The challenge
Pitney Bowes was seeking to better understand specific booking behaviors of on-the-road employees by areas of business. The company wanted to see how travelers were deviating from policy and understand the related financial and duty-of-care consequences.
The approach
To gain insights into traveler behavior, the company turned to the Travel Report Card available through BCD Travel’s proprietary business intelligence and analytics solution, DecisionSource®. BCD’s account management team worked alongside Pitney Bowes’ travel program team to customize report cards for each business unit. The reports concentrated on travel behaviors linked to the company’s goals of improving duty of care and containing costs. The report cards provided at-a-glance views of whether travelers in particular departments were following policy by booking:
- Lowest accepted fares
- Domestic flights more than 14 days in advance
- International flights more than 14 days in advance
- Hotel nights in sync with trip nights
- Rooms at preferred hotels
The report cards showed which lines of business had the greatest challenges with travelers booking outside of policy. Senior leaders in those business areas took ownership and encouraged change. The BCD and Pitney Bowes teams worked together to develop targeted messaging to engage and inform travelers. They educated employees about the travel policy and why compliance matters to their safety and to the company’s bottom line.
The results
The report cards, which are updated and distributed regularly, have become a call to action for Pitney Bowes’ business unit leaders. “Travel is the buzz of the company for days after delivery of the Travel Report Cards,” said Chris Reinke, Pitney Bowes’ director of North American Strategic Sourcing.
Leaders push for—and achieve—greater travel policy compliance among their employees. For example, travelers now are much more likely to purchase airline tickets 14 days in advance and book in-policy hotels, where they’re easier to find in a crisis. The changes in traveler behavior improve duty of care and drive savings worth millions of dollars a year.
