The key to sustainable value of a travel program is productivity and traveler satisfaction, which can be improved in four steps:

1. Define traveler segments into value groups

Define the groups of travelers that you service. Consider a differentiated offering for these different groups. Understand which groups you can leverage suppliers for, and those that are creating strategic value for the company. They could be anybody from a machine learning guru or field engineer to the VP of sales. Travel managers need to know.

1. Simplify process and policy

In many cases the lowest hanging fruit is to hone your internal processes. Don’t make them think about travel policies, make them think about what they want to accomplish. See if you can differentiate your process based on your different traveler (value) segments.

1. Optimize experience with right place, right time insight 

Travel along with your travelers and use the wisdom of the crowd. Find ways to get information about the benefits of the travel program in bite-size chunks delivered at the moment it matters. Also, let employees help each other with tips and tricks while on the road. Our data shows that the majority of travel programs are in 35 destinations or less. Can you improve the destination experience in those destinations?

1. Personal well-being

An important aspect of a positive employee experience is ensuring each member of staff can do their best work.This also involves investing in helping them to stay or get in shape while crossing time zones.