Change must occur in order to stay relevant. True–but then what? According to John Kotter, Harvard professor and change leadership guru, 70% of all “change efforts” fail. His 8-step process for leading change teaches us how to be as effective as possible and attempt to climb into the 30%.
Change, simply for the sake of change, is not our goal at Christopherson Business Travel. And over the past year, we have made the following changes:
- Relocated our Denver office and completed renovations/expansions in our Salt Lake City and San Francisco offices, allowing for more team members to support our customers
- Purchased new hardware to speed up our technology backbone, which in turn allowed for faster speeds at which business travelers can access their travel
- Completely re-engineered our proprietary technology from the ground up, including the release of the first ever mobile app specifically for travel managers and planners, allowing for easier and more insightful client interactions with their transactions
- Implemented Agresso, a new ERP system for our travel and accounting back-offices, providing greater real-time clarity in our travel and financial data
- Converted many of our agents to a single booking tool in order to systemize the way we interact with our clients, allowing for a better customer experience
- Made a series of management changes to stay ahead of the continued growth that we, as a company, are experiencing
Each of these huge changes were made in an effort to stay ahead of our competition and to provide our unique competitive advantage to our clients more reliably and with greater speed. We’re learning quickly what the J-Curve is and how to navigate it effectively, but there are continual improvements to be made. We do everything we can to minimize the trough and maximize the trajectory. This methodology allows us to develop technologies and improve processes for our clients that makes their travel easier, cheaper, and more insightful.
Christopherson Business Travel loves change. Again, not just for the sake of it, but because we know it’s necessary for our continued growth, relevance, and success. If you have ideas or solutions that can help improve your travel management experience, we invite you to let us know.
