The Purpose of this Blog - Introducing the Four Ss

First off, let's be clear...if you are a corporate travel manager, or an account manager for a travel agency, or a travel supplier representative, you are not reporting all the value you are creating for the company you are servicing.  And by not doing so, you are at least hindering, if not outright hurting, your program and potentially your own career prospects.

Traditionally, the metrics reported by corporate travel programs are limited to the amount the company spends on travel, some level of savings generated by the program (although typically far-from-comprehensive totals), and, in some cases, periodic traveler satisfaction scores. A well-managed travel program, however, creates value far beyond these basic metrics. Unfortunately, not many take the effort to quantify this expanded value proposition, and in not doing so, they expose their programs to some significant challenges that can be easily avoided.

If you're a corporate travel manager, is your department simply seen as a cost center? Has your firm ever imposed a "travel freeze"?  Do you spend too much time addressing anecdotal service issues? If so, you haven't communicated the total value of your program.

If you work for a travel agency that supplies corporate travel services, have you ever lost a client because a competitor offered a transaction price a couple of dollars cheaper than yours? Has a departing client ever justified leaving by saying "it is just time for a change"? If so, you haven't communicated the total value you can create for a company's travel program.

If you work for an airline, hotel, car rental firm or other travel provider, have you lost business to competitors based solely on small price variations? Are you seen as a commodity by your clients, easily replaced?  If so, you haven't communicate the total value you can create for a company's travel program. 

The purpose of this blog is identify how to identify and track all the value created by and for well-managed corporate travel programs. Most entries will focus on one metric at a time. However, they will be categorized using a more-expansive view of value creation than is typically used in corporate travel today. We have four primary categories of value:

1. SAVINGS: these metrics compare your program's performance to a) what the cost would be with no program in place, and b) the changes in your program's performance over time.
2. SERVICE: these metrics track the quality of the experience various stakeholders have with the travel program. Typically thought of through a traveler-centric lens (e.g. traveler satisfaction, SLAs, phone performance); we expand the focus to include line manager, senior management, supplier, and other stakeholder interactions with the program.
3. SAFETY: these metrics track how safe and productive travelers are when on the road for the company. Individual-level, corporate-level, and global-level risk-exposure and management are all considered. These measurements are critical to meeting Duty of Care requirements, and for ensuring that travelers are treated and cared for appropriately.
4. SUSTAINABILITY: a growing concern for many companies, these metrics measure the environmental impact of travel programs. 

These are the four primary categories of value. In later posts we will discuss HOW to use the results of these metrics to enhance the value of your program to the company and how to use them to change behavior to meet your program objectives. But for now...just start tracking. 

And remember...if you don't measure it, you can't manage it.