5 Things Your TMC Should Be Doing For You Right Now

What is your TMC doing for you while your travel is stalled? Your role as a travel manager is just as important, if not more, than usual. Many travel managers are getting more questions than ever from your organization and travelers on your policy and program. Now is the time to make sure you have a strong partnership with your TMC and that they are providing the support and advice to guide you to opportunities that help your organization adapt to the ever changing COVID-19 landscape and beyond.

At Fox, we are focusing our efforts on these important topics as initiatives we believe are critical during this time.

Duty of Care Tools & Policy

Organizations have a legal — and, we believe, ethical — obligation to protect employees by working to provide guidance on safe and secure travel on every trip. Without a duty of care plan in place, corporations face potentially harsh legal and financial penalties, business disruption and uncertainty if a serious incident should affect their travelers.

“We are here to help our clients understand what they need to think about now given the changing worldwide landscape, new medical and safety regulations are being discussed daily and we are here to support our clients navigate,” says Jeff Saydah, global client solutions manager. “How do you now manage travel, understanding these new potential liabilities?”

Learn more: 5 Things to Consider in Your Duty of Care Policy

Traveler Sentiment and Feedback to Make Changes

It’s more important than ever to understand traveler sentiment. Whether that means making a few phone calls and chatting with your frequent travelers, or implementing a more formal surveying effort, its critical to appreciate COVID-19-era traveler perspective.

“To help our clients, we developed and distributed a traveler sentiment survey with account-specific reporting,” said Mia Beltran, Fox director of customer experience. “It gave our participating accounts their unique traveler sentiment score, along with an understanding of top traveler concerns, and information or support travelers need to confidently return to business travel.”

In addition to these account-specific efforts, Fox has held numerous webinars to educate clients on traveler experience, traveler sentiment and the COVID-era traveler journey.

“Travel today is so much different than travel just a year ago,” said Beltran. “We all need to be very thoughtful about how we help our travelers in this ever-changing environment.”

Next-Level Reporting

Reports and spreadsheets are always a necessity for a business, so use this time to dig deeper in your data and make it work for you.

“Often travel managers are looking for expert advice on how to best support their program through data or what indicators provide the most value,” said Fox data analytics manager Dylan Christian. “During a time when permitted travel and expenses are under increased scrutiny we are able to provide recommendations based on the challenge(s) our clients face and present them in a way that empowers the user. Additionally, as new challenges arise and business climate presents further opportunities, Fox is in a position to help clients adapt to new data needs.”

New Technology & Changes

With new challenges come new opportunities, and the last few months have certainly been full of both.

“This is an ideal time for travel managers to review their current processes,” said Jeremy Dyken, Fox director of application development. “Those travel managers who utilize this lull in travel to refocus on their programs and work with their TMCs to discover and create new solutions will be the ones who find themselves in the best possible situation to take advantage of the rebound.”

Support Your Virtual Transition

Life is looking a little bit different; things that were once done in a conference room are now done via large Zoom or Teams calls. It’s easy to get burned out by the lack of human contact, so work on balancing the virtual transition for your employees and bring back some human to the online world.

“With travel slowed around the world, it is important for our clients to continue to meet the needs of their business, which can only be accomplished by coming together,” said Crystal Zawilinski, Fox sales director for meetings and incentives. “Virtual and hybrid meetings are a perfect way to accomplish these goals. Prepping to conduct an event virtually includes the same steps as in-person events – defining objectives, setting a budget, evaluating who the attendees should be, creating an agenda and executing the logistics.”

Educate & Connect

There seems to never be enough time to absorb all the information out there, but staying up to date and in the know is highly important.

“Travel information is changing daily, sometimes hourly,” said Tifani Jones, Fox director of global development and sales operations. “At Fox, we take pride in delivering information quickly and accurately through a variety of channels. Providing education and opportunities to connect with colleagues gives travel managers the resources they need to react quickly in this change environment.”

Watch our Webinar: Virtual Meetings: Is It Right For You?

Fox is busy working for our clients always. Our client solutions managers take pride in helping travel managers continually improve their programs. Contact us today to find out how we can help you. If you are considering transitioning to a new TMC but are uneasy about change, Fox is prepared to provide a seamless transition for your organization. Read more about our Tips for a Successful Implementation.

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