Why now is the time to permanently stop travelling for business
Before Covid-19 struck, nobody had dreamed of the turn that life would take during the pandemic. Remote-working was a rare nice-to-have and not what anyone would have considered “the new normal”. Of course, there are key workers who do not have the luxury of working from home, but a vast majority of the workforce does not fall into that category.
Expenses during lockdown
Up until February this year, expense claims for flights, train fares, accommodation and the likes were still being submitted. Suddenly, those turned into claims for replacement headsets, webcams and laptop chargers, as businesses were forced to promptly set-up remote-working systems in place. However, that is not the only thing that changed. The attitude of people towards where they work has changed: the vast majority of the British workforce does not want to return to work full-time. Whilst this may not be deemed ideal by some, remote working does have its advantages, which have not gone unnoticed by business leaders.
Doing deals virtually
It took a world-wide pandemic for business leaders and workers to realise that business deals do not have to be made face-to-face over a handshake. In fact, it is probably going to be a while before many people feel comfortable shaking hands with people outside of their family or social bubbles! Therefore, it is no wonder that business have quickly adapted and turned towards virtual events.
Virtual meetings are mainstream
Having formal business meetings virtually has never been more mainstream, with people having become accustomed to most commonly-used digital communication software. This new-found comfort-level should be harnessed, as most clients would have no qualms about joining a virtual meeting set-up by your Sales Team. (Just remember to book an extra 15 minutes for the “Can you hear me?” routine!)
Safety still rules
Even if your Sales Team eventually feels comfortable about visiting the client premises when the threat of Covid-19 and its impending second wave is over, there is no guarantee that the client would share the enthusiasm. They might actually prefer having the meeting virtually.
No threat of emergency expenses
With the knowledge that things can go upside-down without much warning, businesses need to consider the fact that they cannot rule out a novel outbreak. Having a sales team unexpectedly stranded across the Atlantic, for instance, with the hotel funded by the business for an extended period of time would definitely put a hole in the pocket!
Cut down on large travel expenses
Until recently, travel-related expenses formed a hefty chunk of the overall expense claims for most businesses. The potential savings from limiting business-related travel alone should be reason enough to consider curbing travel where possible. We’ve seen a reduction in travel related expenses of tens of thousands of pounds per company per month on average, even when lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
Attract global talent
Remote-working has opened the possibility for many businesses to hire the best talent regardless of their geographical location. Travelling for business, therefore, may no longer be as straight-forward as it used to be when the whole teams used to be based in a single brick and mortar office. For example, having to process flights from various parts of the world would add to the administrative and hidden costs, compared to having a single booking for half a dozen people.
Improve job satisfaction
As the workforce attitude has shifted, it might also be more difficult to convince employees to travel hundreds or thousands of miles for business, when they could be having the same meeting in their pyjama bottoms under a formal top from the comfort of their home! In addition, employees may prefer not having to shell out of their own pocket for expenses and then wait to have them refunded.
Time back to your sales team
With no lengthy travel times, and no overnight stays, the time that sales staff can spend on actually talking to prospects increases. Instead of 4 hours travel time to make 2 meetings in the same day, the same employee can make a much greater number of virtual meetings back to back if they need to. All while incurring virtually zero out of pocket expenses.
Identify where you can stop travelling for business
It’s clear that there’s a great deal to be gained from moving away from travelling for business, and identifying where you can do this successfully could save you tens of thousands of pounds in expenses, increase sales and even improve job satisfaction. Of course, it’s not always possible to move everyone to remote sales but using an expense management system can help identify where it may be most beneficial.
To see more information about how lockdown and the pandemic has affected staff expenses across the UK, and how you can adapt to the new expenses landscape, download our free Access Expense Report 2020.
