In many companies, booking a business trip is very different from booking a holiday with friends and family. Instead of spontaneous decisions and flexible options, business travellers are confronted with company policies, budget restrictions and security requirements. This tension between the desire for flexibility and the need for control and security poses major challenges for companies.
This is where the concept of “flexicurity” comes in.
The combination of “flexibility” and “security” describes, in the context of business travel management, the balancing act between flexibility for employees and their security while complying with corporate guidelines. On the one hand, employees want increasing personalisation: they want to manage bookings spontaneously, choose accommodation and transport according to their preferences, extend trips or book outside the official company channels. On the other hand, the more individual and flexible employees are allowed to travel, the more difficult it becomes for companies to guarantee their safety. If you don’t know where your employees are, for example, because they don’t share their travel plans, you cannot fulfil your duty of care.
Flexicurity in practice
Employees are increasingly demanding more freedom when it comes to business travel, and the boundaries between work and private life are becoming blurred. They want their employers to take this trend towards individualised business travel into account and respond to it. For many, bleisure, the opportunity to extend a business trip by a few days of private holiday at the destination, is an attractive benefit. Equally important is flexibility in the choice of accommodation and transport that meets individual needs and preferences.
An example: an employee is planning a business trip to London. They would like to add on the weekend to explore the city. At the same time, they prefer accommodation close to the exhibition centre where their meetings are taking place. A flexible travel management system allows her to take these wishes into account without violating company policy.
At the same time, companies are faced with stricter security requirements. The geopolitical situation is becoming increasingly complex, and risks such as political instability or unforeseen natural events must be taken into account when planning travel. Added to this is the increasing cost pressure on companies, which could lead to budgets for more comfortable and safer travel options being cut.
For example, employees may find themselves travelling home on public transport late in the evening in order to save on another night’s accommodation. Those who have allowed a great deal of flexibility in the past but do not have the appropriate tools to ensure the safety of their employees are now forced to reduce freedoms in view of the worsening security situation. Only companies that now have the necessary toolbox of IT solutions at their disposal can continue to master the flexicurity balancing act.
The challenge for HR or travel managers is to strike this delicate balance between flexibility and security. It is important not to exceed budgets or neglect the duty of care – and at the same time not to take away freedoms that employees already enjoy or would like to enjoy. What is needed are travel policies that allow sufficient leeway for individual needs on the one hand, but set clear boundaries on the other to ensure employee safety and meet compliance requirements.
Modern approaches to business travel management
Digital booking platforms such as Concur Travel use AI to learn from user preferences and company policies and suggest tailor-made travel options to users. Another approach is to integrate external bookings into the overall travel plan. This enables companies to fulfil their duty of care even when employees book flexibly and independently.
For example: if an employee books a flight directly through the airline’s website so that they can collect bonus points, the booking is automatically recorded and added to the travel plan. Solutions such as Concur TripLink are already implementing this today.
Travel planners and apps such as TripIt Pro can offer additional security features and warning functions. They inform travellers in real time about changes to their itinerary, potential security risks at their destination and provide recommendations for action.
Specialised security service providers such as International SOS go even further. With their support, companies can react quickly in an emergency and assist their employees, whether in medical emergencies or crisis situations. In an emergency, travellers would have immediate access to medical care or evacuation services, taking the employer’s duty of care to a new level.
The next generation of travel management
Looking to the future, AI support will become even more intelligent. The systems learn from every interaction and are increasingly tailored to the individual needs of companies and employees. We can expect AI assistants to be able to handle even complex travel scenarios, such as coordinating team trips or optimising travel routes based on sustainability aspects.
Predictive analytics will also play an increasingly important role. AI systems will, for example, predict travel trends and help companies proactively adjust their travel budgets and policies. AI will also become increasingly important in the area of risk assessment and crisis management by identifying potential hazards at an early stage and suggesting alternative travel plans.
This development is more than just technological progress. It shows what modern working environments can look like: processes serve people, not the other way around. Flexicurity is becoming a guiding principle that makes it possible to reap the benefits of digitalisation without losing sight of people’s needs for security and self-determination.
From cost factor to value driver
The combination of AI and the flexicurity approach in business travel management offers companies the opportunity to successfully master the balancing act between flexibility and security. For HR managers and personnel decision-makers, this means not only increased efficiency and cost optimisation in travel management, but also increased employee satisfaction through flexible, secure travel options. In addition, AI-supported security features make it easier to fulfil the duty of care.
Although implementing such systems requires initial investment and organisational adjustments, it promises considerable long-term benefits. Companies that take this path now will create more efficient processes, whilst positioning themselves as attractive employers in the competition for qualified specialists.
At a time when the world of work is becoming increasingly complex and global, the fusion of AI and flexicurity concepts in business travel management offers a promising approach to meeting the challenges of the future. It is now up to finance and HR managers to seize this opportunity and prepare their companies for the future of travel.
