www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
Talking business
Why do we use online and virtual technology so much? It is not that Russians are unenthusiastic about travel. In fact, after all the years of Soviet rule when Russian people lacked money and freedom to go overseas, Russian people now travel a lot – and love to do so. Young Russians are extremely enthusiastic about travelling for business. They see it as a major perk of their jobs. However, the same is not always true of partners and managing directors – they also like to travel, but they’re busy, so more and more they prefer to use virtual meeting technologies. Equally, while Russian executives might be keen to travel, it can be hard to persuade overseas senior executives to come to Moscow for a one-day meeting. So it was a big step forward for us when we introduced telepresence technology into the Moscow office of Accenture. I expect that in the years to come we will make ever greater use of it.
What would make your job easier? If people were willing to work more closely together, then my job would be a great deal easier.
It’s often easier to send an email than to go and speak to a colleague, but very often a face-to-face conversation produces a better result. I make a point of spending part of every day walking the floor of our office. It means I can see my team in person, and if they need to discuss anything with me they can do so face-to-face rather than through a long chain of emails.
What plans do you have for your travel programme? Health and safety compliance is increasingly important, so we’ll be working hard on that, and we will continue to bring out more technological solutions that help make travel for our company easier, quicker, cheaper and more enjoyable.
And what about you personally – what does
the future hold for you? On February 1, I took on a new role within Accenture within the global business
travel group. After five years of working with such a broad role it will be good to focus more clearly on travel. It’s a fascinating market where so much is changing, and I look forward to helping Accenture make the most of these new opportunities. ■
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