The necessity of business travel in the digital age

In today’s business world, staying globally connected is increasingly important. Travelling for business purposes helps your company thrive and improves employee satisfaction. Here’s why.

Building strong relationships

In today’s digital world many of us work remotely, but travelling to meet clients or stakeholders face-to-face helps to create stronger, more trustworthy relationships. A survey by Harvard Business Review found that 82% of respondents said that face-to-face meetings were most effective for important negotiations. Many executives felt that face-to-face talks identified areas of clarification helping to bring negotiations to a close faster. Some Fortune 100 companies do not even sign contracts without having a face-to-face meeting. Pressing the flesh is important.

Making the most of your time

Business travel can offer convenience and comfort. But commercial flights can involve queues, delays, cancellations, security checks, baggage fees and crowded cabins. And commercial flights may not offer direct routes or convenient schedules. Travelling via private jet eliminates the hassle of commercial flights. It’s simple to request a quote for your next business trip so you can balance costs and time efficiencies. Private jet travellers can choose departure and arrival times, airports, routes and aircraft types. They can avoid check-in lines, security checks, boarding gates, baggage fees and flight changes. Meaning you arrive refreshed and ready for business.

Broaden your perspective

Travelling creates an open-minded outlook towards future ventures and encourages employees to learn about the local market and cultures. By doing so, employees gain new skills and knowledge that benefit their career development and their company’s results. And being out of the office increases the chances of developing business leads. It may be something that springs from meeting someone on a shared private jet or at a social engagement related to your trip. Rather than generic leads that come from remote office-to-office contacts, organic leads can be more fruitful because you have empathy with the person you are speaking to face to face.

Improved job satisfaction

Job burnout is common, but business travel can help to avoid this. It keeps employees interested and provides greater job satisfaction. But the travel experience has to be a good one. A 2022 study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found that in Europe, 83% of business travellers said their business travel experience impacts job satisfaction. The figure was 79% in the US. Anything a company can do to enhance a business trip – whether by using private jets, covering expenses, digitalising ticketing or booking appropriate hotel accommodation ­– will increase employee retention, recruitment and results.

Competitive advantage

Organisations become competitive by adopting business travel to sustain and grow business. Clients or prospective clients will appreciate that you travelled for a meeting as opposed to a company that may stick to virtual meetings. This engenders good will and means you can be more responsive in your negotiations giving you a competitive edge. Networking opportunities present themselves during social occasions that are attached to the trip. And even if it’s not a face-to-face meeting, seminars, trade events and business conferences all offer great networking opportunities.