The world may look different today than it did a few years ago, but one thing hasn’t changed since COVID. Businesses are still sending their workers on company trips.
Sure, the landscape has shifted to make travel safer for everyone. Fundamentally, though, corporate travel continues to be a booming, billion-dollar industry.
Why are so many businesses willing to invest substantial portions of their budgets into company travel? Read on to learn about the four top benefits of work-related trips and why you should get on board this trend today.
1. Traveling is Easier Than Ever
Let’s face it: COVID forced the whole world to slow down, regroup, and come back more efficiently than ever. Now, you can perform almost every aspect of planning your travel from your computer or smartphone.
Set the destination and book your transportation and lodging from your preferred travel booking platform, or use a dedicated agent to take care of the logistics for you.
Then, let your employees pay their expenses with a virtual credit card to reduce the hassle of approving costs and filing extra paperwork. Just make sure you’re following the per diem laws, as per this article from Hotel Engine.
Send out the instructions via a group email or chat in your customer relationship management platform. You can even monitor your employee’s travel online, ensure everyone arrives safely, and take care of issues quickly from a distance.
It’s night and day different from how business travel was performed a few years ago. This streamlined ease has significantly increased the number of companies sending their workers on corporate trips.
2. You Build and Maintain a Stronger Network
You can establish relationships and even nourish them online, but there’s nothing like a face-to-face connection to truly sustain a network.
In a world where competition is a global concern, it’s easy to land a client, but not quite as simple to keep them loyal. Studies show that in-person interactions are essential to building trust and loyalty.
When you send your employees to meet people in your network, the bonds they forge can cement the relationship with your business faster and stronger than a remote connection does.
From there, you end up with more referrals, better quality relationships, and higher volume orders. This return on your investment makes the expense worth every penny.
3. Your Employees Learn About the Industry
While they’re out and about, your workers are combining business and leisure. They’re getting a break from the daily grind and hopefully enjoying some much-needed relaxation in between meetings and conferences.
But while they’re on the clock, they’re networking and learning more about what goes on outside your business walls (or firewalls).
They engage in beneficial conversations as they meet new people and connect with others they already know. These discussions may be with potential clients or vendors or could lead to information that could help your business.
In some situations, traveling workers head to job fairs to meet candidates in person before choosing someone to hire for open positions. Investing in proactive travel reduces the cost of hiring someone who doesn’t have the qualifications you thought they did and paying for the onboarding and training of the wrong person.
4. Better Staff Development Opportunities Are Available
Research shows that workers who continue to grow in their field are more satisfied and likely to stay with a company. Yet, unless you own or manage a major corporation, providing high-quality, cutting-edge learning opportunities at your place of employment can be challenging.
If you offer your workers the ability to travel, with pay, to attend conferences, workshops, or seminars, they’ll bring their new skills back to your company.
You can choose the destinations and topics so that your travelers are keeping up with the latest industry trends while staying safe. After all, it’s your duty of care to ensure each person you send out on the job returns back safely!
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that planning and executing business travel is costly. But, when done well, the return you get on this investment is more than enough to make it all worthwhile.
When your employee morale increases and your workers are satisfied, they’re more likely to be loyal to your company. And the knowledge and connections they make on the road and bring back to you when they return are something you just can’t get without the experience of traveling.
