While business travel may look like an exciting and glamorous affair from the outside, if you’re a frequent flyer you will know all too well that this is often not the case. Instead, you’ll be regularly faced with frustrating delays, jetlag, exhaustion and a mounting workload.
If you’re a business owner or within a senior management team of a company where employees are often required to travel abroad, it’s important that necessary support is provided to staff.
Managing a full-time job on top of life itself can be a challenge, and when you throw traveling overseas into the mix it can cause a high level of stress to any individual. These top tips will help you make business travel better and less stressful, for your employees.
Arrange all necessary travel
From booking the flights to organising car rental, this should be taken care of in advance to avoid any delays or unforeseen issues. Dates of travel should also be communicated to members of staff at the earliest possible date to ensure they can make any necessary arrangements for the child, or pet care!
Don’t forget, your employees all live their own lives outside of the office and you can’t always expect everything to be dropped on demand. With plenty of notice, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Allow for time off
Face-to-face communication is the best way to do business, but also be aware that stacking the day out with endless meetings can be counter-productive. Traveling is tiring, and even with the best intentions, your employees might start to flag by mid-afternoon if they haven’t been able to take a breather.
Try not to cram the schedule and allow for regular breaks and an afternoon off to recuperate, especially if they’ve travelled a long way. Jetlag shouldn’t be underestimated, so try to make the trip as comfortable as possible to ensure the best results from each meeting!
Provide workload support
It’s inevitable that time away from the desk will incur a mounting workload which isn’t always the first thing you want to face after a busy work trip. To ease the pressure, consider delegating some of this workload to another employee in the team.
If everyone’s schedules and commitments are already too busy, you could even look into hiring a freelance virtual assistant to support your team during busy spells. It will relieve a great amount of pressure from your employees and allow them to fully concentrate on the work trip without worrying about an out-of-control inbox.
Let them let loose
Business trips not only require extra work, but they also require personal time, so it’s only fair that employees are encouraged to experience the local area whilst visiting. If traveling overseas, you could arrange a nice dinner or perhaps even provide tickets to a nearby attraction.
These are fun perks that will not only ensure your employees feel valued but also say ‘thanks’ for going that extra mile. After all, your staff are representing your company, and you want to make sure that they’re reflecting you in a positive light and feeling valued in their jobs.