Anne Bromley, Joint Managing Director of Gosforth-based Travel Bureau, has warned that engineering firms risk facing spiralling costs, lost productivity and even danger to staff, from inadequate or, in the worst-case scenarios, non-existent corporate travel policies.
Anne, who has more than 30 years of experience in corporate travel, said: “Travel is a vital consideration for many engineering firms working in international markets, delivering products and services across the world.
“Those lacking a controlled travel management process leave themselves open to increased risk, which could lead to higher costs, lost productivity and even endanger their staff.”
The results of recent research commissioned by Travel Bureau, based on the responses of more than 100 business people*, revealed that more than a third of companies have not updated travel policies for at least four years and 32% have never reviewed them at all.
The survey further showed that business people’s principal concerns when travelling for work, and arranging itineraries, were: obtaining value for money through the booking process (33%); service disruption caused by bad weather or strikes (22%); finding good quality services and accommodation (20%); time taken to research options and book (15%), while 8% were most concerned about security.
Anne continued: “The results of the research should be a wake-up call to organisations and a reminder that regularly reviewing and updating, where applicable, company procedures is key to minimising risk.
“In the engineering sector, particularly energy, which frequently involves travel to more volatile parts of the world, the need to access a cost and time-efficient travel management service, delivering peace of mind 24 hours a day, is especially significant.”
To address the hiatus, Travel Bureau offers a free of charge, travel health check for businesses and organisations across the private and public sectors.
Travel Bureau, which was established in Gosforth in 1961, is an independent travel company specialising in personalised travel arrangements for individuals and organisations. The travel health checks are part of Travel Bureau’s corporate service, which offers a comprehensive travel management and travel planning service including account management, online booking solutions and traveller profiling.
*The survey was carried out with members of the North East of England Business Network Group on LinkedIn