Category: Business Insights

New changes are happening all over the world — from adopting new business processes to nurturing social movements to adjusting to the global pandemic. And the much-talked-about Brexit deal is one of these major changes. Curious about what Brexit means for businesses in the UK and EU? In this article, we look at the different business-related areas that will feel the impacts of the new Brexit deal.

How is Brexit Affecting Business in the EU and UK

Companies and business owners across the EU and UK are worried about Brexit and business continuity. As the transition period comes to an end, many businesses in Britain and Europe are wondering, “how will Brexit affect my business?” From business travel to communication to new customs regulations, there are many ways the Brexit deal can impact your business processes. In this post, we discuss how Brexit will affect:

• Business Travel
• Working and Studying Abroad (Work Visas, Education, and Erasmus)
• Impact on Trade (Customs, Supply Chain, VAT Regime)
• Mobile Roaming and Calling Charges
• Online Services

Let’s get into the different ways that Brexit may affect businesses in the EU and United Kingdom.

1. Business Travel

One of the main areas that the new Brexit deal affects EU and UK companies is in regards to the new restrictions on business travel. Individuals traveling for work from the EU to the UK and vice versa have new regulations to keep in mind.

British travelers will face restrictions on their passports. For example, British travelers will need at least 6 months left on their passports to travel to the EU. While these travelers don’t need a visa to enter the EU, they will need travel authorization. At immigration, they may be questioned about the duration of their stay, returned bookings, financing plans, and so on. Conversely, national ID cards are no longer valid for European travelers entering Britain, except for particular cases. And EU travelers will need to go through customs checks at UK airports.

Other changes:

1. Additionally, duty-free shopping will continue. However, there will be new allowances for the quantity of goods you can bring back to the United Kingdom.
2. There is also a new set of rules and regulations to follow when driving abroad. UK licenses will no longer be recognized as the same as the EU. And British drivers driving in the EU may require an international driving permit.
3. The EU will lose access to professional service providers (doctors, veterinarians, engineers, architects, etc.) from the UK. These professions will not be automatically recognized in Europe. And UK professionals with these qualifications will have to jump through regulations to get recognized.
4. Financial services will also be affected. UK-registered and regulated banks have announced (and started making) plans to close accounts of citizens residing in the EU or EU economic area.

2. Working and Studying Abroad

With the new Brexit deal, working and studying abroad (between the UK and EU) has become more complicated. Since the Four Freedoms of the EU — freedom of movement of goods, capital, persons, and services — no longer apply to British citizens, they do not benefit from visa-less employment and education within the EU.

Work Visas

The UK will issue a new points-based immigration system that treats EU & non-EU citizens the same. With this new system, travelers from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland can travel to the UK for short trips without a visa. However, longer stays and employment will require an application under the new points-based system. As explained in TLDR News’ video on how Brexit will affect work visas, the points-based system requires applicants to accumulate a minimum of 70 points. Out of the 70 points, individuals applying must have a job offer (20 points), demonstrate a high skill level (20 points), and speak English (10 points) — these are mandatory. The remaining 20 points can be achieved through the other criteria as listed by the government.

Education and Erasmus

To study in any of the European countries, British citizens will require a visa from particular EU countries, if their courses run longer than 3 months. Additionally, they will no longer qualify for domestic fees when studying abroad. All of this makes going abroad for education more expensive.

Furthermore, British universities will no longer participate in the Erasmus program. This means that European students won’t be able to study temporarily in the UK through the program. And students who still want to pursue higher education in the UK will have to apply through the new points-based immigration system and deal with higher international fees.

3. Impact on Trade

While Britain was part of the EU, companies could buy and sell goods across EU borders without paying taxes. Additionally, there were no limits on the amount of items that could be traded. However, with the Brexit deal, a few changes come into effect:

Customs/Border Tariffs

Since exiting the EU Customs Union, Great Britain will longer enjoy the benefits of free trade, making the movement of goods across the EU and UK more difficult. Now, British importers and exporters (trading with Europe) are considered non-residents. Because of this, goods moving between the UK and EU now require customs declarations. However, these goods will not be subject to tariffs.

