When it comes to business travel, ensuring that what you are doing and how you are prioritizing is a matter of having the right travel management KPIs. Because without the right KPIs there’s no way to measure what works and what doesn’t work. This is why many companies are shifting towards data-driven decision-making in corporate travel.
Data-driven decision making in business travel leads to cost optimization, policy compliance, better risk management and traveler safety and better forecasting and budgeting (among other things). In this article you will get a better idea of what the essential travel management KPIs are and why they are the recipe for success in obtaining smarter and more cost-effective corporate trips.
Financial KPIs: controlling costs and maximizing value
For starters, and especially for small and medium-sized businesses, budget matters, which is why it’s a good idea to track costs in order to maximize value, and ensure your business travel is driving the forecasted results. Financial KPIs could be metrics like:
- Total travel spend
- Cost per trip or traveler
- Policy compliance rate
- Savings from negotiated rates or preferred vendors
Why do these metrics matter for budgeting and ROI?
These metrics matter because total travel spend helps you understand what it is you are spending year over year on business travel. If you know your travel spend, you can better plan for the future, and analyze whether you are getting a good return on your investment. Travel spend also includes cost per trip or traveler.
Did you know that with GetGoing, you have access to reports and insights that help you keep track of these metrics? You can also manage your policy compliance rate. With GetGoing you can unlock savings thanks to negotiated rates with preferred vendors. All of this built in to one powerful travel and expense management platform.
Traveler experience KPIs: keeping employees happy and productive
Mental health is something that is very important to measure as happy employees will be more productive. Burnout from traveling too much is real, so it’s key to keep on top of traveler experience KPIs like:
- Traveler satisfaction scores
- Booking tool adoption rate
- Trip disruption frequency (e.g., delays, cancellations)
By keeping a close eye on these metrics, you can ensure employee productivity and retention because when you value them, they will value their job more.
Expert tip
One major traveler experience booster is blended travel (mixing work with pleasure, also known as bleisure). Work blended travel into your travel policy for maximum traveler experience results.
Business impact KPIs: aligning travel with company goals
Ensuring that corporate trips make an expected business impact is important, or in other words, that the purpose of the trip aligns with company goals. Some common KPIs used to measure business impact are:
- Trip success rate (e.g., deals closed, client meetings held)
- Departmental travel ROI
- Strategic value of travel (e.g., expansion, partnerships)
Why this matters?
Because there’s no point in traveling for business if you’re not achieving results that are aligned with your larger company goals.
Sustainability KPIs: environmental responsibility
Nowadays business travel, corporate responsibility and sustainability are one in the same. Business travel should be meaningful, purposeful and your business should also take into account its effect on the environment. Because traveling for the sake of traveling isn’t good for the environment or your bottom line. Here are some of the KPIs that can help you measure sustainability:
- Carbon emissions per trip
- Percentage of sustainable travel options used
- Offset programs participation
- Alignment with ESG goals and reporting
With GetGoing you can compare sustainable travel options (train or plane) and see how much carbon emissions each trip emits, helping you to make smarter, more sustainably-aligned travel decisions. The secret to more sustainable business travel is traveling less, traveling better, using sustainable suppliers and compensating when there’s no other way.
If there’s something COVID-19 taught us it’s that while nothing beats face-to-face meetings, when in doubt, a Zoom call is a good second option.
Travel management KPIs matter
Travel management KPIs matter for ensuring you are in alignment with your budget, sustainability parameters, the traveler experience and that you are achieving your company goals. Businesses can start implementing these metrics with the help of a travel and expense management platform like GetGoing. Review your current travel program and identify KPI gaps.
Need more help? Book a demo and see how GetGoing can help you meet your KPIs.