You’ve put a travel policy in place; you have oversight over your travel spend, and you’re making great savings thanks to your strong partnership with your travel management company. However, have you given any thought to travel risk management and the safety of your staff when they’re travelling on behalf of the business?
The volatile nature of the world as we know it means that unexpected threats to the safety, security and wellbeing of your staff can occur at any time. This may be as insignificant as a flight delay or unexpected illness, or a major catastrophe such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
At best, your organisation and staff’s productivity may be negatively impacted. At worst, your staff may be injured or under threat. Thankfully, the latter is rare, but your organisation and its directors have a duty of care obligation to your travelling staff to mitigate travel risk wherever possible so that the likelihood of your traveller being put in harm’s way is reduced.
Difference between travel risk management and duty of care
Difference between travel risk management is a proactive, comprehensive approach to dealing with travel risk to protect your organisation and its travelling staff. It comprises measures that mitigate the risk travellers may encounter when they’re travelling for business and outlines the steps that must be followed consistently to ensure that they are kept out of harm’s way.
The responsibility for devising a travel risk management plan lies with several stakeholders within the organisation, including, but not limited to: procurement, travel, human resources, legal and management.
Duty of care is a moral and legal requirement where the board of directors and executives of a company have a fiduciary responsibility to their employees, contractors and family members to maintain the security, safety and well-being of those employees when travelling for business.
As global travel increases, especially in emerging markets, companies are placing more emphasis on duty of care. Duty of care is not just the concern of companies with high-risk travel; it is a crucial component of any responsible business.
Why you need a professional TMC to help manage travel risks?
Corporate travel security is the responsibility of the entire organisation and its staff, and part of that responsibility is resolved by using an expert travel management company (TMC), which can assist you with understanding the risks associated with travel.
Your TMC should be able to assist you in analysing your travel programme to understand where your employees are travelling to, and who will help you ascertain which health and security precautions would be prudent based on the risks associated with a particular destination.
To assist you in drafting your risk management plan, simply download our 5 step essential guide to corporate travel risk management.