Navigating Work and Travel: Insights from Heiko’s Global Training Journey
In today’s interconnected business world, professionals are often required to travel across borders to share expertise, support teams, and streamline operations. Yet, the whirlwind of work trips often comes with a steep personal cost. Heiko, a member of our Brida Community, recently returned from a series of work trips across Europe that reveal the complexities of balancing global business demands with personal well-being. His reflections offer valuable lessons on the human cost of constant travel, the challenges of cross-cultural work, and the importance of improving how teams collaborate across borders.
The Demands of Work Travel
Returning home after his tour, Heiko candidly shared, “The trip was okay, yeah. It was a lot of work, but it was okay. And as usual, when you are traveling, it’s not so easy to do your daily work.” Juggling travel with regular responsibilities had forced him to work through the weekend: “It was important for me to work on Saturday and Sunday because today we have to inform our customers that we will increase the prices on the first of January next year.” This simple statement sheds light on the often-overlooked human cost of travel—working late into the week just to stay afloat.
For many professionals, work travel can be exhilarating, offering opportunities to visit new places and engage with colleagues face-to-face. But as Heiko’s experience shows, it can also be draining. Traveling from Göteborg to London, then Warsaw, all within a matter of days, took a toll on Heiko’s energy and focus, a reality many of us can relate to. The need to balance the excitement of visiting new cities with the grind of keeping up with daily tasks while away from home is no small feat.
Cross-Cultural Work Practices: Learning to Adapt
Beyond the exhaustion, Heiko’s travels opened his eyes to the differences in how his colleagues across Europe approach their work. In Göteborg and London, Heiko led training sessions on Power BI, a tool that had not been widely used in those offices. Surprisingly, it took only a short introduction for the teams to catch on. “After, let’s say, one hour, they were ready to do it,” Heiko said. His colleagues quickly realized the simplicity and effectiveness of the tool, which made the training a success.
However, the trip revealed deeper differences in work practices across teams. When discussing the way different teams managed customer data, Heiko noted that while teams in Germany use the field “known as” to identify customers, the UK team relies on the “segment” field, and the Swedish team prefers “customer name.” This seemingly small difference in approach can cause confusion when teams try to share reports or compare data across regions. “That’s completely different,” Heiko remarked. “And what is also important is that the finance guys are using a different kind of segmentation for customers.” These differences point to the importance of finding common ground across teams to avoid inefficiencies.
Culture Differences or Historical Habits?
Interestingly, Heiko believes these discrepancies in data management are not necessarily cultural but rather stem from historical decisions made by different regional managers. He explains, “Somebody in that area decided that it’s the best way for him to use a field—‘known as,’ for example—and another sales area or another sales director decided to use another field. And nobody from the management said at the beginning, ‘Hey guys, all of you have to use this field.’” This insight highlights the importance of management establishing clear guidelines from the outset to ensure consistency across regions. In today’s globalized world, clear and unified systems are essential for smooth collaboration.
Streamlining Data for the Future
One of Heiko’s key takeaways from his trip was the need for greater consistency in how customer data is managed across teams. He emphasizes that using different fields for the same data can create unnecessary complications, particularly when preparing monthly or financial reports. “If you are preparing a monthly report or a finance report… it’s not so easy to switch from one field to the other field. That’s the main problem,” he explained. For Heiko, streamlining this process is crucial to avoid errors and ensure that all teams are aligned.
Communication and Human Connection
Despite the challenges of navigating different systems and approaches, Heiko’s travels also offered valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues in ways that go beyond virtual meetings. While he initially suggested that training could be done via Teams to save time and money, his in-person meetings provided an unexpected benefit. “Now that you’ve met these people in three dimensions, you’ve sat down, you’ve spoken with each other, you’ve had a coffee together—how has that laid a foundation for staying more in personal contact in the future?” asked Frank, the interviewer. Heiko’s response was pragmatic, acknowledging that future contact might be limited to specific questions about Power BI. Yet, there is no denying the value of those face-to-face connections, even if they don’t lead to daily interaction.
A Different Sales Culture
One of the most striking differences Heiko observed on his trip was the variation in sales strategies across countries. In the UK, Heiko noted that his colleagues are much more “direct sellers,” frequently visiting companies and production sites to make their sales. In contrast, his team in Germany focuses more on preparing distributors and ensuring that all products are correctly catalogued and presented. This difference in sales culture highlights how local markets shape the way teams approach their work. Heiko’s observation that “the guys in the UK do their business in a completely different way” is a reminder of the diversity that exists within global companies, even when everyone is working towards the same goal.
The Human Cost of Work Travel
Finally, Heiko’s trip underscores the hidden human cost of constant travel. It’s not just about the physical exhaustion of being on the road but the mental load of juggling multiple responsibilities. The need to catch up on work over the weekend and the lack of time for personal rest are burdens that many professionals face. While work travel offers many rewards, it also comes with a price—one that we should all be mindful of when planning our schedules and supporting our colleagues.
As Heiko’s experience shows, the world of work is full of differences—in approaches, cultures, and expectations. But with careful planning, clear communication, and an awareness of the personal toll that travel can take, we can navigate these challenges and come out stronger on the other side.
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Listen to Claire and Sam discuss Heiko’s article in the Brida Deep Dive. Click on the image below.