On the other hand, businesses that used to face competition from overseas (EU) companies will enjoy a competitive advantage. This is because UK customers will have to choose between expensive imports and cheaper domestic products.

Supply Chain

Businesses can expect delays in their supply chain, including shipping and deliveries, due to border checks and queues. It is expected that the “EU would immediately implement tough new checks on agri-food products, with no grace period.” This is not good news for perishable goods as they may get caught up in these checks and queues.

VAT Regime

UK will no longer be bound by the EU’s VAT regime. As a result, importers and customers receiving goods from the EU will be subject to VAT for imports. The British government might decide to change the system, including making new goods 0% VAT-rated. However, what exactly will happen in the UK related to the VAT regime is still not concretely decided.

4. Mobile Roaming and Calling Charges

Many are wondering if Brexit will bring roaming charges back to businesses and customers. More specifically, will Brexit mean that phone calls between the EU and UK are considered international?

While part of the EU, British phone carriers were subject to EU phone laws. Through these laws, people could call, text, and use data on the same terms in the United Kingdom and across Europe. In other words, they could use their data at no extra fees, even when within the EU. Unfortunately, these laws no longer apply to UK phone carriers. And carriers are not legally required to offer the same rates as they did before.

As of December 2020, Vodafone confirmed that they had no plans to bring back roaming charges. Other major operators — O2, EE, 3 — haven’t publicly confirmed that they will increase calling rates.

If roaming charges are brought back, businesses in and outside of Britain and the EU can use virtual phone numbers as an alternative. For example, an EU company can get a UK phone number to connect with local customers in the UK without worrying about roaming or international charges.

5. Online Services

Lastly, when within the EU, there was a legal guarantee that the UK would have access to online services. However, this guarantee is no longer valid. Individual providers will need to decide how to make adjustments and amend their provisions.

How Global Call Forwarding Can Help with Brexit

The Brexit deal has led to both victories and uncertainties for people of different sectors in the UK and EU societies. Global Call Forwarding can ease some of these concerns by providing businesses in the UK and EU with European virtual phone numbers to help transition more effectively. You can sign up for a virtual phone number or buy a toll-free UK number on our website. Or, speak with our global specialists at 1 (888) 908 6171 to get a better understanding of how we can support your business during this change.

Dealing with global customers is not always easy. Add to this, cultural differences, language barriers, and cultural nuances, and you have yourself a messy situation. However, you can prepare better so that you navigate these differences professionally and develop valuable relationships. Follow the appropriate international phone etiquette when conducting business interactions with international customers and clients.

What is Proper International Phone Etiquette?

When working with global customers and clients, you will have to have in-person, phone, and video conversations to move forward or close deals. Oftentimes, people are so used to doing business within their country or locally that they may be unaware of international business conventions.

International phone etiquette is the awareness of the differences and subtleties between various countries and regions and how to navigate these differences in order to communicate effectively.

How to Communicate Well with International Customers

So, what factors of international communication do you need to keep in mind when connecting with global customers? Here are some key elements to pay attention to:

1. Respect their Titles
When conducting business interactions, make sure you are aware of local conventions for addressing your attendees. Different countries have different cultural conventions for addressing one another. For example, in the US, using words such as “guys” may be common during business meetings. However, in countries like Japan and Germany, conventions are different: In Japan, it is polite to address someone by their first name, followed by “san.” On the other hand, in Germany, first names are not preferred. Instead, people are addressed by Herr/Frau followed by their last name. Being aware of these nuances can help you develop demonstrate respect and stronger relationships.

2. Listen Carefully and Actively
When dealing with international clients and business partners, a common challenge is understanding and interpreting accents. A second challenge is misunderstanding cultural references. To counter this issue, listen actively and carefully and when needed, ask for clarification. This is an important part of international phone etiquette. Furthermore, be clear in your own pronunciation and diction; speak slowly and clearly. If required, rephrase your sentence for better clarity and to avoid misunderstandings.

