You Get What You Pay For

Via a survey completed by 587 bosses in the business world, Harvard Business Review reported that “a seamless and adequately funded travel program, when aligned with a company’s strategy, can be a source of competitive advantage today.” In other words, organizations that value travel and invest in it more will benefit as a result. It is reminiscent of the old adage, “You get what you pay for.”

The conclusion was drawn by measuring customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, and market share. All three metrics were higher among companies with a strong travel culture as opposed to those with a weaker one. The greatest contrast was for customer loyalty, with a 29 percent difference, and the smallest contrast was for employee satisfaction, with a 20 percent difference. Furthermore, profitability was higher with companies with a strong travel culture by 18 percent.

Some benefits of investing in a strong company culture include more face time with clients, additional interaction with relevant markets, more face time with employees in different offices, and easy, straightforward travel procedures for traveling employees.

While most of those surveyed agreed on the importance of a strong travel culture, only about 33 percent of them believed their respective companies had a strong travel culture. Among companies with a strong travel culture, approximately 77 percent have a travel management company.