Going on a business trip with your employees can have both personal and business benefits, but if you don’t organize the trip well, you won’t be able to be productive or enjoy yourself. So you need a detailed itinerary and clever planning to ensure everything goes according to plan.
There are many variables that you, as a trip organizer, need to think about in order to ensure that everyone who is going on this trip is sticking to the plan and respecting the schedule. So, before you can get in that car or airplane and take off for your destination, here are a few organizing tips for you.
Get Car Insurance
Whether the car you’re taking on your business trip is company-owned, leased, or rented, it needs to have proper insurance coverage. The ideal form of insurance for most businesses is commercial auto insurance.
When you get your business auto insurance policy, you can expect a number of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Physical damage and collision protection. In the case of an accident, you would be required to pay for any physical damage to your car and the car you hit. This type of protection means your insurance provider will reimburse you for those costs.
- Liability coverage. If you cause any damage to nearby valuables and property during an accident, you’ll be protected with your liability coverage and won’t have to pay for the damages.
- Comprehensive coverage. Accidents and collisions aren’t the only ways a car can be damaged. With comprehensive coverage, you’ll be protected from damages caused by an accident such as vandalism, floods, fires, and losses related to car theft.
- Medical payment and lawsuit coverage. Unfortunately, people often get hurt in car accidents and when that happens, they often sue the party responsible for this. But commercial auto insurance will help pay off any medical payments and/or lawsuit expenses you may have after an accident.
Be Economical
If you have total freedom with making decisions about accommodation and other arrangements that you need to pay for, make sure to explore your options. With enough research, you can find the most economical option without sacrificing comfort and practicality.
This is especially important if you’re traveling abroad. For instance, if you don’t have to go by plane, find a cheap bus line that might even offer discounts for groups of people who travel together. And if you do have to resort to air travel, find a cheap airline and the best type of plane for corporate travel.
Additionally, some people don’t realize this, but your choice of a business credit card can also be economical. Some credit card companies offer different discounts or points for traveling and some even come with free luggage promotions.
Create an Itinerary
Every good organizer knows that the secret to a perfectly planned trip is a well-organized itinerary. You shouldn’t ignore the importance of an itinerary because this document will have all of the important details of your trip in one place and be something you will consult multiple times on your trip.
Without one, you and your employees would need to go through countless messages, emails, and documents before they find the exact information or paper you need.
Keep in mind that an itinerary is much more than just a list of your schedules. In it, you will organize all of your travel details, arrival times, activities you’ll do during the day, the designated free time, when and where all of your business obligations are scheduled, and so on.
Schedule Leisure Time for Your Employees
The main purpose of a business trip is, as the name suggests, business. But if you want your employees to be the best version of themselves on this trip, you need to realize that even though they came on the trip to work, they also need to relax.
Even a few days working on a business trip can be more draining and demanding for employees than the same amount of time spent in the office. So make sure to help them rest and relax by giving them leisure time and possibly even organizing and paying for fun activities they can take part in.
More than 40% of business trips are extended for leisure purposes, so even if you need to include an extra day in your trip to make this possible, consider doing it.
Final Thoughts
Business trips are an essential part of running any organization, and while organizing one may seem daunting at first, there’s nothing to worry about if you know what you’re doing. If you’re insured, have everything planned out, and leave time for rest and relaxation, half of the work is already done.
