You may have team members who are not keen to travel and see little benefit in it while others are addicted. To those who don't like to travel, remind them of how valuable travel is, both personally and professionally. Traveling for pleasure, as well as for business, is a life enriching experience that will make them grow.
The benefits are numerous.
Learn a new culture and business practices
The internet has given us a window into the life and culture of any country we want. There is, however, nothing quite like being there and experiencing how people live and work especially when it comes to conducting business. Being there will help you understand both their behaviour and work ethics. Furthermore, establishing a face-to-face relationship, despite its steep learning curve, will make you both far more knowledgeable and aware of each other. This new-found insight often leads to improved performance as business, after all, is deeply rooted in others. We work better with people we've met.
Keep Learning
Staff education and training are vital to your company’s growth and business travel provides a perfect setting for learning. This training process begins before a business trip as your team must familiarise themselves with the country, company and potential partners they are to visit. They need to learn both their ways of life and work. While there, your team will expand its knowledge through meetings, observation of work practices as well as through direct contact with counterparts. Such knowledge gained before, during and after the trip, will facilitate all future engagements.
Connect and Build Relationships
Forging new relationships across cultures and building an international network will serve you, and your team, beyond today's tactics. Leveraging technology will further enhance these relationships by allowing everyone to stay in touch, either socially or for business. Your business will run more smoothly as a result.
Confidence, Flexibility, and Creativity
Studies suggest that frequent travellers need to be self-reliant, step out of their comfort-zone and think on their feet. Such experiences build self-confidence, increase outlook flexibility and behaviour and fosters creativity at work. This will further contribute to improved employee performance in both the short and long term.
Proudly Shouldering Added Responsibility
On a business trip, employees will need to shoulder greater responsibility as they will be required to represent their company’s interests. Many will grow throughout this process and rise to the task. They will be required to make decisions and judgements and must have the power to act on the company’s best interest.
The Art of Communication
Learning a new language, especially one using a different alphabet, makes you think differently, it can even change your perspective on familiar things and ideas forever. The simple act of speaking a few words helps to break the ice and travellers communicating in a different language learns about their cultures, body language, greeting customs, intonation, etc. making them even more aware of the peculiarities and distinctions of their own cultures.
Cultural Sensitivity
By traveling to a foreign country, once becomes sensitive to new cultures creating a better understanding between business partners. Post-trip interaction will benefit from the newly gained insight and staff will operate with greater empathy and sensitivity towards each other. Such learning gives you a deeper understanding of your own culture and own people, whether it's family connections or work ethics, allowing to navigate better.
Breaking the Routine
Being in the same office all-year-round can be rather tedious and business trips create a welcome change. The excitement prior allows for a mental escape the invigorates their daily lives. On their returns, the new open mind will make will be useful in helping others.
Pure Enjoyment
Business trips should be enjoyable. You get to work abroad, enjoy different foods, see interesting sites, meet new people and engage in new activities and disciplines. Savour the experience, absorb it and make it a part of your own personality.
Taking business trips can be good for employee morale and business development. We thrive on communication and deep connections. We’re fascinated, sometimes scared, by other cultures. Our globe is getting smaller, make sure everyone in your company travels at least once a year if you want to see your business grow.
