Tag: SecurityLogic

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Business Travel

What To Look For In Higher Education Travel Management

Millennial friendly travel policy

Higher education institutions, like universities or colleges, have a lot on their plate. It’s truly amazing to stop and consider all of the thoughtful planning, training, instruction, discussion, and action that takes place on their campuses. And most don’t even consider the internal divisions, silently working behind the scenes; like the higher education travel management department. Every traveling professor, visiting lecturer, and even study abroad students and faculty need the support from their university or college to ensure travel is compliant with their specifications and with the safety of the traveler in mind.  What is often surprising to us at Christopherson, is that many higher education institutions don’t utilize a TMC to manage their travel, or have not recently evaluated their existing travel needs in some time. So we put together a list of the top needs we hear from universities or colleges interested in streamlining their travel management programs.

Top priorities to consider for your higher education travel management needs

  • Experience – It’s important for universities of colleges to rely on a travel management company that has extensive experience building and handling travel management programs for higher education institutions. As large and multi-faceted as higher education is in general, it’s easy to see why their travel management would be just as complex. For example, Christopherson has 45+ university and college clients. To maintain the support they need, we’ve built teams of travel advisors who specialize in higher education travel management.
  • The ease of one-stop shopping – Efficiency is key. Why waste time tabbing through different websites to book air, car hotel and more? Save time and book everything, as well as access full itineraries or traveler profiles in one convenient location.
  • Travel profiles and ease of everyday travel management – Going hand in hand with one-stop shopping, ensure your new system will be organized, or even enhance your capabilities. Our AirPortal dashboard, for instance, provides an easy, top-down view of your travel actions and program. Quickly access traveler itineraries without searching through old emails or different pages. Also easily keep an eye on possible issues like unused air tickets or expiring credit cards.
  • Around the clock support – Travel happens outside of the 9 to 5 workday. Always ask about the after-hours care process for your travelers who may be stranded or delayed.
  • Duty of care support for your travelers – Duty of care for your employees, professors and traveling students may be one of the most controversial issues within higher education travel management. Choose a TMC who has a reliable risk management tool, like our SecurityLogic tool.
  • Specialized needs for your school – every school is different, and it should be treated as such. Consider what programs or departments your institution offers and ensure the TMC has the functionality to support it. For example, ask about specialized travel for sports teams, or their study abroad capabilities.

Higher Education travel can be a complicated system to manage. When choosing the right TMC to manage your travel, always start with an evaluation of your current needs. If you have any questions or additional thoughts about top priorities for university travel management, please feel free to contact us.

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Business Travel Travel Management

Looking For Quality Of Service In A TMC

Having a travel management company that you can continually rely on is one of the most important features of managed travel. And surprisingly, it’s one that’s most often overlooked. When our sales teams begins discussions with potential new clients, 9 out of 10 times we discover they are dissatisfied with their current travel management procedures. Occasionally they’re companies who manage their own travel and are looking for a better solution. But often, they are already working with a TMC and are dissatisfied with their current level of service. They’ve typically seen issues like no follow-up support or limited after-hours care. Frequently it’s more broad, like a lack of overall account management on their travel or admin services. If you or your company are looking for a new TMC or a change, it’s important to understand what qualities make a TMC top notch in travel support service.

Important factors that note high quality of service and support in TMCs:

  • After-hours care and support is included –Things don’t always go as planned. Flights get delayed, meetings go long, blizzards blizzard. It’s important to not overlook comprehensive after-hours care when partnering with a TMC. In addition to our top of the line after hours support, all of our advisors are highly experienced and located within the United States. That means you can talk to someone from home when it really counts.
  • Proactive duty of care approach –A quality TMC should additionally provide support and communication tools to use when your employees are traveling. For example, our SecurityLogic tool helps locate and communicate with their travelers quickly in case of an emergency. It also provides alerts to travelers or travel managers, should an event occur nearby.
  • Good standing relationship with airlines – A working relationship with different airlines has its perks. Because of our stellar relationship with many major airlines, we are able to provide superior service for our clients, including accommodation support.  It also often results in additional deals and savings for your company.
  • A consultative approach – Our account managers, not only love their accounts like family, but also have goals tied to how they are rated in Christopherson. Your success is literally their success. Our Airportal system allows them to be more consultative than other TMCs.

Quality of service is one of the more important features needed in a successful travel management program. Around the clock support and a consultative approach is important, but also superior risk management and industry relations. If you would like to learn more about how Christopherson continually goes above and beyond for our clients, please contact us.

