Are Your Employees Ready to Get Back On the Road? Are You Ready to Ask Them?

It’s happening, albeit slowly. The world is moving from virtual back to actual, and as you prep for it, you need every ounce of help you can get. Arguably, the most important requirement in this case is the honest opinions and apprehensions of your employees – especially those who travel for business. You need to know what they’re thinking and feeling before you ask them to pack up their roller bags and head back down the jetway.

It’s also important to know that their demands stem from legitimate concerns. This isn’t about having to fill out expense reports or being forced to fly coach, it’s about the very real possibility of bringing a disease home to their families.

No one wants that, and you don’t want to ask it of them.

Small-Medium Business Traveler Report 2020

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As a small or midsized business, you see first-hand how employee engagement – or employee anxiety – impacts their work. You see it because you’re right there with them, not in some out-of-touch boardroom. Your employees are everything to your company, and you want them to have the tools they need to be confident and comfortable in their careers.

So where do they stand on traveling?

Sure, your people want to come back to the office – many of them do, at least. And while they also want to reserve the right to work from home occasionally, they want to collaborate face-to-face. To sit around the same table. To stand at the proverbial watercooler and discuss last night’s fan-less game through their facemasks.

But are they ready to cram themselves into an airplane for three hours? Or a crowded train? Not quite. According to a Wakefield Research whitepaper, 37% of travelers expect to limit their use of public transportation, with 26% saying they’ll use their personal vehicle.

Business travelers do want to start traveling again, however. Wakefield also discovered that there are almost as many business travelers (31%) who are excited to get back out there as there are travelers who are worried about it (36%). And their worries aren’t just about safe travel. About half (51%) anticipate fewer contracts or deals that require in-person meetings, and more than 2 in 5 (43%) expect declines in new business due to lack of in-person meetings.

So they know they need to go, but how they get there is going to change.

Staying outside the hub

Wakefield’s report also outlines how these and other traveler concerns will impact travel costs. For example, 28% plan to prioritize shorter, more direct flights, and 21% will try to avoid larger airports in major cities. These flights they’re talking about aren’t always going to be cheaper, so you’ll have to work harder to stay on top of their travel spending.

And if they end up in forced quarantine when they reach their destination, as 22% expect to be the case, how will you manage their work and working conditions?

It’s more change in a year of head-spinning changes, but if you want (and you do want) to keep your employees safe, happy, and productive on the road – while containing costs and maintaining compliance – you’ll have to be ready to adapt.

So ask yourself: What are the tools you need to get there? Then see what you find in the Wakefield whitepaper.