WHITE PAPER

Discover the best practices

in Travel Risk Management

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Discover the best practices to help keep your global
workforce safe

Today’s interconnected As a result, an employer’s ‘Duty of Care’ towards their

world and global personnel has become more complex and increasingly
economy means that topical. This is especially true when employees are working
increasing numbers of in remote or dangerous locations where local security and
employees are required medical facilities are likely to be substandard, ineffective or
to travel extensively completely lacking.
overseas, often for long
periods of time, to Employees working in less developed countries may find
multiple destinations and that the support networks they are used to just don’t exist.
frequently to very They may feel vulnerable and at risk when operating in
unfamiliar environments. areas where levels of crime are high or there is an elevated
risk of terrorism, governments are volatile or the operating
environment is challenging.

Ensuring the health, safety and security of employees when

working overseas is key to staff well-being and productivity
but it is also essential in the protection of the company’s
brand and reputation and is key to ongoing success.

To help you navigate the maze of Travel Risk Management

options available, we have put together a series of key ‘Best
Practices’ that, depending on the size and scope of your
organisation, should be implemented to provide you and
your employees with a robust support system to attend to
the myriad of issues facing today’s business traveller.

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Elements of a travel risk management programme:

The illustration above captures all of the elements that a robust Travel Risk Management
programme should contain, though not all organisations would require these resources to be
in house. Some elements may be present in other existing programs or attended to by third
party providers based on the size and scope of your organisation. Each element should be
assessed and mapped within your organisation’s Duty of Care programme.

We take a closer look at each element and what is considered best practice for most
organisations operating globally today.

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Medical Assistance and Security Support

Best Practice: Mobile employees should be provided with 24/7 access to experienced
medical and security resources, as well as travel assistance professionals. It is best
practice for your employees to have access to services on a global basis that meet the
health and safety standards of their home country. Management responsible for the
welfare of personnel must have access to actionable, real time security intelligence. This
information must be supported by 24/7 access to highly experienced security
professionals.

So, what does this mean? Well it means that your travelling employees should have direct
line access to critical care doctors, nurses and security support professionals in cases of
concern or crisis, regardless of location or time of day. More importantly, they should feel
confident that their call will be answered and managed to conclusion by professionals that
can escalate their needs accordingly without unnecessary delay. Finally, they should have
access to trusted sources of global support, centres of excellence and advice.

By providing access to appropriate 24/7 resources, employers are demonstrating an

investment in their human capital, protecting their brand and reputation, while also limiting
corporate liability.

Attending to medical and security situations often carries a greater sense of urgency,
however other travel issues such as lost or stolen travel documents, legal or language
support is equally as important to the wellbeing of the traveller and the success of the trip.
Through the proper provision of resources, employers can ensure that minor situations are
quickly dealt with and don’t impede on the traveller’s success. Again, these services should
be provided on a global basis in order to fulfil Duty of Care.

Along with the resources that are provided to the traveller, it is equally as important that
those charged with managing the safety of deployed personnel have instant access to more
granular security intelligence in near real time. This information helps managers and
business leaders to make more informed and strategic decisions concerning their travelling
workforce, especially in rapidly deteriorating environments. Additional threat and evacuation
reports should also be readily available should situations escalate.

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Pre-trip information

Best Practice: Global organisations should provide pro-active, relevant medical and security
information to their travellers and expatriates before they leave their home country. Pre-trip
advisories should be automatically provided to employees on booking their travel along with
additional information that is readily accessible via links to a customised travel website or
‘portal’.

In today’s ‘mobile’ world it is important that the information provided is customisable in both
depth of content and how a traveller wishes to consume it. By providing relevant and
actionable information that is easily accessible, employers can raise the level of awareness
and mitigate many of the risks.

As we are never too far away from our mobile devices, content rich apps fulfil many of the
needs of today’s traveller. Content available can and should include information such as
prevailing medical risks and required vaccinations through to recent and ongoing travel alerts
and warnings pertinent to developing issues, crime or natural hazards that could impact the
traveller.

Training / E-Learning

Best Practice: Global organisations should provide travel security training to their travellers
and expatriate personnel as part of a certification process to ensure that they are aware of
the risks they could face and are equipped to deal with them.

Training today should be seen as more than just an orientation exercise – security incidents
can happen anytime, anywhere. Providing travellers with the most up-to-date form of travel
awareness training addresses many risks prior to travel. It ensures that travellers have a
comprehensive understanding of the risk environment they may face, are aware of the safety
measures they should take while abroad, and can be used in a pre-trip approval process.

Not only does this again demonstrate an investment in an organisation’s most valuable asset
but it can boost productivity and increase the success of a project.

The training should include testing on completion and these scores should be documented to
ensure appropriate compliance with today’s Duty of Care standards.

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Traveller Tracking

Best Practice: Companies should be utilising technology to locate and communicate with
individuals regardless of how they make their travel booking.

