Five Challenges HR Faces in Corporate Travel (and How to Solve Them)

Human resource (HR) departments play a crucial role in corporate travel programs: They’re the intermediary between a company and its employees and help ensure that both parties benefit from business travel, in partnership with an internal travel manager or an external travel management company (TMC).  

HR is instrumental in enhancing the overall travel experience by aligning policies with employee needs and organizational goals based on anecdotal feedback and data-driven insights. HR professionals can help identify trends, assess compliance, and make informed decisions that improve policies over time.  

However, being the intermediary can come with friction. There are several travel-centric challenges that HR professionals can face. For example, it can be difficult to ensure that employees are maintaining compliance, especially as HR responsibilities continue to increase in scope.  

Another challenge, as HR rises to the top of C-suite priorities, is balancing the employee experience with cutting costs. This year’s SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey found that while 35% of global travel managers say that their company is most focused on meeting employees’ needs for flexible travel options, another 32% say their company is focused on cutting back on business travel costs. Many HR departments—even when supported by a travel manager or TMC—find themselves navigating these competing interests. 

At SAP Concur, we’ve found that there are a handful of challenges facing HR professionals in corporate travel and luckily, there are solutions for everything. 

1. Policy Compliance and Clarity 

• Challenge: Employees may not fully understand corporate travel policies, leading to compliance issues and increased costs for companies. In a past survey of finance managers, 58% said they believe that noncompliant expenses stem from unclear policies. 
• Solution: Partner with a travel manager or TMC to develop clear travel policies that consider common scenarios that business travelers may encounter on their trip. Develop training programs to educate employees on policy and use easy-to-read formats, like infographics or videos, to help familiarize employees with company expectations. 

2. Cost Management 

• Challenge: Controlling costs while ensuring employees have a positive experience can be difficult. In the past year, employees have seen cutbacks in benefits and comfort-focused requests to trim costs. These cutbacks have included staying overnight to avoid a long day of travel for a day trip, paying more to get a non-stop flight or direct route, using business or premium class, or using options like taxis or ride-share apps rather than public transportation. 
• Solution: Look for smart tradeoffs with which employees can get on board. Start by identifying the policies that have the most value to employees and listen to employee feedback before making cost-conscious adjustments. For example, perhaps there’s a compromise between a large meal allowance and tighter budget for rideshares.  

3. Health and Safety Concerns 

• Challenge: Ensuring the safety and well-being of employees can be complex. Indeed, safety concerns are the biggest reason that business travelers would decline a business trip, particularly due to: 
• Safety concerns about the trip destination (44%). 
• Political or social concerns about the trip destination (35%). 
• Safety concerns for the mode of transportation required (33%). 
• Solution: Work with your travel manager or TMC to stay informed about travel advisories and health guidelines. Make sure employees are booking travel through approved channels and that the company uses technology, such as Concur TripLink, to track bookings that are happening directly with suppliers. Use a service that specializes in duty of care. At SAP Concur, we work with duty of care partners like International SOS and Anvil Group to track employee locations and communicate in a moment’s notice. 

4. Employee Satisfaction and Experience 

• Challenge: Travel can be stressful, and negative experiences can affect employee morale, productivity, and retention. This is especially true if employees feel like they don’t have equal opportunity for business travel. Around two in three global business travelers feel they haven’t had an equal opportunity to take business trips compared to their colleagues, and they attribute this to their level of seniority, their age, or their status as a caretaker or parent, among other attributes. 
• Solution: Create a clear, transparent policy outlining how business travel opportunities are assigned. Include criteria that focus on business needs while also considering employee preferences and personal circumstances. Ensure that the policy explicitly states that all employees, regardless of seniority or personal circumstances, have an equal opportunity to be considered for travel. Provide training to managers to ensure they’re aware of and clear on the policy.  

6. Technology Integration 

• Challenge: Keeping up with rapidly evolving travel technologies and ensuring integration with existing systems can be challenging for employees, especially in this period of rapid innovation with generative AI. 
• Solution: Invest in user-friendly travel management software that integrates well with HR and accounting systems. The new booking experience in Concur Travel features a consumer-grade user experience with a streamlined booking and checkout process. It delivers a modern, intuitive experience that is adaptable for web and mobile and tailored for the traveler. Also, consider working with IT as well as a travel manager or TMC to create training materials for employees when new features are introduced or new tools are rolled out. 

By addressing these challenges proactively, HR can more effectively partner with other company stakeholders to enhance the corporate travel experience, maintain compliance, and ultimately support company goals and employee satisfaction.