Helping Employees with Foreign Assignments: What Are Your Best Travel Planning Tips?

Hello all,

I have been given an assignment to help employees who are sent for official purposes on foreign assignments. Please provide your inputs on the same.

Thanks and Regards,
Mohit

Foreign travel assignments

Foreign travel involves the purpose of travel, such as attending a conference, meeting, or training. For conferences and training sessions, there may be payments required to the organizer. This is followed by arranging travel details like visas, tickets, hotel stays, etc. In cases where significant amounts are involved, the employee may need to sign a bond, especially after a major training, committing to work for the company for a specific period. This ensures that the knowledge gained during the trip is utilized within the company. This summarizes the essence of a foreign travel assignment.

Best wishes

Besides what the learned member above has mentioned, it is important to brief the member about the dos and don'ts in a foreign nation, including customs rules, to ensure that your company's official visitor does not unwittingly get into trouble for unknowingly violating rules. Etiquette towards women, officials, etc., can be found out and communicated to the traveling official.

Thank you.

I did not purposely indicate the etiquette aspect of travel as the person who posed the query seems to be too junior or too young to know about these aspects. There are a lot of DOs and DON'Ts in respect of cultural etiquette, dining etiquette, meeting etiquette, and also shopping etiquette applicable to different countries. The topic is quite vast and wide, and I have attempted to give him a brief intro into Phase I of his requirement! I feel it is the responsibility of the traveler himself to get apprised of these aspects well in advance!

Best wishes

Sundaram Sir, I raised this point because many of our travelers go abroad and fall afoul of laws or etiquette, bringing a bad name to us. Some of our travelers violate laws unknowingly but think the police can be managed there and get into further trouble.

Useful Links for Reference

Here are some useful links for reference:
- [Indian Gestures](https://www.scoopwhoop.com/world/indian-gestures/#.y15b185ei)
- [Journalists Caught Stealing Cutlery](https://www.scoopwhoop.com/journos-caught-stealing-cutlery/?ref=latest&utm_source=home_latest&amp ;amp;amp;utm_medium=desktop#.ddcbwmc9m)

Therefore, it is better to brief people going abroad, especially if it is their first time. For instance, a list of common drugs that are over-the-counter in India but can be objected to in some countries is a good example.

I fully appreciate your views. No two opinions about it. Considering the way in which the person posed the query, I had my own doubts about the intent of the query!

I conduct training on cross-cultural communication barriers in doing successful business. As you rightly said, it is the duty of the organization to brief the traveler on these aspects, especially first-timers.

I have myself traveled to Singapore, Malaysia, and also Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Muscat, etc. In fact, I am in Doha, Qatar for the second time in four months, and this time I will be there for one full month. It is a challenge to accept the cultures of other countries and mingle with them properly, respecting their sentiments and feelings!

Best wishes