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Business Travel Travel Management

Why Universities Use TMCs

Millennial friendly travel policy

When I tell people what I do for a living, they always look surprised when I mention working with universities and higher education. Because Christopherson Business Travel has the word ‘business’ in its name, it’s easy to assume that that’s our only client base. The truth is that colleges and universities need as much travel management as corporations. Here is why many institutions of higher education choose to take travel off of their own shoulders and work with a TMC:

Reasons universities work with travel management companies (TMCs)

1) Universities often have many departments. All of those departments can be a lot for one person or one department to manage. The average university travel program includes; athletics, faculty and staff business travel, study abroad/ student trips and groups. This means at any one time, a university has dozens of people, with varying ages and levels of travel experience on the road. Christopherson employs a University Travel Team of agents who are highly experienced in booking all segments of university travel.

2) As an employer, a university has a duty to ensure the safety of their travelers. This is where we come in. With SecurityLogic, which is housed in our proprietary AirPortal 360 technology, travel arrangers are able to stay informed of the location and security of all travelers. SecurityLogic is a dynamic reporting and communication tool created to facilitate your duty of care responsibilities.

3) Keeping payment methods secure. It is very rare that all university travelers will have their own university specific credit card. So it is quite common for schools to elect to use a departmental card, or ghost card, to be utilized by several travelers. With Christopherson, regardless of your payment configuration, the appropriate card is stored in the Traveler Profile. Once it is stored, it is masked for your protection.

4) 24/7/365 agent access. Things happen when your travelers are on the road and we are here to help your travelers find options. Between our University Team of Agents and our after- hours support, we have you covered.

5) Consultative account management. Managing a university travel program can be a daunting task and you want someone in your corner with more than just a little experience. Our highly experienced account managers take a consultative approach in ensuring the success of your program.

Christopherson Business Travel has been successfully fulfilling the travel needs of higher education clients for more than 30 years and currently manages travel programs for more than 30 colleges and universities.

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Travel Management Travel Technology

SecurityLogic Provides Immediate Communication During Disaster

Does anyone else remember the nightly news slogan from years ago, “It’s 10 o’clock… do you know where your children are?”  This catchphrase, of keeping an eye on your loved ones, still resonates today. The past few weeks the airwaves have been flooded with terrorists attacks in New Jersey, New York, Washington State and Minnesota. And now, Hurricane Matthew is about to hit the east coast, potentially causing massive damage.  I also find myself thinking of family, but also co-workers and other business travelers when distaster strikes.

Working in an industry filled constantly with travel and constantly changing schedules, it’s hard to know where everyone is in a moment’s notice. Unfortunately, it’s important now more than ever to not only get in touch with employees or co-workers, but have a plan in place should disaster occur.

Communicating with your business travelers during a disaster

Having an established plan in case of an emergency is the first step. Ask yourself, what is your company’s current protocol should an event occur in a city your employee is currently traveling? Do you have their email and cell number readily available? Will you need to dig through emails to find their itinerary? Who will be in charge of making these safety calls to traveling employees?

Answering these questions ahead of time will make your company more prepared, should an event occur. Developing a travel policy usually helps to establish these protocols. If you don’t have a travel policy, check out our travel policy FAQ to get started.

SecurityLogic provides peace of mind for travel managers

One of my favorite features of the Christopherson software is our SecurityLogic technology. Perhaps it’s because I can be a worrywart, but the value of this immediate and interactive technology is a lifesaver in dire situations.

For a travel manager, the goal is simple – locate all of your business travelers instantly. Through our AirPortal360 interface, you immediately know how many employees are traveling at a moment’s notice.  We supply a world map view, with pins representing your travelers. From there, you can overlay alerts, warnings, and weather. Really anything that may influence your business travelers is viewable from the map.

SecurityLogic by Christopherson

Using the rest of our technology suite, we offer easy access to your traveler’s itinerary and contact information. Travel, security, and human resource managers are able to locate  travelers and send them messages. Your business travelers can then respond to the security check and let you know they are safe. Our SecurityLogic takes the guessing out of what could be a hectic situation and provides immediate answers.

Christopherson Business Travel is an award-winning corporate travel management company. We’re passionate about assisting companies with their travel, and we think our travel technology and consultative account management does a pretty great job at it.  Contact us to learn more about SecurityLogic or our other travel technology tools.

