Small Business Guides

What Companies Should Know About Millennials and Business Travel

You’ve probably already heard plenty about the preferences and tendencies of the Millennial generation because they’re no longer newcomers to the workforce. With that being said, they remain incredibly important, and certain things can't be overlooked in the workplace, particularly since this demographic makes up the majority of the world’s workforce right now.

One area of focus for global companies is on business travel and how it relates to Millennials. The following are some of the big takeaways that might be worth integrating into how you do business.

Millennials Like Traveling For Work

We’ve all heard it over and over again, but it’s true: Millennials are unique from the generations before them.

Of course, that can be said of any generation, but Millennials are in the spotlight right now. One way they’re unique is that they don’t bemoan business travel. They seem to do quite the opposite and embrace it.

Older generations tended to see traveling for work as a necessary evil, while Millennials see it as a perk of the job in many cases, which can be good for companies.

Millennials tend to like unique and new experiences in general, so if you can frame your corporate travel program within this concept, it might benefit everyone.

They Want Travel Control

While Millennials aren’t necessarily backing away from the idea of traveling for work, they do tend to want autonomy when it comes to their travel decisions. Businesses can embrace this by eliminating the old expense management processes and going with technology. Choose an expense management platform that lets travelers have flexibility in how they travel and how their trip plays out while they’re on the go.

As an added bonus, if you invest in a mobile-driven and Millennial-friendly expense management solution, you can eliminate things like manual invoice processing as well, which can make your entire organization more efficient and streamlined.

Millennials also tend to want to be able to take control of the planning for their business travel, rather than having it done for them.

Blurred Business-Leisure Lines

Millennials see much less distinction between their private and work lives than other generations before, and that’s likely because they're constantly connected via technology. They also tend to have flexible work situations such as working from home or having unique schedules. These ideas of flexibility can be integrated into travel programs as well.

If a company is comfortable with providing some time for leisure travel during business trips, Millennials are likely to be more satisfied with the experience. As long as parameters are set, and everyone is clear on them, flexibility in business travel can lead to more productive and engaged employees.

Finally, while Millennials might be tech gurus, they actually see a lot of value in the face-to-face meetings that business travel offers.

Millennial employees might use their smartphones and digital devices to book every aspect of their work trips, but they will also likely be willing to forge human connections that can be valuable to your company when they’re traveling.