Many large organizations fret more over travel costs than traveler security, neglect safety considerations when holding events, don't train employees traveling to high-risk locales and generally don't fulfill duty of care obligations, according to travel assistance firm International SOS and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. They based their conclusions on a recent survey measuring traveler safety within managed travel programs and found that more work is needed on risk management policies.
"Business travel continues to increase in range and frequency, with the need by multinationals and small midsized businesses alike to seek new markets, lower production costs and raw materials in ever more remote and unfamiliar places," according to the research report. "By not having a policy that covers these countries, companies may actually be hindering their own growth potential and running the risk of losing market share or competitiveness."
The July survey collected responses from 161 ACTE members. Roughly half were corporate travel managers/buyers and the others were from human resources, security, risk, operations and administration departments. Seventy percent came from Fortune500 organizations "with a regional office or a presence" in the Asia Pacific region. The rest represented companies with "an established presence" in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and/or Taiwan.
Among all respondents, 18 percent of travel on average is to such "moderate" risk locations as Bangladesh, Cameroon and India. About 8 percent on average is to "high" or "extreme" risk locations, including Algeria, Iraq and Pakistan.
In those countries and elsewhere, the list of risks is long. Among many others, the report cited civil and political unrest, terrorism, kidnapping, violent crimes, organized crime, diseases, air pollution, natural disasters and adverse weather, poor road conditions, hotel safety, visa and passport challenges, and "cultural estrangement."
Citing duty of care considerations, authors wrote that "employers are expected to take practical steps to safeguard against such threats."
Travel Security Measures
Among all respondents, 42 percent said HR has oversight of traveler safety/security, 23 percent indicated the security department and 15 percent indicated the travel management area. Almost 60 percent answered that traveler safety and security is "most important to the firm," while 26 percent answered "travel expense management." About seven in 10 said their organizations have a travel policy "designed around" traveler safety and security.
But fewer than half of the respondents indicated their organizations regularly assess travel conditions in high-risk areas (49 percent), use an approvals process for travel to those areas (42 percent), engage third parties to assist international travelers (48 percent) or provide pre-trip advisories (32 percent). Even fewer provide security escorts in dangerous locations (22 percent), require traveler health screening (21 percent) or conduct travel safety training (11 percent).
"Although risk management overall is high on the agenda," according to the report, survey findings suggest organizations are "more focused on intent versus implementation, and prevention versus response."
In the meetings area, 77 percent of respondents said their organizations consider safety and security risks when planning events. Fifteen percent didn't know. Among the 77 percent, 35 percent indicated they conduct a medical and security risk assessment using in-house expertise, 26 percent said they use external parties and 26 percent said they seek support from local authorities.
The report noted that oftentimes "the event rather than the destination is an important consideration." It cited protests at World Trade Organization meetings "irrespective of the location."
Suggestions
ACTE and International SOS advocated for travel departments to become more involved in crisis management planning and to become more proactive on travel safety and security. "Policies or travel budgets tend to be based on historical data rather than future events, and when a major event knocks everything sideways (such as a volcanic eruption or pandemic), these companies are unable to adapt," they wrote. "Companies need to take a close look at how many people are actually involved in the travel aspect and who is responsible when an incident occurs."
Organizations also should provide employees traveling to unfamiliar or risky locations with safety training; information on emergency contacts, medical facilities, food and water safety and local holiday dates; and updates on weather conditions, protests and transport interruptions, according to the report.