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Business Travel Travel Management

7 Tips For Keeping Your Employees Safe While Traveling

Recent events like terrorist attacks across Europe and home-bred violence have left many questioning the safety and security of traveling. And unfortunately for some industries, travel is unavoidable. As an employer overseeing your employees,  it is your responsibility to ensure their safety, even while traveling on your company’s behalf. Duty of care and security issues are a growing concern in recent years, and they are expected to continue. So what can you do to create a safe environment even with these growing safety trends?

According to Business Insurance, the best way to keep concerns at bay is to keep both the company and its business travelers informed with facts and tips. Ensuring that everyone has been briefed with information and on the same page can be vital if the unexpected arises. So during this time of growing uncertainty, how can you and your employees feel more confident about traveling for business? Read our 7 tips below.

7 ways to keep employees safe while traveling

  • One of the first steps is providing information about the upcoming area. Having a real sense of what your road warriors are heading into or what can be expected is often the biggest comfort. Research and briefing on the country, city or neighborhood can often reveal interesting facts or tips. Also providing guidelines or schedules can provide more structure and context for travelers.
    • An interactive resource includes the U.S. State Department’s online Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). This free service allows U.S. citizens to enroll with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate when traveling or living abroad. The purpose is to provide latest safety and security  information in the area, and inform the U.S. Embassy of your whereabouts, in case of an emergency.
    • Additional research can be beneficial depending on the area of the traveler. For instance, the US government has released an app for U.S.travelers attending the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. It provides tourist and safety information about the area, including the location of embassies, hospitals and emergency numbers.
  • Additional duty of care responsibilities for travelers. We know assessing this risk is your biggest responsibility. Has your organization demonstrated you have taken all practicable steps to meet your employee’s health, safety and well-being needs? Is it credible and well documented? Having open and clear communication with your employees are necessary for this assessment. And of course, if your employee does not feel comfortable traveling, you need to listen to these concerns and assess the situation.
  • Know your travelers specific travel needs. Be aware of any individual requirements needed by the traveler, and ensure they are given the appropriate information in order to manage, reduce or eliminate specific risks. Employers should be aware of pre existing medical conditions and confirm the traveling country has adequate medical facilities.
  • Invest in a business travel policy.  Travel policies are created to establish that companies are providing efficient support for their travelers, and travelers are aware of the support given too. Again, communication about what is provided and what to expect can go a long way.
  • Encourage employees to take appropriate health measures beforehand. Providing guidelines on the area to which they are traveling can prepare them for health measures as well.  Recommend your traveler visits their doctor to go over specific risks and prevention methods.
  • Ensure tech and cyber security has been discussed. This is another growing area of concern. Discuss cyber threat methods and the best ways to thwart them.
  • Finally, Make an evacuation plan or communication plan in case the unexpected arises. If the worst does happen, are you prepared? Are you able to immediately communicate with your road warriors if they are in an insecure area? Do they know the communication protocol should something arise? Unfortunately, the answer is usually ‘no’. That’s why we created SecurityLogic as part of our travel technology suite. This application alerts travel managers if a traveler is in an area experiencing threats or attacks. The travel manager can then immediately text or email from the application to immediately make contact and ensure the traveler is safe.

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company, dedicated to providing travel solutions for busy businesses. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested in learning more about travel policies, our proprietary technology, or how we continually save companies time and money.

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Travel Management Travel Technology

What Is Duty of Care?

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I recently wrote the blog,  What does a Travel Management Company do?  In the process of writing it, I realized that we use industry phrases, assuming everyone understands what we are referring to.  Take Duty of Care for instance.  If you were to ask your next door neighbor, your hair dresser and your mother what Duty of Care is, you will probably get three totally different answers.  I even googled Duty of Care and found more than three different definitions! But this definition by Merriam-Webster was the most simple and straightforward: ‘a duty to use due care toward others in order to protect them from unnecessary risk of harm’.

Duty of Care and your travel management program

So what does that mean for travel?  Simply put, it is an employers moral and legal obligation for the safety of their employees while traveling.  In the university setting, this even includes students!  Many countries, including the US, are in the process of developing strict laws to help protect business travelers. But until these laws are worldwide and regulated, corporations and universities without a managed travel program run the risk of serious consequences in the event of an emergency.

How SecurityLogic assists with Duty of Care responsibility

To assist corporations and universities with their duty of care obligations, Christopherson Business Travel developed SecurityLogic.  Our clients have access to global alerts and valuable tools to ensure the safety of your travelers.  With SecurityLogic, travel managers can access real-time security, weather, flight delays, and disaster alerts. They are then automatically pushed to travelers via text and email. And, with the intuitive Safety Check feature, you can also request safety verification from your travelers anywhere in the world.

