Business travel is a crucial aspect of many organizations, enabling growth, collaboration, and the expansion of business networks. For employees tasked with navigating the complexities of corporate travel, whether for themselves or on behalf of others, understanding the nuances of efficient travel management is paramount. Just like a skilled Business Travel Agent ensures smooth and cost-effective journeys for their clients, comprehensive training equips employees to handle business travel arrangements with expertise and confidence. This guide highlights essential training resources designed to streamline the business travel process, ensuring compliance, cost savings, and a stress-free experience for everyone involved.
Effective business travel management goes beyond simply booking flights and hotels. It involves strategic planning, adherence to company policies, efficient expense reporting, and leveraging available tools and resources. Organizations that invest in proper training for their employees see significant returns in terms of optimized travel spending, increased employee productivity, and reduced administrative burdens. Whether you are a frequent business traveler, an administrative professional arranging travel for colleagues, or involved in overseeing corporate travel processes, targeted training is your key to mastering the intricacies of business travel.
To illustrate the importance of structured learning in this domain, let’s explore a model training program exemplified by resources available at Ohio State University (OSU). While specifically designed for OSU employees, the principles and modules offered are universally applicable and represent best practices in business travel training for any organization.
OSU’s BuckeyeLearn platform offers a suite of training sessions tailored to different needs and levels of involvement in business travel. These resources act as a valuable blueprint for any organization aiming to enhance their employees’ business travel proficiency, essentially empowering them to function with the efficiency and knowledge of a seasoned business travel agent.
For those new to the world of corporate travel or needing a quick refresher, the “Introduction to Business Travel at OSU” online session provides a concise overview. This 10-minute module acts as an excellent starting point, highlighting key policies, essential resources, and guidance on where to seek assistance. It’s perfect for new hires or individuals with time constraints who require a high-level understanding of the fundamental aspects of business travel within an organizational framework.
For a more in-depth exploration, the “Business Travel Life Cycle Training” curriculum offers a comprehensive, self-guided online experience. This curriculum is divided into four modules, systematically covering the entire travel lifecycle. These modules include:
- Travel 1: Planning Business Travel (20 minutes): This module focuses on the crucial initial stages of travel planning, emphasizing pre-trip considerations and strategic decision-making.
- Travel 2: Requesting Business Travel Authorization (30 minutes): Navigating the authorization process is essential for compliance and budget management. This module provides step-by-step guidance on obtaining necessary approvals.
- Travel 3: Booking and Arranging Business Travel (20 minutes): Efficient booking practices are key to cost savings and traveler convenience. This module covers best practices for securing flights, accommodations, and other travel arrangements.
- Travel 4: Expensing Business Travel (25 minutes): Accurate and timely expense reporting is vital for both employees and the organization. This module details the process of expensing travel expenditures and ensuring proper documentation.
This online curriculum is ideal for frequent travelers and those regularly involved in arranging and processing travel. The modular format allows learners to complete the entire curriculum or focus on individual modules based on their specific needs and roles.
For an even more engaging and interactive learning experience, OSU offers a “Business Travel Life Cycle Training” live and interactive course. This course expands upon the online curriculum with live demonstrations, participant engagement, and more comprehensive guidance. Broken into five segments, this format caters to employees who frequently travel, arrange travel for others, or administer business travel processes. The interactive nature of this course allows for real-time Q&A and collaborative learning, ensuring participants gain a thorough understanding of the business travel lifecycle. Participants require Microsoft Teams, highlighting the integration of modern communication tools in contemporary business travel management training.
Beyond the broader lifecycle training, targeted modules address specific aspects of expense management. The “Expenses HUB Overview” video provides a concise introduction to the Expenses Hub in Workday, a central platform for managing expense-related tasks and transactions. Understanding and utilizing such platforms is crucial for efficient expense management, mirroring the technological proficiency expected of a modern business travel agent.
Furthermore, the “Quick Expense: Emailing and Mobile Scanning” training focuses on practical techniques for streamlining expense reporting. This 7-minute module teaches employees how to efficiently upload receipts into Workday using email and mobile scanning, simplifying the often tedious process of expense documentation and ensuring prompt reimbursements.
In addition to structured training sessions, readily accessible job aids are invaluable resources for employees managing business travel. OSU provides a range of Workday job aids covering both authorization and expense reimbursement processes. These job aids offer step-by-step instructions for common tasks such as creating spend authorizations, submitting expense reports, finding and viewing travel documents, and making necessary edits or cancellations. Having these resources readily available empowers employees to quickly resolve queries and efficiently manage their travel-related administrative tasks.
Specific job aids include:
Workday Job Aids:
- Authorization:
- SA – Create a Spend Authorization
- SA – Find and View Spend Authorization
- SA – Edit or Change Spend Authorization
- SA – Cancel or Close Spend Authorization
- ECM – Find|Create|Change an External Committee Member
- Expense and Reimbursement:
- ER – Create an Expense Report (Travel)
- ER – Find and View Expense Report
- ER – Edit or Change Expense Report
- ER – Cancel an Expense Report
- ER – Find Reimbursement Payment Information
- Quick Expense Process
Similarly, Concur is a widely used booking tool in corporate travel, and OSU provides job aids for navigating this platform effectively. These guides cover essential tasks such as completing a Concur profile, booking airfare for oneself or others (including guests), assigning travel assistants, and managing airfare changes or cancellations. Proficiency in booking tools like Concur is a cornerstone of efficient business travel management.
Concur Booking Tool Job Aids:
- Completing Concur Profile
- Booking Airfare for Another Employee
- Assigning Travel Assistant
- Booking Airfare for a Guest
- Booking Airfare for Yourself
- Changing or Canceling Airfare
General job aids further support various aspects of business travel, including cash advance processes and repayment procedures for personal expenses charged to university payment tools. These resources ensure employees are well-informed about all facets of business travel management.
General Job Aids:
- Cash Advance Process
- Repayment Process for Personal Expense Charged to University Payment Tools (PCard)
- Running Historical eTravel data in Tableau
In conclusion, investing in comprehensive business travel training is a strategic imperative for organizations of all sizes. By equipping employees with the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of corporate travel, companies can optimize travel expenditures, enhance employee satisfaction, and streamline administrative processes. The training resources exemplified by OSU’s BuckeyeLearn platform provide a valuable model for developing effective business travel training programs, ultimately fostering a culture of efficient and informed corporate travel management, akin to the expertise offered by a dedicated business travel agent.
