Visiting other business’s premises or sending your employees to do so is often necessary in business. Perhaps you need to have a meeting with a client, check out a supplier, or assess a potential venue for an event. When either you or one of your employees is going to visit another business, there are some concerns you may want to address. They include things such as health and safety, and how you expect your employees to conduct themselves while visiting a client, supplier or business partner. If someone is about to go on a field trip to see another business, keep these things in mind.
Expectations for How to Behave
How you expect people to behave while visiting another business is one thing to consider. Of course, everyone should always be professional when on a business trip of any kind. But you might want to set specific rules, either for yourself or for any employees you’re sending or taking with you. You can start off by thinking about how people are expected to act in your workplace. However, you might have to adjust expectations to match the business you’re visiting. Is it more formal or more casual than your business? For example, a mechanic’s and a bank have very different atmospheres.
Staying Safe on Someone Else’s Premises
Health and safety is another important factor to think about. While you have control over health and safety on your own premises, you don’t on someone else’s. You need to be careful about any dangers that may be present. Make your expectations for health and safety known to the other business if you need to. If anything does happen, lawyers like Bill Easterly specialize in business premises cases. You might have a premises liability claim if someone is injured. However, you want to do your best to avoid that, so a risk assessment of visiting other premises could be a good idea.
Keeping in Touch
Keeping in touch with your main office or other premises while you’re on a trip elsewhere can be important too. You might be sending some employees out, and you want them to report back as soon as they can. Or maybe you’re going yourself, and you need to keep an eye on what’s happening back at the office. Taking a phone with you is the simplest solution, but a tablet could also be useful. You might also consider a video conference, so you can run your office and get in touch with the employees you have sent for a meeting.
Managing Expenses
Business trips, even if they’re just for a few hours, can incur expenses. If you send your employees to a meeting, they might need to pay for transport or lunch. You can ask them to keep their receipts so you can reimburse them. You can also find some expense tracking apps, which are useful for regular trips. You might want to set a limit on how much your employees can claim.
Before visiting another business, take all these important points into account. They will help you keep everyone safe and protect your business image.