Business Travel Executive, February 2020

36 Business Travel Executive askBTE com February 2020 PD PHAT DATA why not Why arent people booking the preferred supplier or using the booking tool and so on At the same time its also important to share the successes Ask them what data they would like to see from you so that you can support their objectives Once you have had these conversations its time to take stock in what data you need to support the conversations youve just had So pull out all those reports and spreadsheets and stuff and determine the following Is this data actionable and does it support my objectives If yes keep it If this data set had more information added to it could it be actionable and effective If yes keep it and figure out how to get what you need to enhance it If you dont use it and cant find a new use for it then get rid of it Its a data purge of sorts Now go tell your suppliers what data you need and what they can stop wasting their time delivering to you While youre at it you really should tell them the why behind those decisions and requests too Having these conversations is so important They help build a better partnership and allow both parties to have a more strategic approach to things like business reviews Right Sizing the Supplier Mix The next step in this process is to take a look at your supplier mix I would guess that based on the conversations you are having with your internal stakeholders you will probably gain a lot of insight into how travelers feel about the preferred suppliers in the program And guess what One size does not fit all You may not have the right suppliers across your program and that could be reducing compliance So take a supplier timeout combine the data you have at hand match it up to what you heard from your conversations and make sure that the suppliers you have chosen match with your travel objectives Maybe you are entering into a new market or launching a new product and need to switch up suppliers This is a great time to get that 2020 vision into who best to partner with Keep in mind that if you dont take this step in the process it will impact the effectiveness not only of your program in the short term but the future conversations you have with those internal stakeholders Because if you design your program around your business objective and gain stakeholder buy in you need to provide the right services Story Time Now comes the fun part of managing your Phat Data Telling your story Going into this project it is necessary to realize that you have to deliver the right data and the right time to the right people Buyers need to determine how they are going to aggregate and deliver the data Is it through a third party application some internal means or even in simple spreadsheets Then as you think about the stakeholders objectives decide what story you are trying to tell with the data and to which audience Are you looking to share successes or is there an ask If you want to highlight something in particular lets say noncompliance then you need to also decide what action you would recommend the person take to bring about a solution Remember the CFO and the line manager probably arent getting the same set of data Actively sharing and engaging with the stakeholders also enables the conversations about the programs success to happen all year long letting buyers tweak and refine their program as needed The most important thing is once you have gotten this ball rolling it never stops You should be constantly reviewing and renewing your data so that as your companys objectives change so does your Phat Data Invest the time it takes to deliver actionable and impactful data Then as you keep driving the strategy forward you can watch your managed travel program grow and your role evolve from the tactical execution of the function called travel into a trusted advisor who plays a critical part in your companys strategic success n Next Month Suppliers Perspective Airlines Jennifer Steinke is Global Head of Travel for PPD Inc and an industry thought leader with over 30 years experience managing corporate travel She holds an MBA plus Certified Corporate Travel Executive CCTE and Global Travel Professional GTP certifications from GBTA Jennifer strives to deliver innovative and thought provoking ideas to the corporate travel industry Go tell your suppliers what data you need and what they can stop wasting their time delivering to you