Making the decision to move to a new travel management company (TMC) can feel daunting. You have reviewed your current travel provider, carefully selected your new TMC and signed on the dotted line…now what? Here we give some pointers on how to plan a successful implementation with a new TMC to get the most out of the services they provide.
When choosing a TMC it is important to establish that they offer a personalised service that starts with a new client implementation. In our experience, the best outcome when on-boarding new clients is the full engagement of all parties involved. At Good Travel Management, we firmly believe that pulling our departments and resources together internally from the start of communications means no stone is left uncovered and no one department or staff member is left to see the implementation through to the finish line single handily. It’s a team effort for our clients and ourselves.
As the implementation coordinator, my role as part of new client implementation is to review the information and requirements we receive from you, alongside your dedicated Business Development Manager (BDM) and our Operations Managers. We unite internally as part of this onboarding process, to discuss your needs and devise a list of action points for relevant departments to complete in advance of your trading start date. It is vital they are clear on your objectives and priorities to ensure we are fully tuned into the outcomes you want to achieve with a new provider.
In the lead up to our internal meeting, your BDM will have collated relevant information directly from yourself and your completed credit application and implementation forms to start the process. During the internal meeting we will discuss everything from internal accounting data, your specific data capture to reporting. Accuracy is imperative! One immediate example is if you are paying by direct debit, return a hardcopy to us ASAP to avoid delays as this is required by the bank with plenty of notice Ensure you have ticked the correct invoicing and data capture requirements such as employee coding, Purchase Order or Cost Centre to ensure a smooth data capture for your expense and finance systems.
The Finer Details
Our operations team will want to know all about you, from the names and contact details of your travel bookers to your specific travel requirements and nuances. We are nosey… but for good reason! We like to know which hotels chains you love and of course the ones you don’t, as well as whether you have a negotiated rate at a particular hotel and the details of it. Finding details such as any airline corporate reward schemes you are registered for and who your frequent travellers are make the implementation and the service we provide as seamless as possible. Tell us as much as you possibly can, the more we know about you the more we can assist you and your company.
Top Tip: If you have frequent travellers, fill in our traveller profile link as soon as possible.
This way, our operations team can create a passenger profile within our reservation systems or your Online Travel Portal enabling us to store vital information such as passport details, frequent flyer memberships, dietary requirements and more importantly, you won’t have us asking for the same details every time you make a booking. It is all held safely and securely and avoids repetition or having to send private information via email.
Have you given us a copy of your travel policy?
As part of our implementation process, we like to make sure your policy is still working effectively for you. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes and a different perspective can lead to recommendations on cost saving, such as hotel spending caps for example. Rather than simply replicating what you already have in place, we will work with you to suggest ideas to make things run easier for you and to adapt to changing environments. For example, many businesses are recommending a totally different approach since the pandemic to ensure they focus on employee health and well-being. We want to hear and listen to what works well for you and what doesn’t or ask us for our suggestions, we are here to help.
Did you know that when it comes to hotel allowances, we suggest you regionalise this rather than a one size fits all approach? It can save you money but also ensure it is relevant to some higher cost destinations.
Time to Go Live!
Once this is all in place, we request to add you to our travel alerts mailing list and our informative blog. Whether its strike action, a storm brewing, or restrictions due to the pandemic causing disruption to your travel plans, we want to keep you in the know. Consider who would be the best person in your company to receive these alerts. Many of our clients opt for the Travel Manager or HR Manager and some key travellers to effectively distribute the alerts within their company.
We also have information to share with you too. Your BDM will want to send you contact details for our reservations team you will be working with and make sure you have business cards for our 24 hours out of hours service. Perhaps most importantly, they will want to advise you of an achievable “go live” date!
By working as methodically and as a team we will ensure the implementation does not become too cumbersome and the start of your relationship with your new TMC is positive and sets the tone for the future.
If you have any questions about our implementation process, the services we offer, or how you could benefit from being a client of Good Travel Management contact our team today on
T: 0330 004 0520
E: Sales@good-travel.co.uk