By CATHERINE CHETWYND By NAME IN HERE


THE CONSULTANT


LESLEY O’BRYAN, vice-president and principal, Advito


THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to define the objective. A travel manager could be looking for better work-life balance, having better quality meetings, safety and security, or cutting down on travel cost, whereas IT may only be focused on functionality or equipment. But if they all sit down and talk about


how they can use each other’s information to make a great programme, they will have a common goal. One of our largest clients had work-life


balance and quality of experience as their top goals. By looking at reason-for-travel codes within the TMC report, we could see that 70 per cent of travel was internal


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


and with the help of their marketing, IT and HR teams, we went live with virtual meetings on 1 February 2017. Since then, they have averaged US$1 million internal savings per month. Executive buy-in was also important


and the chief financial officer has had a lot of say because he had a large investment in IT tools and real estate. For external travel, face to face is not


always replaceable. You need to look at the reasons why you should be meeting in person: does it mean more sales and revenue for the company? Does it mean better relationships? It could be about supplementing some face-to-face trips with virtual meetings and getting a happy balance, so that you still maintain the value in the relationship.


Virtual meetings are also productive.


On average there is a 20 per cent increase in productivity if you turn on the cameras when using Skype or Webex because people are not multitasking, they are engaged in the meeting and you cut down on a lot of wasted time. People can be scared to turn on the


camera because they are still in their pyjamas and the senior executive has not shaved and is wearing a baseball cap. Most of us work from home or at least


have the option, so having a virtual meetings tool, such as Skype for Business, Webex or Amazon Chime, is a great way to personalise how you do your work, which makes it easier to get things done. Even smaller systems, such as Zoom or Blue Jeans, are just as capable.


BBT March/April 2018 41


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