Companies are taking steps to manage expense across borders, and travel is no exception. Being a part of an organization experiencing growth can be exciting, especially if your business is expanding beyond national borders.
Whether your enterprise is in the early stages of entering the global market or already has a well-established multinational brand, creating a consolidated global travel program can be exciting, yet stressful if the necessary pieces aren’t in place.
Today’s travel managers are often faced with pressures from their organization to constantly evolve and optimize their travel program. Responding to the pressures of executive leadership and procurement partners can quickly result in a program that may not be best fit for the business.
That’s why it’s crucial the travel manager takes time to research and to understand whether it’s worth the significant investment to unify their corporate travel program across all channels.
Here are six essential steps you need to take before creating your global travel policy and before officially launching your global travel program.
Define key objectives
Start the process by thinking about how you will define success and communicate those objectives to your global stakeholders.
Engage your local & global stakeholders
Critical to the success of kick-starting a global program is engagement at the global and local level. Surround yourself with strong consolidation support group in each location to ensure you have support on the ground.
Collect relevant data
Work with stakeholders across your global program to centralize and unify your travel data.
Understand the local culture
When working worldwide, you can’t expect the same solutions and processes to work in each market. Focus on learning local culture requirements and incorporate those nuances into your program.
Consider local, best-in-class technology
Implementing one solution for each market can be a recipe for failure. Take time to understand local markets so you can select the right technology that works for their travelers.
Establish a change management team
Identify a team across the organization who can help champion your cross-functional business initiative.
Taking your travel management program global is a complex undertaking. However, it doesn’t have to be painful if you prepare well in advance of the shift. The more you engage key stakeholders, form a team of seasoned change managers and have an in-depth understanding of each local market, the more ready your enterprise will be to evolve from local to global.
One of the essential pieces to keep in mind when taking your travel program global is that you don’t have to do it alone. An experienced travel management company can help you with the prep work and partner with you through the entire process.
Thinking it may be the right time to consolidate your travel program globally? Learn more about Direct ATPI.
