Business travel for construction companies has changed in 2020. We couldn’t hop on a flight or drop-in anywhere without masking, social distancing, vaccination-proving, and concerns. The pandemic will eventually be over but there are threats of other contagious diseases for 2022. Virtual meetings and Zooms – things we did because we had to in 2020 – may have been the clue it’s time to change many ways construction companies work.
We need to rethink how we conduct business travel.
Digitizing Travel Technology for Construction Companies
All construction professionals can’t work virtually. You might be able to 3D-design a project, but you can’t rig the scaffolding or inspect the drywall without using your hands.
Travel expenses are higher for most construction companies because you can’t plan for unpredictabilities. You pay more when you don’t have time to plan ahead. Without the luxury of advanced planning, “Airline fares are typically higher for (workers in the construction industry),” said one travel professional. Construction companies pay 20% more for business travel than other industries.
Construction travel involves entering information into spreadsheets plus travel expense tracking and reporting by auditors and accounting. The average is 13.6 hours per trip just to process and document travel. Digitizing business travel can save time and money.
How To Leverage Technology for Business Travel
Digitizing…means eliminating things like paperwork and manual data entry…using online platforms that modernize and automate travel processes to help you get the most out of the travel dollars you spend. –Industry Dive
Yes, we’re singing the software song again. You can DIY (do-it-yourself) or retain an agency to manage it for you. Leveraging travel technology for construction companies should include:
- Allowing managers to book for employees or employees to book for themselves, even from the field
- Benchmarks
- Data from customizable, real-time reports so you can negotiate greater savings with hotels/airlines
- Detailed information about unused tickets/travel credits, etc.
- Device-friendly/easy use and easy/efficient implementation
- Measurable ROI (return on investment)
- Powerful dashboards, analytics/reporting
- Flag employees that need travel policy attention/training
- Request-a-call option to connect with a travel agent without “hold” time
- Risk-management tools
- Visibility to see how many employees are traveling at any time
- Vital information in one place: job costing based on travel cost reports
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