Conference Unlocks Mysteries

The conference, sponsored by the General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, the Interagency Travel Management Committee and Government Executive, was the first of its kind. Participants gathered loads of up-to-date information that was relevant to their work.

"It helped people who do the nuts-and- bolts of travel comprehend the regulations and why we do things the way we do them," says GSA travel trainer Nancy Murphy, who was on the conference planning committee. Many participants learned that the regulations-such as those mandating the use of charge cards and fire-safe lodgings-are based on law. Murphy adds, "We're not just doing things this way because we want to." Participants enjoyed meeting face-to-face with the people who write and enforce travel regulations and contracts.

"Many didn't know who to contact if they had a problem with the city pairs, with a hotel or with the travel management center contract. Now they know who we are, and that they can contact us and we will respond to them," says Murphy.

Many of the conference presenta- tions will be available on the Office of Governmentwide Policy's Web site at http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/mtthp.htm.

The next National Travel Conference will be at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., from April 9 to 11, 2002. http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/mtthp.htm.

Travel Managers Of the Year

The National Travel Conference 2000 featured an invitation-only ceremony to honor the four winners of Government Executive's Travel Managers of the Year awards. About 250 government employees and private sector representatives attended the event. This year's winners were:

• Veterans Affairs Department, Office of Financial Operations.
  

• U.S. Army, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller).
  

• General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Travel Management Policy Program.
  

• Transportation Department, Office of Financial Management.
  

"Our collaboration with GSA both raised the profile of the Travel Managers of the Year program and brought a first-class celebration of excellence to the National Travel Conference," says Government Executive Editor Timothy B. Clark. "We expect it will generate still more nominations for the award in years to come and fuel still more innovation in government travel."

Eye on Relocations

Much of the buzz at the National Travel Conference 2000 was about travel's often-overlooked counterpart: relocation.

Speaking at the opening session, Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Privratsky sympathized with the more than 600,000 Defense service members and civilians who relocate each year. Noting that he's moved about 20 times in his military career, Privratsky said, "I've been on the receiving end of a lot of stuff: Things not arriving on time or not going well. I've been worn down by the process."

Such experiences led Privratsky to focus on customer service when he took charge of the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), which oversees Defense moves, in July 1999. Privratsky said he knows the "importance of taking care of people in everything you do."

Although several pilot tests designed to simplify relocation are in the works, they won't produce results for the vast majority of those who relocate until 2003 or later. In the meantime, Defense employees and their families will continue to use a system that doesn't work. Defense accounts for more than 95 percent of federal relocations.

"We have prided ourselves for too long on [doing moves on] the cheap," Privratsky told conference participants.

MTMC recently announced plans to work with companies that provide moving services to improve things before the pilots end.

The vendor associations have tentatively agreed to set up toll-free customer service numbers by April.

According to Army Col. Nonie Cabana, MTMC's deputy chief for passenger and personal property, the command also is considering:

• Asking movers to provide replacement coverage for lost or damaged property.
  

• Pegging payment rates to customer satisfaction ratings.
  

• Trying to increase the number of moves that go door-to-door instead of into temporary storage.
  

Privratsky extolled the virtues of the military's 2-year-old program to move privately owned vehicles more efficiently as an example of the changes to come. The old system was complex and nightmarish, he said. But the new contract, he added, is a "great success," with on-time delivery and customer satisfaction rates above 99 percent for the 75,000 vehicles moved each year.

"High reliability, high customer satisfaction-that's where we need to go," said Privratsky, acknowledging that such services are "not cheap." In his vision, Defense workers will organize and conduct their moves primarily via the Web, where they will track shipments of household goods; get information on pet quarantines, drivers' licenses and passports; and file any damage or loss claims. In Privratsky's words, they'll have access to "total relocation services."www.govexec.com/travel/award