3. Don’t Use Slang
Avoid local and cultural slang, colloquialisms, or references as this may not work in an international setting. You will end up leaving your business partners or clients confused and they may see this as a sign of informality. In some cases, you may even offend some one. Awareness is required to identify and steer away from slang terms, phrases, and buzzwords.

4. Avoid Frustrations and Talking Down
Lastly, be careful when toeing the line of speaking clearly and dumbing down your words and sentences. You may run the risk of offending someone and sounding rude and patronizing. Be patient and focus on the common goal of communicating effectively.

Why is it Important to Practice Phone Etiquette?

Being aware of and practicing international phone etiquette can go a long way in securing essential deals and developing significant relationships. For many companies and clients, conducting business via phone and video conversations is a new shift.

In fact, some may still be apprehensive of closing deals without face-to-face interaction. If you do not show respect during phone conversations or are unaware of international business conventions, you may lose a valuable business relationship. And so, practicing phone etiquette can help you ease any discomfort and hesitancy.

The Do’s and Don’t of International Phone Etiquette

Below, we will look at the Do’s and Don’ts of international business phone etiquette for the following countries:

• Australia
• Mexico
• Brazil
• Russia
• China
• South Africa
• France
• Spain
• Germany
• UAE
• India
• UK
• Italy
• USA
• Japan

Invest in the Right Tools for International Communication

Global Call Forwarding can support your international communication efforts with our international toll free numbers. You can sign up online or speak with our global specialists by calling 1 (888) 908 6171.

As more and more companies expand globally and source employees from around the world, working in different time zones is becoming increasingly common. Working with clients and employees in different time zones can be a challenge. It also requires making some changes to the way you think about conducting business. If you’re new to international business, this may take some time to get used to, especially when it comes to remembering everyone’s current time zone. Here are some tips and tools to help.

Benefits of Working in Different Time Zones

Multinational companies and large enterprises often have office bases in more than one country or location. This helps them grow their geographic coverage and sell to more customers across the globe. Even small businesses are trying to break out of geographical boundaries and increase international sales. So, why work across multiple time zones? Here are some benefits of expanding your company and working in different time zones:

• Grow as an international business.
• Establish a local presence for your business in multiple locations.
• Improve business awareness and visibility.
• Make it easy for global customers to connect with your business for sales or assistance.
• Adopt a Follow the Sun model for global customer support.

Tools for Working in Different Time Zones

There are many services and tools available to make it easy for businesses to work across time zones and countries. These services and tools help improve communication, productivity, and collaboration:

• Call forwarding and time-based routing to route customer calls coming from across the time zones.
• Time zone trackers (more on this below) to be aware of different time zones.
• Virtual voice and video communication tools to communicate effectively.
• Project management software to track projects and tasks and support team collaboration.
• Customer relationship management systems (CRMs) to keep track of customer information.

Besides using these tools and services, what can your business and teams do to make working in different time zones easier?

Working in Multiple Time Zones: Best Practices

Let’s looks at the best practices you and your teams should pay attention to when working across different time zones and dealing with global customers:

1. Mind the Time

Make the most of the clock features on your mobile phone or tablet. If you have employees or clients in multiple geographic locations, set up a world clock for each of them so you can see at a glance what the time is wherever they are.

2. Set Time Zone Boundaries

Each time you begin working with a new employee or client in a different time zone, discuss issues that may arise because of time differences. This is particularly important when arranging meetings, setting deadlines, and any other time-sensitive communications. You will need to decide whether to book the dates and times in your zone or theirs.

3. Be Considerate Of Time Differences

If you’re working with clients or employees in a time zone that is very different from yours, show some consideration. Don’t book meetings or set deadlines that are very early in the morning in their time zone unless they specifically request that. Bear the same thing in mind when you are texting or calling people.

4. Keep Communication Channels Open

If you are rarely going to meet with your clients or employees in person, it’s important to maintain regular communication. Otherwise, they will begin to feel left out of the loop. Schedule a Skype or Facetime call now and again so that your communications don’t become too depersonalized.

