Cos cautious about travel

Cos cautious about travel
CHENNAI: First came the slowdown and then came the swine flu. If the slowdown forced companies to look at their projects and rework their plans,
the flu has not managed to cause much disruption among companies and staff travelling abroad on business.

With more people returning from the US testing positive for the H1N1, Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has urged Indians to avoid travelling abroad till the flu is brought under control. However, business cannot thrive if companies put off meetings abroad or sending their employees overseas to execute projects, especially in tough economic conditions.

With more than $38 billion dollars worth of projects in the IT industry coming from abroad, a majority of IT companies in India have their staff travelling to and fro the US and other countries on a daily basis. With the breakout of the flu, most companies had already issued internal advisories to their employees asking them to take precautions while travelling. Any disruptions in client meetings or essential work being put off could mean even losing out on projects or potential business opportunities.

A Cognizant spokesperson told The Times of India, "Our associates are continuing to undertake essential travel. We have advised them to defer travel in case they develop cold, cough and fever on the day of travel, as passenger screening at various airports may affect their travel schedules. They have also been advised to check with customer teams for local updates before undertaking or deferring travel to affected destinations. Besides, we have shared with them elaborate information about the causes and symptoms of the flu and the recommended health practices to be observed in order to ensure protection."

An employee of an IT company, who returned from the US last month, said business is as usual and people are still undertaking travel. "But a majority of people who travel to and fro Mexico and the US are the ones who are screened. In case, if they have symptoms of cold or cough, they are being advised to take care of themselves and return to work after that," the employee, who did not wish to be named, said.

In fact, two government officials, a joint secretary and an executive director, along with an industry leader left for Italy on Tuesday night on an official visit. "US is the main affected country. But still we will still be taking precautions. These kind of travel plans are unavoidable, whether the flu is there or not," the businessman said.

One trend that is also beginning to emerge across a cross section of the Indian industry is the use of video conferencing and telepresence. A study by Evalueserve, a research company, points out that companies on an average spend $13,600 on travel costs per employee for four trips per year.

"Companies started looking at their cash outflows when the slowdown began and many of them began to cut down on travel costs. After this flu scare began, companies which already have a telepresence and video conferencing set up, are beginning to use them and reduce on site presence of employees. Quite a few companies are saying that if a job or a meeting is not critical for an employee to be present on site, then they are advising them not to travel," Atanu Ghosh, group manager, Evalueserve said.

While companies are focussed on keeping their businesses intact, they are also ensuring that their employees are not being exposed to the threat of contracting the H1N1 flu.