Travel is my love language and in my role as ATPCO’s Chief People and Culture Officer, my love for travel has evolved to mean something more than experiencing new parts of the world. It’s become critical in building and maintaining a healthy corporate culture.
The pandemic created a number of changes to the way people work that have made it essential for company executives to be thoughtful about business travel and what it means for their employees. The topline statistics are well-known. Business travel decreased significantly and is only set to rebound to 2019 levels at the end of 2024.
What’s more, remote work has now become the norm in many organizations. ATPCO itself has a flexible work environment that includes remote and hybrid arrangements. This means that companies (like ours) don’t just allow current employees to work from home, they’ve started hiring people in places far away from their central office hubs, if in fact they even have office hubs.
These changes to the way we work mean that a lot of companies are dealing with a base of employees who don’t travel to see people they work with as often as they used to—whether that be to the office or on business trips. With less together time, company culture can get weaker, and employees can feel less connected.
Encouraging corporate travel for employees
Some corporations are trying to get their employees back in the office. People who work remotely can feel left out, and communication and speed can suffer. Another option is to build a culture of travel. The budgets saved by downsizing the office or hiring in alternative markets should be reinvested, at least partially, in more frequent get-togethers. There are countless ways to do it, from getting smaller teams or divisions in the office one week a month, to having larger quarterly, half-yearly, or annual off-sites.
ATPCO does a mix of all types of get-togethers. For example, each summer, our global teams in Bulgaria, London, North America, and Singapore each host a Summer Social where colleagues can gather for much-needed face-to-face time. We also encourage teams to have frequent in-person meetings. From the annual Hackathon that bring together all divisions across ATPCO to one-to-two-day planning meetings for smaller teams within divisions, our employees are encouraged to get together in-person as frequently or as sparsely as needed.
Sometimes, smaller gatherings can be more meaningful to drive productivity and team culture. People need to feel like they have friends at work, and video calls don’t always allow for those relationship-building moments.
Building budgets and schedules that encourage employees to travel—to see each other or to see clients—can be a valuable alternative to in-office work policies.
The value of corporate travel
In this new world of remote work, team building looks different, and we must embrace new ways of bonding to appeal to remote employees. One way to build a healthy culture is to involve the team in deciding what the travel will be. Maybe it’s an outdoorsy group that wants to go hiking after the meetings are over or a team that loves live music, so they attend a show post-meeting. Bonding over shared passions and sharing new experiences can drive stronger bonds and lead to discovering places that deliver much more than a big conference room.
Travel for work also has the potential to create meaning for employees. If everyone needs to create a bond and is searching for deeper meaning, why not create an agenda that includes an activity that aligns with company values? Teams could spend a day working in a local underserved community or helping an environmental cause.
The extra effort to create memorable travel experiences for employees is worth it. They want to see the world and they want connections. Plus, it helps align teams. Building in the budget and the leeway for teams to travel in new ways has the potential to create higher loyalty and higher productivity, and it also attracts top talent who want the flexibility of working from home along with the opportunities for team and work travel. It’s a win-win.
Learn more about ATPCO’s culture
A version of this article first appeared in HR Grapevine on 6 June 2024.
