Many SMEs are looking at how they can reduce costs to drive efficiencies and enhance their operations.

As flexibility and home working increase, rethinking how employees travel for work and commute on their in-office days can provide some quick wins.

Re-evaluating the travel policy – and in some cases introducing one – is the starting point.

A travel policy needs to provide adequate transportation to suit both the needs of the organisation and its employees, while also controlling costs, reducing emissions and staying ahead of new legislation such as Clean Air Zones and the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Our experience is that many smaller businesses do not have a travel policy. They allow employees to decide for themselves how they move around based on personal preference and common sense.

On the one hand this is seen as empowering and supportive. In reality, it can result in greater risks and costs creeping in.

Controlling the ‘grey fleet’

Employees who cannot easily access public transport or prefer not to use it may default to using their personal vehicle as the best business travel option.

Enterprise’s 2020 research revealed 44% of drivers in the UK use their own cars for work trips. The popularity of this ‘grey fleet’ model, in which employees’ vehicles represent an unofficial business car pool, may come down in part to the fact employees can claim up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles before they incur a tax liability.

Some have seen this as a discretionary income source, though it is fact a false economy.

Those who regularly use their own cars for work trips are devaluing their vehicles with each business use due to increased mileage and wear and tear.

From the business perspective, older vehicles are often more polluting, plus private cars can become a health and safety risk if owners can’t afford to maintain them regularly. According to our study, 57% of drivers using their personal vehicles for work have deferred their MOT. Recent research from the RAC shows that maintenance is a growing issue - particularly for younger drivers.

Also, consider that it is the responsibility of the owner to ensure they have the correct insurance cover for business use.

Few SMEs have a dedicated fleet or transport manager to effectively administer the grey fleet – even the mileage claims. Rather, responsibilities for employee mobility typically fall on the office manager, HR lead, or even the owner.

Start with the data

It’s little wonder then that more and more SMEs are looking for new travel options. A sensible way to approach this is to gather or use existing data to understand your employees’ mobility needs.

This allows you to put together fair policies based on actual requirements and even involving new shared options like car clubs, bike and scooter rental.

The choices available should work for both employees and the business, while cutting back ‘grey fleet’ creep.

Many businesses aren’t aware of the range of options available and how many different types of vehicle can be rented for an hour, a day, a week, a month, or longer.

‘Dedicated’ car club vehicles, for example, can be established at the office if employees make lots of regular trips. This can be backed up with the growing on-street network of public car club vehicles that anyone can rent by the hour or more. Many of these vehicles are available at major railway stations and transport ‘hubs’, so employees get the choice to use public transport for longer trips and only pick up a car for the last bit of the journey.

Accessing mobility consultancy

Several factors need to be considered when planning the right travel policy - and that is why companies like Enterprise now offer mobility consultancy to guide businesses through the options, examining:

• Cost – how much will each journey cost?
• Convenience – will it be easy and practical to access?
• Compliance – how does it demonstrably reduce risks?
• Use case – is the trip for people or goods?
• Duration – how long and how far is each journey and are you prepared for seasonal peaks in demand?
• Timing – at what time(s) of day and how often will employees use the transport?
• Location – where do employees need to access vehicles from?
• Future-proofing – which journeys are suitable for zero-emission plug-in battery electric vehicles?

Building the final policy around these pragmatic considerations will allow you to meet the transport needs of employees in the most cost-effective way, balancing social and environmental objectives.

Developing a travel policy takes some upfront analysis, number crunching and planning, but is within the scope of every business.

Putting the responsibility on staff to manage their own transport may seem the easiest option but it is often not cost-effective nor sustainable. Access to affordable transport can also have a profound impact on the wellbeing of staff.

So, now more than ever, employers have a duty of care to ensure their mobility provision supports efficient, convenient and low-emission business travel.

Paul McCorkell is director of business mobility UK & Ireland, Enterprise Rent-A-Car.