least.
Is this increased level of enforcement coming from the top?
Yes. It comes from the C-suite. And the other part of it is that during the pandemic when travel stopped they realized how much money they were saving by people not traveling. So that was like very sweet candy, nobody wants to give that up. They do realize that face-to-face interaction is very important, but they still push this trade-off. Like, “how many people [do you] think need to travel?”
How are the travelers themselves reacting to this?
It depends on their personality. Some people are like, OK, I haven’t traveled, so I don’t have to I don’t need to, but some people are so eager to travel. They are pushing for face-to-face interaction, and this is how they know how to do business. So you can’t really tell them to do it differently.
Has TTEC’s structure around travel changed? Your department reports to procurement, right?
Yes, it has changed. The TTEC travel department was part of procurement previously, then at some point it became a self-standing department reporting to legal counsel. Then from legal counsel, it [moved to] enterprise services. And now, we’re back in procurement reporting directly to the CFO. It’s been kind of thrown around a bit.
Does that have any effect on how you manage things, in terms of your place in the organization? Are you going to be assessed in the same way?
Not really. The goals are the same, but priorities can change, the focus can change, and there is kind of a different lens to look at things now, but other than that, no, all the goals are the same.
Do you find yourself dealing with other departments more? Are people Across TTEC looking for other things from you?
People reach out for information, especially in the pandemic. Even the limited amount of people who were traveling would reach out for information, like what documentation they need. But now we have closer ties with the human resources department and with security and safety—the people who are looking at this companywide. Other than that, it’s still the same.
What are you keeping your eyes on in terms of potential challenges over the next 12 months?
If the business is really going to go back to business as usual, and people come back to perform their roles as they’d been doing it previously, or if it’s going to transform into something new because executives are pushing to cut costs on travel. At this point it’s still uncertain and it’s still kind of forming. There are many departments and different rules. I think for some departments it will completely transform to virtual interactions, and for other departments, it will stay as it was previously.
Given that you came up outside travel and then came into it, is there a possibility if travel cutbacks continue, they could redeploy you into a different aspect of the organization?
It is possible. Coming from finance, from pricing, I’m well-equipped on the reporting side and data side as an analyst. So I was participating in all kinds of other projects and working with other departments before. If the company decides to outsource [travel management], it’ll be fine.
What changed the most, from pre-pandemic to now, in your role?
I’ve been with TTEC for more than eight years. I was in finance in a pricing role previously, and the year I took over the travel manager role, the pandemic started. I had not managed travel prior to the pandemic.
For managing travel, it was mostly like the company was managing resources, making sure that we don’t overspend, managing spend, managing safety. Now [travel management] shifted to being a priority. So we are not as concerned about the volumes of travel, and we’re not as concerned about traveler satisfaction. We’re more concerned about how safe they are and that they are compliant, so we can track spend we can make sure that everything’s going [well]. This has become a No. 1 goal in my world at least.
Is this increased level of enforcement coming from the top?
Yes. It comes from the C-suite. And the other part of it is that during the pandemic when travel stopped they realized how much money they were saving by people not traveling. So that was like very sweet candy, nobody wants to give that up. They do realize that face-to-face interaction is very important, but they still push this trade-off. Like, “how many people [do you] think need to travel?”
How are the travelers themselves reacting to this?
It depends on their personality. Some people are like, OK, I haven’t traveled, so I don’t have to I don’t need to, but some people are so eager to travel. They are pushing for face-to-face interaction, and this is how they know how to do business. So you can’t really tell them to do it differently.
Has TTEC’s structure around travel changed? Your department reports to procurement, right?
Yes, it has changed. The TTEC travel department was part of procurement previously, then at some point it became a self-standing department reporting to legal counsel. Then from legal counsel, it [moved to] enterprise services. And now, we’re back in procurement reporting directly to the CFO. It’s been kind of thrown around a bit.
Does that have any effect on how you manage things, in terms of your place in the organization? Are you going to be assessed in the same way?
Not really. The goals are the same, but priorities can change, the focus can change, and there is kind of a different lens to look at things now, but other than that, no, all the goals are the same.
Do you find yourself dealing with other departments more? Are people Across TTEC looking for other things from you?
People reach out for information, especially in the pandemic. Even the limited amount of people who were traveling would reach out for information, like what documentation they need. But now we have closer ties with the human resources department and with security and safety—the people who are looking at this companywide. Other than that, it’s still the same.
What are you keeping your eyes on in terms of potential challenges over the next 12 months?
If the business is really going to go back to business as usual, and people come back to perform their roles as they’d been doing it previously, or if it’s going to transform into something new because executives are pushing to cut costs on travel. At this point it’s still uncertain and it’s still kind of forming. There are many departments and different rules. I think for some departments it will completely transform to virtual interactions, and for other departments, it will stay as it was previously.
Given that you came up outside travel and then came into it, is there a possibility if travel cutbacks continue, they could redeploy you into a different aspect of the organization?
It is possible. Coming from finance, from pricing, I’m well-equipped on the reporting side and data side as an analyst. So I was participating in all kinds of other projects and working with other departments before. If the company decides to outsource [travel management], it’ll be fine.
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