5. Offer 24/7 Customer Support

If you own an online company and provide products, services, or both and your reach is global, your customers will need 24/7 access to your customer service team. If you’re a small business and don’t have a call center, an easy and affordable way to get around is with international call forwarding. You can give your customers virtual, toll-free international numbers that are local to them, and the calls will be forwarded to the number of your choice at various times of the day.

Related: 5 Ways to Leverage Time-Based Routing for Global Expansion

6. Maintain Realistic Boundaries

Although it may be dinner time in your time zone, it might be breakfast time in your client’s region. Although you may be gung-ho about working 24-7, not everyone else can handle that kind of rigor, especially if they are part of a different culture. Remember that your employees and clients may have family responsibilities, and it is important to be reasonable with your expectations.

Tools for Managing Time Zones

Here’s a rundown of some tools and apps that can help you manage time zone differences.

World Clock Meeting Planner: Things can get tricky when you’re trying to schedule a meeting with three different people, each of whom is located in a different time zone. But it doesn’t have to get too confusing. This tool will let you pick a date and plug in your location and the locations of your clients. The app will then generate a series of suggested times that may be feasible for your meeting. It even color-codes the times into sleeping, non-working, and working hours to clearly find a suitable time for everyone involved.

Spacetime.am: Slack has become one of the most popular cloud-based collaboration tools available today. If you are one of the 3 million users, you might want to add Slack bot Spacetime.am to benefit your whole team. Each member of your group can add their location and schedule their work hours so everyone can see who is available online, when, and for how long. This tool also allows you to arrange meetings and automatically adjust the time zone to suit each user.

World Time Buddy: This tool has a three-fold application; it converts world clocks and time zones and can schedule meetings. You can plug in numerous locations, and each time you revisit the site, they will load up. The neat color-coding system helps you keep track of business hours and where they sync.

Every Time Zone: If you’re looking for a tool that can keep track of your time zones with a pleasing and easy-to-use overlay, this is the one. Wherever in the world you and your clients are, Every Time Zone makes it easy to see the location and the time and how they correspond.

Time Zone Converter: When you need a simple tool that quickly converts the time across any time zone, this is a great choice. It’s a great app for people who are constantly making business trips all over the world.

24 Time Zones: This app’s colorful interactive world map makes it easy for users to see where in the world it’s time for business and where it is nighttime. Just click on a city to see the time there.

Time.is: Designed for time zone management, this tool displays the atomic clock, which can be set for any time zone in the world. Other useful graphics accompany the clock. It’s also a good app for telling if your computer’s clock is slightly off.

Time Zone Abbreviations: Are you familiar with AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time), CAT (Central Africa Time), and PYT (Paraguay Time)? Time zone abbreviations can be confusing, especially when you come across one you haven’t seen before. This tool provides a list of all of them, so you can easily look them up and avoid confusion. Now you won’t get mixed up between British Summer Time and Bangladesh Standard Time.

With more than 24 global times zones, it can be difficult to keep up with everyone if you’re conducting business internationally. Following these tips and using the suggested tools can help you keep your time under control.

North Korea has been in the news for many years for reasons that are far from positive. The country has remained in the spotlight due to the approach of the government toward international relations under Kim Jung Un’s rule.

Several issues such as the crisis between North and South Korea, the nuclear program and testing, and a gross violation of human rights and freedoms, have all been in the forefront of the country’s reputation.

There are necessities that are being enjoyed by the rest of the world, for example, public access to communication in North Korea, which are extremely monitored by the government. Another instance, as far as North Korea telecommunications is concerned, is in regards to the fact that international phone calls are illegal in North Korea. There is also a very strict regulation of any usage of technology in North Korea.

Why Are International Phone Calls Illegal In North Korea ?

The North Korean government holds the use of communication technology in the country with a very tight grip, especially to countries that are referred to as “enemies.” This was revealed in a report by Amnesty International.

North Korea has a popular mobile phone service which serves more than 3 million subscribers. But international phone calls are not permitted on this network as it is restricted to only local calls.

Only a select few citizens and foreigners are allowed access to the internet. However, some North Koreans have access to a closed-off network which can connect to only domestic websites and email services that are also closely monitored by the government.

