Against a backdrop of changing government, legislation, and policies, business travel is firmly continuing its upward trajectory. As airline capacity and hotel occupancy grows, business owners remain committed to investing in business travel to build a broader understanding of domestic and foreign markets and gain that all important competitive edge. A recent survey by Business Travel Show Europe which highlighted that whilst over half – 57 per cent – of travel managers do provide traveller safety training, over a third – 34% – stated they don’t. More certainly can be done. Whether your company has a dedicated travel manager, partners with a travel management company, or relies on administrative staff for bookings, HR professionals play a crucial role in ensuring traveller safety and implementing risk management that are fit for purpose.
Understanding travel risks and duty of care
Today’s global landscape presents numerous challenges. From larger scale natural disasters, geopolitical and civil unrest, through to policy changes, and new travel regulations – such as Brexit-related policies and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) requirements. Alongside perhaps more commonplace issues like travel delays and cancelled flights, all are cause for traveller safety concern and can often fall under the remit of HR.
Suzanne Sangiovese, Travel and Technology Director at travel risk intelligence platform Riskline explains, “HR often finds itself responsible for travel, either alone or as part of a broader team managing the function. That means they need to stay on top of traveller risk and duty of care, ensuring employees have the right support before, during and after a trip.” Sangiovese goes on to outline how best to effectively manage travel risk, “Key considerations in an effective travel risk management programme include understanding destination risks, knowing company policies on emergency response and ensuring employees have access to 24/7 assistance.” She adds, “It’s also critical that HR professionals can locate travellers in real-time, communicate safety protocols clearly, and align with legal compliance requirements.”
Practical safety measures for HR teams
Reassuringly there are several steps HR professionals can take to improve traveller safety and better manage the risks that can come with travelling for work. These include:
1. Regular training for both travel programme managers and travellers themselves to ensure all employees and leadership team clearly understand what the risks are and the measures in place to safeguard against them. Ensure comprehensive briefings on destination-specific risks and safety protocols form part of this training.
2. Establish strong pre-trip approval processes to assess potential risks before travel begins and a qualified assessment of how to travel safely is undertake. These include researching destinations and routes to identify potential threats.
3. Invest in comprehensive travel insurance that covers medical emergencies, evacuations, and other potential crises and ensure policies are reviewed regularly.
4. Partner with travel risk management specialists who can provide expertise and critical emergency response services if needed.
5. Maintain open communication channels with travellers throughout their journey.
6. Consider investing in traveller tracking technology to keep an exact eye on employee locations in the event of an emergency and also access live updates on any potential or emerging threats for example political unrest or environmental disruptions.
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