International business travelers worry about terrorism and personal safety, but most incidents reported by travelers to their companies are related to medical and heath emergencies, experts said this month.
According to a survey by New York-based Ultramar Travel Management of 1,717 travelers who make more than five trips a year, there was a 25 percent increase last year in the number of reported incidents compared with 2005. The survey also found a 45 percent increase in the number of incidents resulting in death reported during 2006. Among 50 million trips made to developing countries last year, 8 percent had some sort of emergency, the poll found.
Peter Klebanow, CEO of Ultramar and worldwide chairman of GlobalStar (a travel management company network), said survey respondents named theft and terrorism as their greatest perceived threats, but reported that 40 percent of actual incidents were identified as medical- or health-related. Klebanow was participating here in a panel discussion on the role of the corporate travel department in business resiliency and risk management, during an Association of Corporate Travel Executives conference.
According to Ultramar's survey, 56 percent of respondents said they were aware of their company's preparedness plan in case of disaster or terrorism, and 43 percent had actually read the plan.
Mass health threats, such as the avian influenza pandemic, are fading from media headlines and public awareness as time passes without incident, but panelists said the question is not "if" a pandemic will strike, but rather "when" it will happen and how prepared companies are to handle it.
Paul Schnizler, senior manager of travel services, employee reimbursement and administration for Bedford, Mass.-based Mitre Corp., told Management.travelthat while his company may be well prepared for a pandemic, he needs to ensure his vendor partners also have contingency plans in place. Mitre is a not-for-profit developer of information technology services and systems engineering for U.S. government departments and agencies.
"One of the national sections of my individual department's plan is to identify all of our suppliers and our points of contact that we deal with so that we can reach out to them when we're having a situation," Schnizler said. "The question that I have yet to ask my suppliers is: 'What will they do in a crisis that interrupts their own operations?' "
While the company has a travel agency representative on site, Schnizler said a call center could support the travel department in case onsite operations cease. However, Mitre needs to understand back-up plans created by the TMC in case its call center halts operations, as well, he said.
With three to four major pandemics occurring in the past century alone, preparing for a major global health risk is a key part of Mitre's business continuity plans, said Jim Hallo, director of corporate security.
"We've dodged the bullet, so far, and people lose interest," Hallo said, adding that while personal security is foremost in travelers' minds, health issues are more complicated. When a pandemic occurs, travelers are at the mercy of local health institutions.
"The reaction by many governments is to isolate, to restrict either access or egress from the country," Hallo added. "One of the concerns in a pandemic is that not everyone shows symptoms, so you may be a carrier of the influenza but not demonstrate any symptoms."
Like other major emergencies that could affect business operations, a pandemic would require many employees to work from home, Hallo said. Mitre has met this need by equipping more than 80 percent of its employees with laptops and other remote equipment.
"Most of our investments have been to enhance the ability to work almost anywhere," Hallo said.
Jim Lennon, global travel leader for New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers, said his company holds regular drills to prepare employees for emergencies and review contingency plans. The travel department works with the company's security department to ensure employees are safe.
"Security brings it all together, but you need to have participation from everyone," Lennon said. "There's a lot involved in keeping the business going."
Lennon said PwC's travel department plays supportive roles during emergencies, helping identify where employees are and communicating advisories and other information to them. The ultimate authority on travel restrictions, though, is the corporate security department, he added. "You can't stop people from going to places; if they want to go around you, they can do it. Typically they don't, but it's always a possibility," Lennon said.
The PwC travel department holds a global planning call each month, and a security briefing is always on the agenda, he said. "It's typically pandemic-related," said Lennon.
At many companies, the security department is in charge of business resiliancy planning, but Mitre's Schnizler said the travel department plays an important role in miitigating risk through consolidating the number of travel suppliers.
"Imagine trying to support travelers when you're in crisis and you're in a company where everybody is allowed to book anything they want, wherever they want, however they want" Schnizler said. "There's a huge amount of benefit to having a managed travel program with key suppliers that have a global reach for you."