T&E Plus

Travel Free for All!

In speaking with a colleague today, I learned that one of his clients does not have a T&E preferred supplier program in place for airlines, hotels or ground transportation.  In fact, this company spends millions on travel and allows their travelers to buy tickets from any place of their choosing.  They have no travel policies.   Their employees look up the typical trip cost estimates in their travel database and use it as a guideline when booking trips.  With the estimated trip costs in hand, they are free to book their travel any way that they choose.  When they return, if their trip was less than the estimated cost, they may bank the additional "credit" for their next trip.

What do you think? Is this a new trend for generations that don't want to follow our policies?  What are the implications?  How many companies are moving toward "less controls?"  Of course, I have many opinions but am curious to hear YOUR perspective.

Debi Scholar, GLP, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...

Debi has the following designations:

·         Wharton Aresty Executive Education/National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Global Leadership Professional (GLP)

·         Meeting Professionals International Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM)

·         Convention Industry Council Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)

·         NBTA Corporate Travel Expert (CTE)

·         Six Sigma Green Belt

·         Chauncey Certified Technical Trainer (CTT)

Follow me on Twitter ...http://www.twitter.com/debischolar  and on LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar

How much did your organization spend on meetings, events, incentives and group travel last year?

If your CFO, or another leader, asked this question, can you provide the answer?  Do you know how many internal and external meeting planning professionals were involved in planning meetings and events? Do you know how many executive assistants, marketing or human resource associates planned meetings?   Do you know how many small and large meetings were held globally across all business units?  Can you answer any of these questions within a matter of an hour?

 

On September 17, five insurance companies will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Domestic Policy Subcommittee to explain their business model, expenses and insurance coverage.   Representative Henry Waxman sent a letter last month to 52 health insurance companies and asked the chief executives for detailed data on all "conferences, retreats or other events" held since 2007, in addition to compensation and revenue information for the years 2003 through 2008.

 

According to Mary Ann McNulty, content director at ProMedia.travel LLC,  the committee asked for "a table listing all conferences, retreats or other events held outside company facilities from Jan. 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed or subsidized in whole or in part by your company, as well as the purpose of such events and documents sufficient to show the location, number of participants and all expenses incurred, including transportation, lodging, food, entertainment or gifts."

 

Government rights and protocol aside, all organizations, companies, governments, and non-profits should be able to produce an accounting of spend for their owners, stockholders, constituents or donors.  Meetings and events are necessities to build relationships, improve skills, incentivize behaviors, and sell products and services.  Yet, few organizations oversee the spend, resources and risks of meetings and events. 

 

As I told Mary Ann last week, companies that have a comprehensive strategic meetings management program (SMMP)* in place may be able to meet the data requirements of the committee.  Meeting management technology is the enabler of the SMMP components and has the ability to capture all of the meeting data requirements.   In addition, a mandated policy is required across all business units for small and large meetings. 

 

My advice:  Do not wait for a government inquiry, an internal audit, or the CFO to come knocking at your door.  Instead, conduct a meeting and event spend analysis of all accounts payable, Procurement-card and travel and expense corporate cards NOW. 

 

1. Find the meeting, event and group travel spend;

2. Update the T&E and Meeting/Event Policy; and

3. Create and implement a strategy, process and technology to capture all meeting and event spend

 

A global meeting spend analysis can be completed within days. Be prepared to answer the questions above at any time, for any leader.  Contact me for help with your spend analysis, the meeting strategy, process or technology requirements.

 

http://www.management.travel/news.php?cid=meetings-health-insurance-probe.Sep-09.10

http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2581

 

*SMMP Components include a meeting and event strategy, policy, registration/tracking of the meeting/event, approvals, procurement/sourcing, planning/execution, payment/expense reconciliation, data analysis/reporting and a meeting management technology as defined by the National Business Travel Association.

 

 

Debi Scholar, GLP, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...

 

Debi has the following designations:

·         Wharton Aresty Executive Education/National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Global Leadership Professional (GLP)

·         Meeting Professionals International Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM)

·         Convention Industry Council Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)

·         NBTA Corporate Travel Expert (CTE)

·         Six Sigma Green Belt

·         Chauncey Certified Technical Trainer (CTT)

 

Follow me on Twitter ...http://www.twitter.com/debischolar  and on LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar

 

T&E Leading and Lagging controls

How do you measure your Travel and Entertainment Expense behaviors and outcomes?  Most leaders are taught to focus on the bottom line, and then cut, cut, cut expenses.  I recommend reviewing the leading and lagging controls that are in place to obtain cost reduction.

 

A leading control will proactively drive proper behavior so that the desired outcome can be measured in the lagging control. 

A leading control will be in place BEFORE the spend occurs while the lagging control will be in place AFTER the spend occurs and to monitor compliance.

 

Let's use two examples of Leading and Lagging controls:

 

Travel Example:

The Travel management company reports show that Lost Savings are occurring because travelers are not selecting the lowest cost.

 

Leading control:  Does the T&E policy state that travelers must choose the lowest fare?

Leading control:  Does the online booking tool provide dynamic messaging to the traveler to choose the lowest fare?

[spend is incurred by traveler]

Lagging control:  Does the travel management company report provide the required data so that non-compliance can be followed with a consequence?

Lagging control:  Do you have consequences in place for non-compliant traveler behavior?

 

 

Meeting Example:

A spend analysis report shows that meeting spend is incurred by numerous ad-hoc planners throughout the organization.

 

Leading control:  Does the meeting policy state that meetings must be sourced and planned using a preferred company or department?

Leading control:  Do your preferred hotel chains know to direct all meeting spend through your approved meeting management company or department?

[spend is incurred for the meeting]

Lagging control:  Do you obtain regular financial accounting records of all meeting spend incurred throughout your organization so that you can track maverick expenses?

Lagging control:  Do you have consequences in place for non-compliant meeting behavior?

 

Every T&E expense has at least one, if not more,  leading and lagging controls.  Managing the proactive leading controls and the reactive lagging controls will increase your cost reduction success.  Think of it this way:  "If we do [behavior], then we should see this [outcome]. 

 

I have created leading and lagging controls for all T&E expense categories and have helped my clients reduce their expenses by double digit percentages.   If you want assistance, please contact me.

 

Debi Scholar, GLP, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

 

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...

 

Debi has the following designations:

·          Wharton Aresty Executive Education/National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Global Leadership Professional (GLP)

·          Meeting Professionals International Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM)

·          Convention Industry Council Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)

·          NBTA Corporate Travel Expert (CTE)

·          Six Sigma Green Belt

·         Chauncey Certified Technical Trainer (CTT)

 

Follow me on Twitter ...http://www.twitter.com/debischolar  and on LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar