Corporate Travel [corporate travel policy discussion at interview?]
May 30, 2019, 7:55 am
#16
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London
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Posts: 204
I work for a global consulting company and we have a pretty generous policy (4hrs+ for J) but that is with the expectation that we are able to land after a long haul and work the next day with clients fully functional. In addition I quite disagree with being able to work well in W / Y - the space for having your laptop out and being able to read through any hard material is pretty much unworkable in my opinion, as such I often don't bother taking my laptop out on short haul flights in Y.
Either way, absolutely no harm in asking the question. I'd also be wary of finding out exactly how much travel you will likely be doing. It may be okay to have a return long haul in Y once every month or two but if it's due to be weekly/fortnightly then I'd want at least W travel (if not pushing for J) - value your personal time and also health over travels is my motto...
Either way, absolutely no harm in asking the question. I'd also be wary of finding out exactly how much travel you will likely be doing. It may be okay to have a return long haul in Y once every month or two but if it's due to be weekly/fortnightly then I'd want at least W travel (if not pushing for J) - value your personal time and also health over travels is my motto...
May 30, 2019, 8:12 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: London
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I work for a global consulting company and we have a pretty generous policy (4hrs+ for J) but that is with the expectation that we are able to land after a long haul and work the next day with clients fully functional. In addition I quite disagree with being able to work well in W / Y - the space for having your laptop out and being able to read through any hard material is pretty much unworkable in my opinion, as such I often don't bother taking my laptop out on short haul flights in Y..
And for that sort of reason my firm definitely expects to seat us in J, with the added flexibility that if there's either an F that's outright cheaper, or if we want to augment with Avios or whatever then they usually try and find a way.
But I never had the need to ask at the interview as in my field that's a fairly standard policy so it's rarely a dealbreaker.
May 30, 2019, 9:19 am
#18
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: M&M, BA Silver, Accor LeClub Gold
Posts: 490
An alternative could be to wait until you are at the offer stage, and ask then. The risk of raising the question at this stage means that they could be put off you if they think that this is unreasonable. By asking this question at the offer stage, it could become a negotiating point that they match your current business travel policy. In my experience policies are much more negotiable in small companies with 75 employees as you state.
May 30, 2019, 10:08 am
#19
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: NYC
Programs: AS 75K, DL Platinum
Posts: 631
At a large company, ask outright. It won’t impact you negatively in any way.
If it’s a small company, you could still just ask. If you’re afraid it will turn off HR or the hiring manager, try to slip it in to a more informal conversation. For example, ask to speak with a peer to “Discuss what daily life and responsibilities at the company are like.” Then during that chat, you can ask questions along the lines of: “So I hear you travel a decent amount. How is that? What’s your favorite place to eat at the airport? If I have trouble sleeping on planes, am I going to hate this job? Hahaha, I’m just kidding.”
If it’s a small company, you could still just ask. If you’re afraid it will turn off HR or the hiring manager, try to slip it in to a more informal conversation. For example, ask to speak with a peer to “Discuss what daily life and responsibilities at the company are like.” Then during that chat, you can ask questions along the lines of: “So I hear you travel a decent amount. How is that? What’s your favorite place to eat at the airport? If I have trouble sleeping on planes, am I going to hate this job? Hahaha, I’m just kidding.”
May 30, 2019, 10:18 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,435
An alternative could be to wait until you are at the offer stage, and ask then. The risk of raising the question at this stage means that they could be put off you if they think that this is unreasonable. By asking this question at the offer stage, it could become a negotiating point that they match your current business travel policy. In my experience policies are much more negotiable in small companies with 75 employees as you state.
May 30, 2019, 10:20 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: DL Gold, AA Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 253
Personally I would be using the gambit of 'if you want me to travel regularly then that's absolutely fine, but I want to be arriving back refreshed enough to be with my family when I am not travelling, especially if the travel part will be eating into family time to begin with, and also to be rested and productive when I am working away'.
Of course, I don't know what your family circumstances are, but both the need to be rested when away, and the need to not be a zombie when you get back home are, to me, completely reasonable requests to make.
And frankly any firm that had a huge issue with you bringing it up would, for me, almost be a dealbreaker itself.
Often (although maybe moreso at larger firms) there's an HR interview that comes near the end of the process (ie when the hiring stakeholders have essentially made their choice, or at least got down to a short shortlist) to cover just these kinds of points (ie non functional stuff - benefits package, cultural fit, etc etc). If there's one of those then that's probably an ideal time to broach the subject.
Of course, I don't know what your family circumstances are, but both the need to be rested when away, and the need to not be a zombie when you get back home are, to me, completely reasonable requests to make.
And frankly any firm that had a huge issue with you bringing it up would, for me, almost be a dealbreaker itself.
Often (although maybe moreso at larger firms) there's an HR interview that comes near the end of the process (ie when the hiring stakeholders have essentially made their choice, or at least got down to a short shortlist) to cover just these kinds of points (ie non functional stuff - benefits package, cultural fit, etc etc). If there's one of those then that's probably an ideal time to broach the subject.
Plonker. I am going to use that all the time now.
May 30, 2019, 11:07 am
#22
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold (woohoo)
Posts: 189
Entirely reasonable to ask for a copy of the employee handbook which should include the travel policy - info obtained without explicitly addressing the issue. If they don't have an employee handbook that can be revealing in its own way.
May 30, 2019, 11:15 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK
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Posts: 130
I think it’s much better to frame the question around productivity, long-term health and so on.
May 30, 2019, 2:30 pm
#24
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 219
Y only policy is becoming more and more common.
Our firm is a huge multinational and changed the policy to Y only for all. Previously, executive level employees could fly J if the journey was over 6 hours. I suspect at a smaller firm, the policy will be more flexible.
I agree with the suggestion above to leave it until later in the negotiations. Don't bring it up as a point until you've already convinced them that you're the one they want. At that stage, it's far easier to spring in a few extra demands without scuppering the whole job.
Our firm is a huge multinational and changed the policy to Y only for all. Previously, executive level employees could fly J if the journey was over 6 hours. I suspect at a smaller firm, the policy will be more flexible.
I agree with the suggestion above to leave it until later in the negotiations. Don't bring it up as a point until you've already convinced them that you're the one they want. At that stage, it's far easier to spring in a few extra demands without scuppering the whole job.
May 31, 2019, 5:36 am
#25
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: London
Programs: Mucci Blue, BAEC Gold, Blockbuster Video card
Posts: 1,378
I own a small company and would not think you were a - what did you call it - plonker - for bringing it up. In fact, I would fully expect you to ask about travel policy and expectations. If you were to ask that question from our HR people they would look at you with a blank stare and ask why you didn't cover that already in your earlier interviews. HR's job is to enforce the rules for everyone per stated policy. You'll get traction from the people who are actually going to hire and supervise you. If the person was someone that I really wanted and felt they could add a lot to the company, I would not let the travel policy get in the way..
May 31, 2019, 8:33 am
#26
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, Star Alliance Silver
Posts: 232
Y only policy is becoming more and more common.
Our firm is a huge multinational and changed the policy to Y only for all. Previously, executive level employees could fly J if the journey was over 6 hours. I suspect at a smaller firm, the policy will be more flexible.
I agree with the suggestion above to leave it until later in the negotiations. Don't bring it up as a point until you've already convinced them that you're the one they want. At that stage, it's far easier to spring in a few extra demands without scuppering the whole job.
Our firm is a huge multinational and changed the policy to Y only for all. Previously, executive level employees could fly J if the journey was over 6 hours. I suspect at a smaller firm, the policy will be more flexible.
I agree with the suggestion above to leave it until later in the negotiations. Don't bring it up as a point until you've already convinced them that you're the one they want. At that stage, it's far easier to spring in a few extra demands without scuppering the whole job.
Why is Y only becoming more common, when business class is generally cheaper than ever before?
May 31, 2019, 8:54 am
#27
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
1. If you have a contact in the company, perhaps someone you earlier in the process and with whom you hit it off, why not call and ask her?
2, There is never a problem in asking simple questions without making the pre-conditions unless you mean them to be. If flying <J is a problem, might as well surface it now. However, I would not rationalize or get into a policy discussion because that seems arrogant. It is a question and nothing more, E.g., "what is your air travel policy?" The answer is the answer. Whether you will work overnight, show up from the airport and so on, is not relevant to this discussion.
2, There is never a problem in asking simple questions without making the pre-conditions unless you mean them to be. If flying <J is a problem, might as well surface it now. However, I would not rationalize or get into a policy discussion because that seems arrogant. It is a question and nothing more, E.g., "what is your air travel policy?" The answer is the answer. Whether you will work overnight, show up from the airport and so on, is not relevant to this discussion.
May 31, 2019, 9:31 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Mexico
Programs: BAEC Gold / Marriott Platinum
Posts: 3,543
Any J travel I've done for work has been uua, op up or 30 quid more expensive then ET.
May 31, 2019, 9:53 am
#29
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 116
Just ask, it’s a reasonable question
The worst one I ever encountered was overnight economy at the weekend to arrive at the main offshore site ready to work Monday morning, and return overnight Friday night and it was expected 1 week a month. I made my excuses as to unable to travel and left the company not long after (I hadn’t asked at time of joining as I didn’t have reason to believe there was any travel, then they opened the offshore centre)
The worst one I ever encountered was overnight economy at the weekend to arrive at the main offshore site ready to work Monday morning, and return overnight Friday night and it was expected 1 week a month. I made my excuses as to unable to travel and left the company not long after (I hadn’t asked at time of joining as I didn’t have reason to believe there was any travel, then they opened the offshore centre)
May 31, 2019, 9:59 am
#30
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: KLM, BA Silver, Etihad
Posts: 918
The above implies, given your stated travel pattern, that you will be working on o/night flights. Is that really the case? I know people do but that's usually an exception. Also minimising billable hours might be in the client's favour, but not necessarily that of your potential employer.
Doc Copper
Doc Copper
Having worked in Procurement and had some exposure of running the travel policy I must admit I am more than a little cynical with the "working on flights" approach. Often I hear "preparing for a presentation" well if I was your boss I'd hope you were better prepared.
Defo ask what the policy is but I wouldn't push it in the early stages of the process.
Last edited by RockyRobin; Jun 1, 2019 at 11:59 am