In a globalised world, one of the most effective growth strategies is to open up new markets. While entering new markets may be a proven route to growth, it does present challenges – from local regulation to risk management.
There are challenges for individuals too. Tell a busy global executive that you’re adding another country to the list of markets that he or she needs to visit regularly, and the news may not be welcomed. Business travel stress levels increase with age, travel frequency and seniority, and the main stress factors complained of are lost or delayed luggage; poor or no internet connections; having to fly economy on medium or long haul; and delays.
Look for local expertise
The other way to reduce business travel is to set up a satellite office and entrust more to local management. The days of relying on expat managers to manage operations abroad are fast fading as businesses try to cut back on expensive expat packages. Companies are also more aware of the problems associated with expat managers – most commonly (according to the Economist Intelligence Unit):
- Cultural or national conflicts between staff
- Inability of foreign managers to understand local culture
- Different working styles and office norms.
At the same time, local knowledge – of anything from HR practices to consumer preferences – local language skills, and local connections and networks are increasingly valued. Outsourcing non-core tasks, such as workspace management, to providers with local knowledge also reduces the need to commit your key managers and resources to a new market.
Obviously, even with more local hiring, there’s never going to be a complete end to business travel. People still need to meet face-to-face; build a rapport; see HQ or regional offices for themselves; even flatter a key customer with a personal visit. But there’s no need to make the same trips over and over again – high-quality video-conferencing can replace them. And it’s ever easier to access these facilities.
Learn the lessons of previous travel chaos
Every so often, an event or situation occurs that restricts business travel – from health issues like SARS, to terrorism fears, to the volcanic ashcloud from Iceland that enveloped Europe in 2010. At such times, with business travel plans impossible or undesirable, companies often have to replace them with video-conferencing. Interestingly, what then tends to happen is that once the specific crisis is resolved, video-conferencing stays at a higher level than previously, as more businesses see its attractions for themselves.
So, for example, in Europe, a year after the Icelandic ash cloud, video-conferencing enquiries at Regus were up, on average, 75% on previously. The ash cloud taught companies the VC habit, and they kept it, replacing some of their expensive international or transcontinental travel with a quick visit to a nearby VC studio.
So, as you look into your options for expanding into new markets, take the opportunity to review your business’s travel patterns. Think about whether it’s really necessary; think about using video-conferencing instead; and think about relying more on local talent, instead of flying expat managers out to handle everything. As well as cutting your costs, it could also improve business performance.
Consider communication tools
Some business travel is inevitable, but given connecting technologies such as conference and video-calls, companies can improve the way they communicate and reduce business travel costs.
Say your relationships with customers or contacts abroad were previously managed via business trips, backed by occasional phone calls. If you replace some of the travel and the conference calls with conference and video-conferencing, you cut the travel costs, but still connect better than you were doing by phone. Less cost and more effective communications? That really is win-win.
And, by the way, video-conferencing can deliver other wins – for example, making it possible to cut office costs by promoting remote working. It can also increase the talent pool available to companies: in a study by Regus, 79 per cent of respondents said that having the option to choose video-conferencing over travel some of the time would encourage mothers to return to the workplace.
Pre-plan your requirements
The cost of accessing phone and wireless networks can quickly escalate when travelling abroad. By making the most of syndicate wi-fi partnerships and deals with local networks you can keep control of expenses. Using unsecured free wi-fi available in cafes and restaurants may lead you to inadvertently breach data-protection laws, and finding a private area to make sensitive phone calls can be impossible. A much more secure alternative is to use business wi-fi networks while on the move.