Ordinary North Koreans are not allowed to use mobile phones to call members of their families who have defected as they risk being sent to detention camps or political prisons.

“Nothing can ever justify people being thrown in detention for trying to fulfill a basic human need – to connect with their family and friends” stated Arnold Fang, an East Asia Researcher at Amnesty International.

The restrictions by the North Korean Government on international phone calls as well as information coming from outside reveals the intimidation and oppression of the North Korean populace since Kim Jung Un became the leader in 2011.

Arnold Fang also states, “To maintain their absolute and systematic control, the North Korean authorities are striking back against people using mobile phones to contact family abroad.”

Several reports have affirmed that the North Korean government sees the absolute control of communication in the country as a weapon by which they can suppress the voices of the people. Their stance on international calls and communication technology is in a bid to obscure the realities and information about the extent of human rights violations in the country.

Most people who have fled the country often live in a constant state of fear due to not knowing the situation of their families. The inability to contact their loved ones leaves both parties in the dark about whether they are alive or dead, imprisoned or being investigated.  

How Do North Koreans Communicate With The Outside World?

Many North Koreans have relied on the booming private economy to gain access to smuggled clothing, food, and other goods from China. Along with this trend includes the smuggling of mobile phones and SIM cards. This practice is however not without great risks.

In a 2016 report by the New York Times, it was revealed that North Koreans have had to rely on smuggled-in mobile phones from China in order to connect to the rest of the world. People who live near the border with China are at an advantage as they can easily take advantage of some of China’s mobile networks to make international phone calls. For people in other areas, however, the ability to communicate with the outside world is much less easily done.

Government Crackdown on Illegal China Phones

Making calls at the border has become increasingly difficult to take advantage of as Kim Jung Un ordered that there be more measures put in place to prevent the exchange of information between North Korea and the outside world. This major government move has also cut down the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea from 2,914 in 2009 to about 1,276 last year (Source: New York Times).

The North Korean government strengthened the crackdown on mobile phones that are being smuggled in from China with measures such as deploying surveillance devices and more soldiers along the border. High tech devices that jam communication signals have been deployed and used to trace calls back to those who used the banned mobile phones. The level of risk involved is massive, and North Korea has no issue going to the most drastic measures possible to halt the ability of their nation to communicate with those beyond their country’s borders.

Arrests and Incarceration

There is always a high price to pay whenever someone gets caught making illegal international phone calls in North Korea using smuggled Chinese mobile phones. Those who get caught are often sent to reform facilities and prison camps. In some cases, they are made to pay a certain fee as a bribe, if they have connections to influential people. According to several interviews by amnesty international, it appears that bribery is the motive behind many arrests.

Being sent to a reform facility is usually seen as a better scenario as this means a person would spend only about a year or two. Many people have been released with the assistance of bribing. Political prison camps are seen as much worse cases because they carry a longer, harsher sentence.

For those willing to take the risk, creativity and ingenuity are used. Many North Koreans who have a need to make international phone calls often come up with methods to avoid detection. When making international phone calls, they make use of pseudonyms and kept their conversations very short. Sometimes they climb up remote mountains to prevent their calls from being jammed or from being spotted while making illegal international phone calls.

The High Price of Communication

The imminent desperation and need for communication with the outside world has given rise to middlemen who offer the service to those who do not own a Chinese mobile phone. These middlemen get paid to set up phone calls so that the communication can be executed. This style of broker system is also used by defectors to send money to their families in North Korea.

Generally, the cost for this service can be quite high. The middlemen can take up to 30% of every USD1000 cash transfer as commission. However, the downside is that there are no guarantees that the money will reach the recipients. This is due to the fact that security agents are always on a mission to intercept money transfers, whenever possible.

There are also cases where family members send Chinese mobile phones, SIM cards, and money by bribing border patrol agents. With an increasingly tightened border, the bribes also tend to increase in value, reaching as high as USD500 per instance.

Despite the difficulties and dangers involved, communication comes at a high price for North Koreans with the ability and need to gain access to it.