Even in our digital world, where status meetings can be conducted via the Internet from almost every corner of the globe, business travel is still essential to many companies. Whether it’s to pitch to prospects for new work, close deals or manage relationships with clients in another city or country – nothing replaces face-to-face interaction entirely, so it’s likely you or your employees will need to travel from time to time.
Luckily, technology has made things a whole lot easier when it comes to business travel, both from a managing your workload perspective, and for making your trip more enjoyable and productive. We’ve rounded up our top 5 apps that you can use to make your business trip as seamless and productive as possible:
Asana
Keeping on top of your (and your team’s) tasks is essential to make sure work is delivered on schedule, on budget and to high standards. Just like the desktop version of the tool, Asana’s mobile app helps you track projects and tasks from wherever you are – but because it’s on your phone or tablet, you can do this while on-the-go. Get off your flight, open it up, and see what task of yours is most pressing, plus which tasks you need to chase up your team members about. Use it to communicate with your team, track projects and monitor progress – even while you’re not physically in the office.
2.
Calm
Especially if you’re crossing time zones, travelling for work is downright exhausting – but this doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to let your productivity levels drop. This is where balancing your workload and meetings with a good amount of sleep and downtime is vital. After all, you can’t work at your best if you’re burnout or fall ill. Calm is a meditation and sleep aid app that helps you manage stress, monitor your moods and get good quality sleep, through a series of mediations, specially curated music, sleep stories and affirmations. Download the app on your phone and access a quick 10-minute meditation while you’re on the plane, for example, or to help you fall asleep in your hotel room after a busy day of meetings.
3.
Travelit
Even the most organised among us can lose track of the various details of work trips, from flight bookings to hotel directions. Travelit is an online end-to-end travel management system developed by Seekers Travel to help companies with almost all aspects of business travel. It integrates with any system and is tailormade to fit each company’s travel policy controls, encouraging better travel savings. Businesses can make all bookings online through TravelIt and compare competitive pricing for flights, car hire providers, accommodation etc. When employees are on a trip, they can use the TraveIt app to access all travel related documents (like boarding passes and visas) in one place – no paper necessary. They can also use it to upload receipts on the go for seamless expense claiming, make changes to bookings and call the 24 hour customer care support line when the need arises.
4.
PackPoint
Some people are extremely good at packing, but most of us spend hours obsessing about whether we need an extra jersey, and then completely forget about packing toothpaste. Forget the old fashioned way of writing a list of what to pack on a slip of paper, or even in notes on your phone − PackPoint is an intelligent packing app that tells you exactly what you need to pack, based on a few key variables. These include the type of trip you’re taking (business or leisure), the trip length, the forecasted weather at your destination, and the activities you have planned. You can also share your list with your fellow travellers, and select things like “Repeat basics” if you’re happy to repeat wearing items (i.e. if you’ll have access to laundry).
5.
FlightAware
As much as you try and plan ahead, experiencing a travel delay or two these days is almost inevitable, especially if you travel frequently. Delayed flights can have a huge knock-on effect on the rest of your trip when it comes to catching a connecting flight, checking in at your hotel by a certain time, and attending that important meeting you’ve scheduled in your destination city. With the FlightAware app, you can track in real time the status of any flight, on any airline – worldwide. You can sign up for push notifications to receive notice of changes or delays to your flight, as well as changes to your gate, imminent weather, and where the plane is originating from. By being aware of delays early on, you can reschedule meetings, rearrange airport transfers and just reorganise your trip better, so that it gets back on track.
Thanks to the huge growth in mobile apps, travelling for work no longer needs to sap you of all physical energy, or take up a huge amount of mental space in terms of organisation. With the apps above loaded and ready to go, you can have a productive work trip that is less stressful, more enjoyable, and above all – that adds value to your organisation.
