Duty of care is often described as one of employers’ legal and moral obligations. Employers must meet this fiduciary responsibility by ensuring employees’ safety, security, and well-being when performing professional duties.
Every company or startup must invest in the duty of care resources to protect employees when they work on business premises or travel for business purposes. Firms meet their duty of care obligations to work travelers in various ways.
Some companies help employees manage and mitigate various business travel risks by implementing and communicating granular travel policies. Likewise, some enterprises enhance business travel safety by providing employees with the required information and support.
At the same time, many companies provide comprehensive duty-of-care solutions to employees by working with a travel management company or implementing travel management software. But each firm invests in the duty of care to increase the ROI of business travel in several ways.
10 Ways Duty of Care Impacts and Boosts Business Travel Management
1. Making Employees Travel With Confidence
In addition to disrupting corporate travel, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted frequent business travelers psychologically. As highlighted by several studies, many employees do not engage in business travel confidently after the pandemic.
A firm can only accomplish business travel goals if employees travel confidently. A firm can make work travelers confident by investing in duty-of-care solutions. The investment will make employees travel confidently for business without worrying about health and security.
2. Minimizing Business Travel Risks
Corporate professionals these days engage in business travel in a highly volatile environment. They have to manage many common and unexpected business travel challenges. Also, travel challenges vary across business travel destinations.
A firm can only fulfill its duty of care responsibilities by helping employees manage and overcome business travel challenges. Most firms help minimize travel risks by providing employees with real-time information and on-demand travel support. The mitigation of risks helps employees accomplish business travel goals.
3. Supporting Pre-Trip Planning
Travel risk assessment is a key element of duty of care strategies. Firms must provide elaborate information about the business travel destination to each employee. In addition to defining potential business travel risks, they must help employees book the right business travel products.
Many firms these days facilitate self-booking by implementing travel management software. They help employees book travel products by sharing destination information, travel guidelines, and safety recommendations.
4. Delivering Real-Time Information
Employees need various real-time information to stay safe and relaxed during business trips. For instance, they must track flight status to manage common travel risks like delays and cancellations.
Likewise, they must access the latest travel guidelines to change business travel itineraries and perform professional responsibilities. Firms ensure real-time information delivery to employees as part of the duty of care obligations.
5. Ensuring Emergency Support
Crisis management is one of the crucial elements in the duty of care plans. Firms must ensure the safety of work travelers during unexpected and unforeseen events like natural calamities, terrorist attacks, and political unrest. Also, they must help employees manage emergencies by providing them with health and security assistance.
Many firms provide emergency assistance to employees across destinations by partnering with global health and security risk management firms. Also, they provide emergency support to employees by working with a reputable travel management company.
6. Complying with Rules and Regulations
As noted earlier, duty of care is a legal obligation of companies and startups. In certain countries, firms violate laws and regulations when they do not protect the personal wellness of employees traveling for work. While making travel policies, small businesses, and startups focus on meeting duty of care obligations to comply with travel-related regulations.
7. Reducing Liabilities
Employees must incur various expenses to manage risks and stay safe during business trips. They increase the average business travel cost by incurring unplanned expenses. When a firm does not invest in the duty of care resources, mitigating legal liabilities and additional charges is challenging. Many firms reduce the average cost of business trips by enabling employees to access duty-of-care solutions seamlessly.
8. Protecting and Enhancing Brand Reputation
Employees represent the company or brand while traveling for business purposes. A brand’s reputation is impacted when employees find it challenging to overcome travel risks and avoid harm. Investment in the duty of care helps brands present themselves as responsible and caring employers. Hence, companies and startups boost brand reputation and image by seriously taking duty of care obligations.
9. Boosting Employee Satisfaction and Retention
Many employees find business travel stressful. Some of them switch jobs to avoid the stress caused by frequent business trips. A firm can make work travel less stressful for employees by making them feel safe and secure. Hence, investment in the duty of care helps firms promote employee loyalty and reduce employee turnover. Enhanced job satisfaction further helps firms increase revenue by boosting employee productivity and morale.
10. Increasing ROI of Business Travel
Investment in the duty of care helps firms increase the ROI of business travel in several ways. For instance, the investment helps them make business trips successful by assisting employees to accomplish business travel goals. Also, a company can control overall business travel costs by investing in robust duty-of-care solutions. It has the option to reduce duty of care costs by working with the right travel management company or implementing the right travel management software.
Conclusion
Businesses must meet the duty of care obligations to increase the ROI of business travel. But firms often need help to ensure the safety and security of employees traveling to various business travel destinations. Many firms overcome the constraints by working with a reputable travel management company.
At the same time, many firms opt for software featuring comprehensive duty-of-care solutions while automating business travel management. Also, decision-makers use duty-of-care solutions as a key parameter when selecting a travel management company or implementing travel management software.
