We all know the critical role mobile technology plays in our lives and businesses; imagine how much harder business would be without it? You wouldn’t be able to change meetings at the touch of a button, access and respond to emails instantly, connect with every team member through mobile conferencing apps, or book, amend and cancel accommodation and flights.
Mobile has undoubtedly changed the way we do business, and the continual advancements in technology mean that we’re never far away from emerging technologies to enhance further the way we do business.
Take a look at the graph below. You can see how quickly we all adopted smartphones; in just five short years, the percentage of U.S. adults who owned a smartphone more than doubled from 35% to 77%.
Mobile technology has granted businesses an opportunity to connect with clients and customers across the globe. But how can mobile technology help support your corporate travel management programme?
Mobile tech keeps travelling employees safe
Keeping staff safe when travelling is your main priority. Before mobile technology, you couldn’t keep tabs on their journey, or check in with them as they travelled. Historically, you’d have to wait until they arrived at their hotel to phone them. Not only is this not the case anymore, but you can do so much more without needing to make physical contact with your employee.
Just knowing their safe and en-route is all you need to know. Find yourself a ground travel provider who can help you track employees safely wherever they’re travelling to. This hands-off approach means your employee doesn’t need to keep you updated continually; you can check up on their journey through your ground travel provider’s platform.
Keep tabs on their route, alert them when necessary about local news or restrictions.
Although we’re all hoping to emerge from the COVID restrictions soon, you must be able to build confidence in your travel programme in the meantime (and beyond COVID).
A study conducted before COVID found that 67% of business travellers said there is a psychological effect on either them or their families when travelling to a region where they may not feel safe.
After COVID, anxieties could be further tested. Employees will question what is and isn’t safe.
Showing travelling employees that your organisation has confidence in its travel process and has precautions in place to keep them safe, can go a long way to reducing this anxiety.
Show your employees what you have in place, share your process for assessing safe travel, and show them you can track their journey – build traveller confidence.
Mobile tech helps reduce stress when travelling
The ease of accessibility when it comes to mobile technology means it goes wherever the traveller goes; they have that technology at their fingertips.
Travelling was stressful before the pandemic, nevermind after. But that’s where mobile technology can help you. Giving employees instant access to important travel information and the ability to book ground travel through an app can help reduce stress when travelling.
We can all agree that booking ground travel is stressful, not just for the employee, but for the travel manager, too. The sheer number of local service providers in any given country is overwhelming, and locating and vetting those providers takes a long time.
Picture this; you’ve landed in a foreign country you’ve never visited before. You’re tired and perhaps a little nervous and anxious about the business trip that lies ahead.
You’re then told you need to quickly gather your bearings and find a convenient taxi service to navigate to your hotel – but you don’t speak the language, you’re overtired and stressed, and you’re not even sure which direction your hotel lies.
This is not a situation your employee needs to find themselves in.
Utilising a ground travel provider with an app means:
- You don’t scour the area for licensed and vetted drivers, pre-travel
- Your employee doesn’t need to hail a cab, they tap a button and order their ride
- Your employee doesn’t need to worry about navigating the local area; the local driver has local knowledge
- Your employee doesn’t need cash to pay, simply pay corporate credit card or by monthly invoice
Mobile tech that empowers
Mobile tech is built to empower its end user. With the touch of a button, employees can book a driver to take them safely and securely across town. With a touch of a button, employees can reserve a table at a restaurant, book flights, read reviews about accommodation, all while conducting fast and effective business.
We’re in an age where industries are innovating, and creating solutions to problems travellers have had for decades. Mobile tech is exciting and powerful and equips your business with all the tools it could need to build an effective travel programme.
You shouldn’t have to rely on outdated manual processes, if there’s a faster, cheaper and more efficient solution out there, wouldn’t you want to explore it?
Learn how Gett’s ground travel solution can help your business streamline back-end admin and reveal hidden and indirect expenses costing you money.