SecurityLogic provides multiple global map overlays, and because all travel information is geocoded to street-level accuracy, you can zoom in on any country, city, or street to find your travelers through the tool’s customized search options. With customized search options our clients can quickly locate their travelers by name, department, date, and/or location.

An effective duty of care program is essential for every corporation and university. To discuss if SecurityLogic is a good fit for your company, feel free to contact us using the form on this page.

Read next – How To Get Started – Duty Of Care Advice

 

 

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Travel Management Travel Technology

How To Get Started – Duty Of Care Advice

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Traveling is so much more than booking a ticket and getting the seat assignment you want on the plane. From a company’s perspective, safety of the traveler is a major concern. Considering duty of care, the company holds responsibility for the traveler’s well being. Many companies use a risk management team to educate their travelers. But what if your company has not yet implemented a plan? Read our tips below to start implementing a duty of care travel security plan for your corporation.

Duty of care advice for busy companies:

  • Consider working with a third party-risk management organization like iSOS or iJET.  Specializing in only medical and travel security assistance, they could be a good fit if you are only looking for assistance with safety. Review all costs associated prior to contracting.
  • Have a team approach. It is best to have all stakeholders involved in this decision including: travel department, security, HR, senior management, risk staff, and your designated travel management company.
  • Keep your travelers educated. Try different mediums of information like: travel policies, smart travel communications, web pages, and special alerts.
  • Keep communications simple and clear on who your travelers should call and what they should do in emergencies.
  • Travelers need to understand their ownership of their trip. If their trip is rescheduled or changed by the airline directly, your corporate travel management company will not get the updates so it is up to the travelers to notify the travel manager or key contact so contracted services can be rendered.
  • International travel comes with additional precautions. Travelers need to review their insurance coverage and ensure they have the ability to make larger payments for emergency tickets, hotel rooms and charter flights at a moment’s notice in case of evacuations.
  • Seek feedback from your business travelers to see what is working and not working.
  • Christopherson Business Travel has propriety technology called SecurityLogic® that will offer a jump start into launching a risk management program.

Read Next: Christopherson Business Travel Helps With Duty Of Care blog.

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Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

Keeping Business Travelers Safe in an Emergency

business traveler threats

When security threats, like the Brussels bombings, occur, business travelers turn to their travel manager and their corporate travel agency and ask: What should I do if a bomb explodes where I am traveling? Where would I go? Who should I reach out to?

As a travel manager, it’s important to make sure that your business travelers, when faced with a travel emergency, have the essential information: 1) what to do, 2) who to call, and 3) where to go. In fact, it’s helpful to have an official document that outlines out your company’s travel security plan. Whether that document is a part of a general travel packet or separate, it should be read by business travelers before they take their first trip.

When preparing a business traveler safety and security document, think about the potential needs of a traveler facing a security threat. What does your business traveler need to know ahead of time in order to feel safe? Here are a few questions to assist you as you prepare your business travel security plans:

  1. What would you do if your business traveler needs medical attention? Who should the company contact (think response teams and personal contacts)? What is the emergency number in that country?
  2. How should you account for and locate the business traveler’s essential belonging? e.g. itinerary, passport, wallet, cell phone, baggage, equipment, medication, etc.
  3. How do you plan to assess whether it’s safe for the business traveler to leave the area?
  4. Once safe, where should the business traveler go? Is there an interum location locally? What efforts do you make to bring them home?
  5. How will you assess the transportation situation? How can your business traveler determine if there the airports, trains, car rentals, or Uber available?
  6. Where will your business travelers sleep that night?
  7. Can they get food and water in the next 24 hours?
  8. What is the established, best way to communicate?

The U.S. Passports & International Travel website is another resource. They provide a helpful checklist for traveling outside the United States. You can also search specific travel destinations for more information about that country or area.

Sending business travelers into the field comes with great responsibility. When duty of care has a solid foundation in your corporate travel management practice, you can maximize the benefits of business travel while minimizing liability for the organization and risk for traveling employees.

As a top business travel management company, Christopherson Business Travel offers business travel solutions to assist companies with their duty of care. Our technology tool SecurityLogic helps corporate travel managers quickly locate travelers in an emergency, verify their safety, and communicate plans to assist their needs. To learn more about our travel management solutions, contact us here.

