By Brian Veloso

A new generation of business traveller is emerging and upward mobility will likely never be the same.

Millennials– collaborative idealists who love blue jeans, social networking and, most of all, technology – present a communication challenge for travel managers, and it is a challenge that will only grow over time.

By 2025, 75 per cent of the working population will be from the millennial generation¹. As they make their mark in the working world, the workday and workplace will continue to transform. With foresight, this advances the need for organizations to create policies and procedures that connect with the millennials’ mobile lifestyle.

Millennials place value on workplace innovations that go beyond the physical to bridge workplaces and workspaces—many of which fit into the palms of their hands. They seek integrated technologies that allow them to streamline processes and remain connected, regardless of location. Resultantly, now is the time for organizations to reevaluate the way they manage travel programs and implement forward-thinking change.

At many organizations, change is already underway. Innovation is enabling simpler, more efficient travel for millennials who favour digital interaction. Today, most millennial business travelers are armed with smartphones and mobile devices to create a business lifeline while they are on the road. No longer does business travel have to involve pesky and wasteful paper tickets and expense reports.

The old modes of travel management are changing—and it’s about time.

Expectations of the new generation of road warriors

As mobile devices replace desktops, allowing employees to unhook from their desk and connect through productivity applications and social apps, expectations around company policies and procedures continue to change. Gone are the days when business travelers would fall off the grid by circumstance or choice.

Millennials grew up on the Internet, and are used to having open communication channels between family, friends and co-workers. On the road, these expectations are the same with millennials seeking travel arrangements that reflect their connected lifestyle.

Always on and connected, this generation strives for a balanced lifestyle and the ability to blur the lines between business and leisure. On the road, they are looking for an interconnected version of home with all of the comforts.

They no longer need to ask for directions or restaurant recommendations. Intuitive app platforms place this information at their fingertips, making business travel simpler, easier and faster. A survey conducted in August 2012 to understand how technology is reinventing business travel revealed that 61 per cent of millennials agree technology has made business travel quicker in the last five years, with 54 per cent stating it has simplified the experience.

So what does this mean for travel managers?

With key travel details in hand, millennials are redefining what it means to be a road warrior, leveraging technology to form open communication channels and access information to self-manage their itineraries. However, given more choice and autonomy, business travellers are empowered to make more travel decisions, which has the potential to result in out-of-policy decision-making.

In order to create a travel policy that meets the expectations of millennials, travel managers need to think creatively about how they are sharing information and how millennials will access it while on the road—keeping in mind that they seek flexibility to choose their own adventure.

Tips for managing the millennial road warrior

• Social networks have unlocked access to multiple content channels, creating a culture that craves information. Utilizing familiar communication processes (i.e. text messaging, infographics etc.) will facilitate learning and help educate millennial business travelers on their company’s travel policy. Clear, concise communication styles are ideal for this generation which nourishes itself with information at 140 characters, or less.²
• Accustomed to easy-access information and great technology, millennial business travelers expect that information will be available on any source (social), from anywhere in the world (mobile), and on any device (open).²
• Millennials look for the fewest constraints possible when it comes to business travel. Travel policies that allow millennials to have flexibility and make decisions within guidelines will be favoured by this generation.²

Millennials have, and will continue to incite change in the workplace by challenging organizations and travel managers to keep up with the times. Chances are, we will all be better off as a result.

Brian Veloso is the Senior Director for Canada at Concur Technologies Inc., a leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions, enabling organizations of all sizes to globally control costs by automating the processes they use to manage employee spending. He is responsible for expanding Concur’s domestic sales team from coast-to-coast with the objective of driving market and brand awareness through strategic partner channels.

¹Concur, (2013).  “Business Travel Transformed” [Online]. [2013, May].
²  Concur, (2013).  “Top 3 Ways Social Media Has Changed Business Travel” [Online]. [2013, May]