As any travel manager knows, business travel booking through a corporate travel program has a number of benefits. Personal safety support and reducing traveler friction rank near the top. In the travel industry, there’s a new term coined to describe the near-constant state of fear that many travelers experience these days: permanxiety. According to Skift Magazine, “Travel in An Age of Permanxiety,” travelers are constantly bombarded with stress related to politics, terrorism, security, technology and much more. Any company that sends staff into the field to build business and strengthen relationships could face the impact of this state of permanent anxiety. Simply put, business travelers who are stressed may not perform at their highest level.

When it comes to ensuring the productivity and satisfaction of your road warriors, keeping them secure is key. Your business travelers want to feel protected. And it’s your duty to make sure safety measures are in place when they travel.

Corporate Travel Programs Help Assuage Fears

The structure and sense of security a corporate travel program provides a traveler can reduce traveler friction and anxiety through these primary benefits:

• Travel managers and other stakeholders in your organization know traveler details, including where they are flying and staying.
• Travel managers and your travel management company can provide assistance, when necessary. So whether a business traveler is stranded by severe weather, delayed due to a security issue or facing any number of other travel obstacles, they know they don’t have to go it alone. An entire support team is standing by to help.

Having a corporate travel program in place is the first step. But the truth is a program is only as good as its business traveler participation. So how can you increase participation? It may be as easy as education.

Compliance is Key

In a Business Travel News traveler happiness survey, respondents said that personal safety support is of utmost importance when they are traveling for business. This finding from the study may make it easier to encourage compliance with your corporate travel program. By educating your staff about the increased personal safety support provided by your travel program, you may realize higher levels of participation.

At Fox World Travel, we listen to the voice of our travelers. We know how important it is to focus on the traveler experience to build a travel management program that meets the needs of your business and your travelers. To ensure we have our finger on the pulse of business traveler happiness, we utilize Net Promoter Score® surveying to discover the needs of travelers.  The result: a travel program that matches the needs of your travelers while helping to increase compliance.

Conducting a Duty of Care Drill

To further solidify trust and engagement with your corporate travel program, you may want to conduct a Duty of Care Drill. A Duty of Care Drill includes:

• Building your team
• Identifying your tools
• Creating the scenario
• Communicating about the drill
• Running the drill
• Debriefing and identifying process improvements

As a travel management company, it’s our goal to help clients leverage risk management technology through a Duty of Care Drill. As a result, clients grow in their confidence and understanding of the duty of care tools at their disposal. Most importantly, the internal stakeholders responsible for ensuring the wellbeing of business travelers are prepared when travel disruption occurs.

At Fox World Travel, We’ve Got You Covered

With all that can happen on the road, it’s essential to have the appropriate business travel tools in place. That’s why at Fox World Travel, we offer you a variety of insurance options and global emergency services. So no matter what stressful situation your staff may encounter, we are ready to forge a solution. Bottom line: your travelers will have a sense of security with access to tools and Intel they need:

• Experts and technology alert business travelers to situations around the globe in real time that could impact their business travel booking plans.
• Business travel communication tools allow for real-time status updates on travelers, two-way messaging and duty of care information sharing.
• Global travel service tools help business travelers overcome language and cultural barriers.
• Insurance provider partners offer comprehensive security, medical and concierge services and coverage for specified security costs or costs due to evacuations, providing tremendous peace of mind.

Eliminating Permanxiety with Comprehensive Business Travel Booking Standards

Business travel doesn’t have to lead to permanxiety. But in a world of uncertainty, it helps travelers to know there is a team of business travel experts ready to assist when needed. Putting fears to rest among your business travelers may be as easy as communicating the safety-related benefits of your corporate travel booking program and any of the added security measures provided by your travel management company partners.

For more information about the safety and security tools and services provided by Fox World Travel, contact us.