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Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

Christopherson Business Travel Helps with Duty of Care

Business travel has become an integral part of conducting modern day business. But one factor that often goes unnoticed in the trip is the duty of care responsibility for the employee. Even companies with a good track record in business travel safety and security often have gaps in securing the well-being of their business traveler. While a gap in itself might seem small, any oversight could be perceived as negligence should something catastrophic happen. So how can companies be prepared for the unpredictable while their employees are traveling on their behalf?

SecurityLogic, our solution for duty of care concerns

Christopherson Business Travel’s duty of care tool, SecurityLogic, solves many of these open-ended questions facing duty of care responsibility for traveling employees. SecurityLogic helps travel managers access real-time security, weather, disaster, or delay alerts that may effect their travelers. Displayed on an easy-to-understand map, they can easily see where their travelers have been, are currently, and will be next. Creating insightful actionable intelligence, travel managers can anticipate any issues that may effect their employees.  Almost more exciting, this data can be pushed to business travelers themselves via text and/or email. SecurityLogic can be customized by department or user, limiting or permitting access to certain travelers or traveler groups.

SecurityLogic also has a two-way check-in feature called Safety Check that allows travel arrangers to verify the safety of their business travelers. Travelers respond to the Safety Check request via text message or email, and SecurityLogic geocodes their location.

Recently, in response to a client need, Christopherson incorporated the ability to track large groups–where they are going and who is part of the group–via special icons on the SecurityLogic map.

By continuously enhancing our proprietary technology, Christopherson works diligently to improve peace of mind for duty of care responsibilities. Contact us to learn more about how Christopherson Business Travel tends to very specific needs of businesses.

 

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Business Travel Travel Technology

Lost in Space – Why every company needs to know where their travelers are.

SecurityLogic
SecurityLogic® keeps track of your travelers around the world, 24 hours-a-day, every day of the week.

As I was on my flight to New York this week, I couldn’t help but think about Malaysia Air Flight 370. What would it feel like to be on a plane that vanishes from site? What would, or could, I do to communicate with my family or company?

So far, 2014 has been plagued with numerous weather delays and flight cancellations, exceeding both 2012 and 2013 combined. But weather delays and interruption of travel is something we are all accustomed to from time to time. A plane disappearing with 239 passengers, political unrest in many areas around the world, and the possible threat of a new Cold War brings duty of care and the risk management of your travelers to a heightened focus for many companies.

Did you know that Christopherson Business Travel can provide your travel manager and risk department the latest in tracking technology? SecurityLogic® is a dynamic reporting and communication tool created to facilitate your company’s duty of care responsibilities. With customized search options that allow you to quickly locate travelers by name, date, and/or location, SecurityLogic also provides real-time weather, airport delay, security, and disaster alerts that you can then easily push to travelers via text and email. This technology truly keeps your travelers from being Lost in Space.

To learn more about this valuable business travel technology tool, simply contact a Christopherson executive.

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Business Travel Travel Technology

When it comes to business travel–what is the value of timely information?

Screen shot 2013-07-08 at 4.57.04 PMRecently, I traveled to our San Francisco office, where I followed my typical routine. I flew into the Oakland airport, rented a car, and headed north towards the Bay Bridge. While driving, I received a mobile travel alert from SecurityLogic®, one of Christopherson’s business travel technology tools, letting me know that the Bay Bridge was closed for several days while they connected a new section.

Receiving this information in a timely manner allowed me to modify my schedule and avoid the traffic jams I knew would result from the closure of this key artery in and out of San Francisco. Later, when I spoke with other business travelers I learned that they had been stuck in these traffic jams for hours–I just smiled to myself!

As the COO of Christopherson Business Travel, I have the opportunity to work closely with our talented development team as we create products and services for our clients. We focus our efforts in three core areas: traveler safety, cost savings, and accurate reporting.

While all three of these areas are essential elements of a successfully managed travel program, we feel particularly compelled to provide our clients with tools that support the safety, security, and comfort of the many thousands of travelers that we have on the road at any given time. These road warriors play an essential role in growing both the U.S. and global economies on which we all rely. So, we will continue our commitment to provide our clients and their business travelers with the information they need to make their travels safe and secure.

If you have not activated your SecurityLogic traveler alert system, contact your Christopherson Account Manager to discuss your configuration options, then flip the switch, and start providing your travelers with the timely information they need.

While the alert I received was simply a low, caution level alert that spared me from spending several hours in traffic, it may well have been informing me about a much more serious situation.

Safe travels,

Matthew J Cameron