More companies are
employing risk management techniques to keep employees safe and secure during
business travel, especially to more dangerous destinations, according to a
recent AirPlus International survey. For example, 61 percent of 133 corporate
travel buyers in North America and Europe polled in June and July 2012 said
their organizations issue pre-trip advisories for high-risk areas. That was up
from 41 percent in a similar 2011 survey. At the same time, those indicating
that no safety and security components are included in corporate travel
policies declined to 16 percent from 19 percent last year.
Other practices that
grew in prevalence among the survey base were pre-trip approval for high-risk
areas (46 percent this year from 33 percent last year), standard procedures for
travel managers in case of travel disruption (46 percent, up from 40 percent)
and travel safety training (rising to 25 percent from 20 percent).
Other tactics in use
include standard procedures for travelers in case of travel disruption (45
percent, down from 49 percent last year) and travel conditions assessments
performed by travel managers (down a few percentage points to 45 percent).
When emergencies do
occur, 68 percent of represented organizations use traveler-tracking systems,
the most popular procedure among those listed in the survey.
Mobile Tech Cuts Both
Ways
"When it comes to
tracking travelers, the increase in mobile tools has been a double-edged sword,"
according to AirPlus. "Mobile technology makes it increasingly easy for
travelers to do an end-run around corporate booking systems, making traveler
tracking more difficult—a problem under the best of circumstances, but critical
in the event of an emergency. However, that same mobile technology can
facilitate the use of traveler-tracking systems."
Traveler tracking as an
emergency procedure was followed by applying an established companywide
emergency plan (in use at 51 percent of represented organizations), using a centralized
travel risk platform with consolidated global travel information (50 percent)
and relying on employees to proactively confirm their safety via an emergency
response system (33 percent). Three in 10 respondents noted that their
organizations implemented a special help desk for use in such situations.
Nearly a quarter of
those polled said they have no standard procedures for emergencies, which
instead are "managed on a case-by-case basis."
Meanwhile, when asked
which department within their organizations has "primary responsibility
for creating policy and overseeing traveler safety and security," 20
percent said the security department and 19 percent said the travel management
team. About 7 percent of respondents indicated human resources and 10 percent
answered "other." The most common response, accounting for 42
percent, was "a combination," which according to AirPlus "can
include some or all of the following: travel management, human resources,
security, a risk management department or committee, high-level executives,
finance, procurement and others."