Travel is a modern-day business staple. People in tailored power suits can seldom be heard saying anything other than, “See you in Geneva next week” into their phones. Travel and profit cannot be separated. But do travel and work-day output really mix? Is there a strong correlation between travel and getting things done? If travel is a more or less an unavoidable part of our business lives, perhaps we should look at how to make business travel more productive.
Maintain access to brand guidelines
Leaving the office behind doesn’t mean leaving your obligations behind. Work is work. If you’re on the move, you need to be able to communicate your brand guidelines as effectively as you would be able to do so if you were at your desk (see bynder.com for more information).
Nurturing customer loyalty begins with delivering a consistent and professional-looking message across all platforms. By centralizing your media data (e.g., images, video, and other content of all kinds, in all file formats), all employees will have the ability to stay on brand throughout their business trip. Powerful ‘style guide’ software means never having to wait for someone in the web design department to forward your company’s updated logo when you need it. Get involved and stay productive - and on-brand - throughout your trip.
Travel in luxury
Your outlook is everything. A tired mind is not productive. A person who has been traveling for several hours who is then asked to go straight into a business meeting is unlikely to perform. People are not machines. You cannot simply ship them to where they need to be and expect them to switch on and complete the task at hand. It doesn’t work like that.
Instead, travel in first class, and go the day before. Allow time to arrive and get settled. People need to be fresh if you want them to engage and show just how productive they can be. See tips on how to stay refreshed throughout the day via the link.
The easy way to test this theory is to ask people to complete a business travel satisfaction survey. You will soon notice that staff who travel in luxury and feel supported produce much better results from business trips. Of course, if you’re not bothered about the results of the trip, simply don’t go in the first place...
Avoid business travel (wherever it makes sense)
The last tip on how to make business travel more productive is simply to avoid business travel wherever it makes sense. What do we mean by that? Not all business trips drive value. The expense of travel and accommodation combined with the lost office hours must be weighed up against the effectiveness of the trip. Was any real value gained from making the journey? Were any business leads made? Or was it merely an exercise in putting in an appearance at a slow conference with no real need to be there in person?
Once all factors are taken into consideration, the cost of the trip vs the value of the trip can easily tip the scales toward video conferencing.
