Numerous German companies maintain business relationships with other companies in Turkey. Sometimes it's not enough to make a phone call or hold a video conference. Instead, business trips can be a wonderful complement when it comes to communicating with each other.
But no matter whether an employee is traveling to Turkey for the first time or for the tenth time: every trip of this kind must be planned in advance. But what should you pay attention to? What routines can ensure that preparing for a business trip doesn't take more time than necessary?
The following seven tips provide both start-ups and long-established companies with the right inspiration and help simplify business processes - regardless of the number of business trips per year.
Tip #1: Take advantage of the benefits of a business travel agency
Anyone for a Online business travel agency decides, uses advantages on different levels. The modern platforms are characterized, among other things, by:
- a high level of user comfort,
- the advantage of being able to use many functions and bookings of business trips on one platform,
- fair prices,
- a user-friendly clarity as well
- easily accessible support
out of. Regardless of whether it is about reviewing all the details of a trip in advance (and coordinating them with your own budget planning) or about giving the traveling employee the chance to double-check everything about connecting flights etc.: modern online travel agencies offer convenient booking options, an optimal overview and a high level of transparency.
Tip No. 2: Clarify important details beforehand
A business trip to Turkey is often inevitably associated with many different impressions. This is often not just about signing contracts, getting to know customers and discussing details about further collaboration.
The streets of Istanbul, the markets in Ankara and many other highlights are just waiting to be explored. Questions that play a particularly important role in this context include:
- “May I buy our customers a little something at the market as a thoughtful gesture?”
- “How much money can I spend on entertainment per day?”
In order to best prevent misunderstandings, it is advisable to discuss these and other considerations before the start of the business trip.
Tip No. 3: Possibly plan benefits for employees
Many companies today suffer from comparatively high fluctuation. Among other things, because many employees do not feel valued. Said appreciation does not necessarily have to be linked to a high salary.
In fact, a business trip in particular offers excellent opportunities to let a small or large “thank you” shine through. How about, for example, a voucher for a visit to a real Turkish hammam? Or with a city tour that helps you get to know the most beautiful cities in the region from a completely different side?
These and similar benefits are often perceived as special considerations that can ultimately help to increase employee satisfaction in the company in the long term.
Tip #4: Identify restaurants early for potential customers to visit
Turkish cuisine is characterized by many special highlights. But who actually said that it always has to be the customers or local business partners who choose the restaurants for business meals etc.? Sure: you have local knowledge and therefore know exactly which location is on the way.
However, many also find it polite and a sign of interest if those who are going to visit the country are already thinking about being together there.
Nowadays, the Internet offers many different contact points that deal with questions such as “Where can I eat well in...?” Thanks to the reviews that are likely to be available in most cases, it is not necessary to make the appropriate selection completely blindly.
Tip No. 5: Check flight connections meticulously and compare them with each other
How comprehensive the results of a business trip will be depends, among other things, on the flight connections. A typical example: If you fly at midday and don't arrive until the evening, it will be difficult for you to use your arrival day for meetings. Here it is definitely worth asking yourself the question “Wouldn’t I rather fly early in the morning?” The same applies to the return flight. If this takes place comparatively late, it is also possible to use the day productively on site.
But be careful! Early outward and late return flights are usually a little more expensive in this combination. Here it is important to compare prices, for example with the help of the business travel agency mentioned above.
Tip No. 6: Rental car instead of public transport – or the other way around?
For many people, booking rental cars and business trips go hand in hand. How else would it be possible to get from A to B at the respective destination quickly and easily without losing a lot of time.
Especially if business travelers are heading to the larger cities in Turkey, it is worth using public transport (for example in the... Combination with taxi) to deal with.
This is often the cheaper option. Anyone who has ever made their way through some of Ankara's busy streets in a rental car knows that it can be quite relaxing to give up the wheel - in the truest sense of the word.
Tip No. 7: Change money in Germany (if possible).
In Turkey, people pay with Turkish lira. Accordingly, business travelers have to exchange money in order to be as flexible as possible on site. If you want to benefit from the lowest possible exchange rates, you should exchange at home in Germany. Experience has shown that the fees here are lower than in the destination country.
Of course, how much “on top” has to be paid always depends on the current daily exchange rate. If in doubt, it might be worth changing a little more money so that you don't have to find out when you get there that you're missing "a few lira" to pay the bill at the hotel or something similar.
Conclusion
Even though the Corona pandemic has of course shown that many details about projects etc. can be communicated by telephone from the classic (and still popular) office or have it clarified during a video conference: When it comes to discussing long-term contracts or finally getting to know each other in person “after all these years”, a business trip is necessary.
However, there is no reason to be skeptical about planning a stay in another country. Even if a lot has to be planned around flights, train connections, hotels and more, that doesn't mean that the whole thing has to turn into stress. On the contrary! If you know what to look out for and know the right places to go, you can sometimes make your work a lot easier. It can also be worthwhile to involve employees in order to ultimately ensure that everyone knows exactly what authorizations they have and what obligations they have.
