Future impact of Covid on business travel/on-site consulting projects
This was a side discussion on another thread but thought I'd open it up as it's an interesting one.
With all of us adapting to the new reality of remote working, and the technological improvements that have enabled this, what do you think this means for the future of business travel in general and in particular, on-site consulting projects?
Prior to Covid-19, business travel was seeing pretty significant growth vs the early 2010s. However, with companies being hit hard by the pandemic, do you think we'll see that growth slow significantly due to:
- Internal T&E budgets being slashed - surely this will be the one of the first areas to cut costs internally, especially if people can conduct meetings remotely
- Reduced client budgets - will they be less willing to pay for an analyst/consultant to be on site from Monday-Thursday for x months? Or will external consulting expertise be needed more than ever
- Projects drying up, therefore less travel?
Just a few thoughts, possibly a bit alarmist! Keen to hear your thoughts, especially senior people who are going to be making these kinds of decisions over the next few months
for us, a lot of these aspects are a reality.
1st internal announcement (in February) - no fly-in events - no discretionary spend, unless signed off by MD - no expenses for clients flying in (air fare)
2nd email (March) - no travel at all, for anyone - no spend at all - no catering at all - all meetings virtual were possible (we have Tandberg systems and MSFT Teams)
now: - all non-essential suppliers (including MC) cut - no spend at all, not even a coffee
Going forward: - no business travel until it is safe to do so, which might be a while - no external staff, unless signed off by someone senior (not clear who)
that makes sense for what has happened up until now and for the short term future
going forward, once it is safe to do so, i'm hoping it goes back to normal and we don't just rely on virtual meetings, just because they are an option
e.g. for a competitive bid, I'm sure the one who maintains the in-person relationship with the client will have a significant advantage over other shops
question remains if wounded companies will want to pay for consultants to be on-site for 6 months once things have settled down. paying high fees for people who are working remotely seems like a bit of a risk..
I spent two years on the consulting side and have spent a fair amount of time thinking about this as well. Mainly thinking about if I am better off in banking v. consulting. Hard to say.
I saw one of those click bait articles on linkedin the other day. Title: “75% of CEOs surveyed said that 5% (or more) of their previously non-wfh will remain WFH permanently” (rough quote).
Let’s assume this is true. I would have to imagine some of this 5% would include consultants. Although I do see the face time angle that consultants like to use as a counter to this. Plus, If I was a CEO, I would want to see my high $$ consultants roaming around on site vs. wfh. TBD on the impact.
In my mind, like most industries, the consulting world is in for some change. I would say somewhere between the doomsday predictions of a dried up pipeline with zero travel and the rose colored glasses view that “everything will be fine” to help us sleep at night.
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