Section B
Establishing An Office
Too often we assume that the work will be performed in the familiar environment of our company's main office. However, we may have to find space in a subsidiary office where the facilities are not as comprehensive as we are used to. In the ultimate situation you may have to rent office space and start from scratch, possibly in a foreign location.
1.1
Begin any set‐up operation as early as possible. You might even take a risk and begin looking at locations and premises before the contract has been signed.
1.2
Establish a clear policy and strategy for the remote office, ensuring that everyone is clear about its terms of reference. Establish a budget for its operation.
1.3
If you are in a foreign location, employ experienced and professional consultants: in particular for taxation, accounting, and legal matters, not forgetting translation services.
1.3.1
Your home office people should have their own advisors with your home country professionals, and they should be able to use their contacts to recommend people you can use.
1.3.2
If you really are on your own, talk to your embassy or consulate and local business people to get recommendations. Go and interview half a dozen, get references, and check them out.
1.4
In theory you should register your presence with your embassy or consulate, so that they can be of assistance should there be any civil unrest. Remember your project is likely to be high profile and could be the focus of any rioting and so on. Keep in touch with them and follow their advice.
1.4.1
However, despite the above statement, do not rely on the embassy to be of any real help in time of trouble. The British Embassy wasn't, initially, to the British expatriates at the time of the first Gulf war.
1.5
In case of emergency, take guidance from the most senior company representative in the area.
1.6
Establish a detailed emergency evacuation plan. Get it approved by the right people in the home office. Be conscious of the fact that a particular job title may not make them competent in an emergency. You should be prepared to use the hidden talents of even the most junior people.
1.7
Choose your staff carefully. Your success is going to depend on them. Despite this, as the project manager, you may not be able to choose all of the expatriates. Make sure you have a right of veto on those you regard as unsuitable. For example, try not to suffer from the following communication: “Jo Brown is proposed as X job title; he has a bit of a drink problem.” The response was: “So don't send him!” To which the reply was received, “I'm afraid it's too late; he is already on the aeroplane.” The individual was sent back on the next available flight!
1.8
Make sure that the various office functions are managed by the respective home office functional managers. Ensure that they fully discharge their responsibilities by arranging regular audits, reviews, and management meetings in advance.
1.9
In setting up a branch office in your home country, you have an opportunity to lay out the office (subject to its physical constraints) in a manner that suits the workflow. You do not have to follow the conventions of your home office.
1.10
To reduce the possibility of fraud, adopt the mainland European convention and insist that two signatures are required on contracts and cheques and so on.