Business Traveling During COVID-19
There is no denying the pandemic impacted how businesses’ run their everyday operations, especially business traveling. As vaccines are slowly rolling out around the world, travel restrictions have begun to decrease. Even though these restrictions are lessening, companies are remaining cautious in regard to their employees’ safety during work-related travel. When companies are strategizing their travel policy, these are critical details to keep in mind.
Checking National and International Regulations
Many companies have offices stationed across the United States and in other countries. Conducting travel between these office locations is a regular practice for several businesses, and will be slowly returning due to new travel restrictions. Before companies leap into work-related travel planning, they must check how the restrictions altered. International travel is still strict and will require specific forms depending on the airline. Staying updated on a state’s or country’s travel restrictions will make it easier to plan future work trips.
Taking Precautions
Once a company is informed on travel restrictions, they can begin to plan what actions to take to ensure the business trip is safe for their employees. While there are different restrictions based on the state and the country, the company should create its own rules to minimize risk. Such rules may consist of the types of hotels, airlines, and restaurants. Another safety measure to incorporate is supplying employees with COVID-19 protections: masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.
Administering COVID-19 Test Kits
Whether employees are traveling to the next state or across an ocean, COVID-19 tests are necessary. Numerous states, airlines, and countries require tests prior to travel. If employees are without a negative test before their flight, then they will not be allowed to board. There have been incidents when people are sent back because they arrived without the proper paperwork citing their negative test results. Tests may not be mandatory for every state, but companies should issue them as part of their new work-related travel practices.
