BUSINESS TRAVEL… SMART OR STUPID?

December 2001

“In the 21ST century marketplace, business travel is inevitable… but smart travel is not. When I asked clients directly what was ‘essential’ travel, there was not a common understanding or mindset for evaluating that.”
--- Laurie Anderson, Ph.D.


Since the September 11th attacks, concern about the safety of air travel is prompting many companies to rethink their policies on business travel. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management of more than 5,600 companies, found that 37 percent say business travel will be curtailed as a result of the terrorist attacks.

“Baxter and McDonalds are among many companies that curtailed travel for much of September and then issued a directive to reduce travel. People were instructed to avoid all unsafe locations and then to use their judgment and only proceed with ‘essential’ travel,” says Dr. Laurie Anderson, executive coach and business consultant. “When I asked these clients directly to define ‘essential business travel,’ there was not a common understanding or mindset for evaluating that.”

The terrorist attacks thrust the issue of business travel into the spotlight and prompted companies to evaluate travel in terms of its safety. But, long before September 11, many business travelers were expressing angst about the ROI of their travel commitments. How often have we traveled to a meeting and did not find it worth our time? Could we have accomplished the same purpose without making the trip? Clients I talk with voice these concerns repeatedly --- and were doing so even before the viability of business travel was thrust into center stage. Now add to these feelings the safety concerns of business travel --- and you cannot help but wonder whether all this travel makes any sense. Does it now? Did it before? To answer these questions, business travel must be viewed as a business issue … as an ROI issue. For we could travel safely…. yet accomplish little.

Business is about investing resources to produce targeted outcomes in ways that fulfill short-term commitments and that build longer-term capacity. The overriding business question is how to be effective AND efficient. Not leaving the office will usually win the efficiency prize…. but is it maximally effective in both the short- and long-term? How do we decide when and why to travel? How do we decide for ourselves? How do we lead others to decide and plan? How do we evaluate our thinking and business practices related to travel so we can continuously improve?

To help businesses answer these tough questions, Anderson has created a model that is designed to both strengthen (make it smart) and simplify (so it’s usable) how business professionals can assess the ROI of certain travel practices or expectations. The 4-step model is best used when the right decision is important or costly….but not obvious….


Step 1: Clarify the driving business needs or opportunities. Identify the short- and long-term objectives of the trip, which might include several goals including accomplishing a particular task, establishing credibility with a constituency, or launching/repairing/strengthening critical relationships. Consider the objectives from the point-of-view of all key constituents, including more importantly, organizational priorities (i.e. is the trip related to achieving current goals versus old routines?), the employee, and the customer.

Step 2: Determine how you will know (measure) if the trip was successful, both immediately and over time. This ensures that the focus is not on the trip or the means to the end…. But rather on the end itself.

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