By automating the collection of employee travel data through itineraries and traveller check-
ins, organisations have a complete view of their staff and operations in near real-time,
capturing employee locations. Systems should be set up to capture and verify all the travel
data, work and employee locations and display them in one common operating picture. From
this dashboard, managers should be able to seamlessly track, assess exposure and account
for their globally mobile workforce utilising integrated communication capabilities on a routine
or emergency basis. Intelligence must be sourced, vetted and pushed to travellers, expats
and VIPs or other professional users within the organisation in as near real-time as possible.

It is important that the organisation has the ability to fully integrate a mass notification
system to communicate with all global employees. By integrating these systems, a robust
pre-trip approval process can be implemented allowing for management oversight, adequate
training and the provision of additional support services such as drivers, executive
protection, medical and security briefings as well as passport, visa and vaccination checks.

Mobile Technology

Best Practice: Companies of all sizes should utilise mobile technology to ensure that they can
keep their globally mobile workforce informed, as well as enabling their travelling population
to quickly request assistance if required. Utilising other essential functionality such as location
services allows organisations to effectively pinpoint employee whereabouts in a crisis.

It is important that employers use mobile technology to their advantage as time taken to
locate employees during a crisis is directly proportional to the outcome of their health and
safety. Supporting protocols and policies allow technology to streamline locating employees,
minimising human error and allowing limited resources to be focused for maximal impact,
enabling a rapid response.

Instant access to ‘actionable’ intelligence via a mobile app keeps travellers updated of
developing situations and travel apps with a Mayday function can alert nominated contacts
as well as enabling live tracking in a crisis. Apps today are commonplace, however it is
essential that they provide expatriate employees and business travellers with instant access
to critical insight and support before, during and after their overseas assignments.

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Medical Screening

Best Practice: Expatriates and their dependants, and business travellers, are medically
screened prior to overseas assignment and action taken to minimise any identified health
risks.

Many of the illnesses and health related problems suffered by business travellers and
expatriates while overseas are both predictable and preventable. Every year large numbers
of travellers and expatriates are sent overseas with pre-existing medical conditions and little
or no knowledge about how these conditions can best be managed in their destination
countries.

Medical Screening provides an evaluation of potential medical risks involved in any overseas
assignments. Screening can be conducted online or over the telephone and the risks are
usually calculated by a highly sophisticated analytics programme. Screening can help ensure
that employees and their families are well prepared for overseas travel and are not put in a
position where their health is placed at an unreasonable risk. Host-country healthcare facilities
and their ability to deal with pre-existing medical conditions are understood, prescription
regimes can be modified where necessary and ongoing medical advice and support can be
provided. Importantly, it helps employers understand the financial risks of certain assignments
as well as providing a clear audit trail of proactively managed Duty of Care.

Global Medical Arrangements

Best Practice: Employers ensure that assignees working in challenging conditions such as
remote or offshore locations, or employed in physically or mentally strenuous work are fit for
the role.

Without a system to provide insight into the potential risks involved when sending a
particular individual on assignment, employers are exposed to medical incidents that can
result in operational disruption, evacuations, costly hospital bills and failed assignments.

Pre-deployment / pre-employment medicals are face-to-face examinations that can take

place at locations convenient to your staff. These assessments allow employers to make
informed decisions regarding staff deployment or accommodations based on robust medical
opinion with a clear audit trail.

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Medical Staffing and Emergency Response Plans

Best Practice: Organisations should ensure that they have adequate medical support for all
major projects, sporting events and at remote sites.

During any large event, where demand for medical support may be compromised or slow to
respond, it is important that organisations plan and resource effectively to protect the health,
security and well-being of staff, guests and any others under its charge. Where traffic due to
large crowds or other situations may impede the arrival of emergency response vehicles, it is
important to pre-stage vehicles and staff near work sites or living accommodation to ensure
appropriate response times.

Physicians, nurses and other medically trained professionals should be available to react
immediately in the event of any medical emergency.

Large sporting events such as the Olympics may require accommodation such as hotel suites to
be converted into clinics to allow for easy access to routine or emergency medical care.

If the group is of a certain size or complexity, additional consideration should be given to co-
locating an emergency coordination centre to manage calls for assistance or provide other
support such as language translation and security assistance.

Events such as the FIFA World Cup and Olympics in Brazil and South Korea illustrated the
complexity of working in an environment where risks are prevalent and the basic
infrastructure strained. Thankfully, nothing major occurred but should something have
happened it would have been vitally important to be as self-sufficient as possible, having a
set of pre-determined plans in place and the resources already staged and ready to respond
to ensure the safety of all concerned.

Infectious Disease Planning

Best Practice: Employers must have a holistic travel risk management policy and plans in
place for the purpose of business continuity, risk mitigation and readiness in a crisis.

Having an overarching travel risk management plan is the first important step that should
encompass travel readiness and safety, trip approval and crisis readiness including
consideration of infectious diseases, pandemics and natural disasters. Additional localised
plans may also be necessary for specific projects or remote sites and employers may offer
additional online training across the enterprise to better support the employee base.
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 It is important to acknowledge that it is best practice to
An all-hazard consider an all-hazard approach when developing a
vigorous Travel Risk Management programme, one that is
approach: integrated into the enterprise risk management portfolio
and is applicable to the entire company or organisation.

When engaging a third party provider to fulfil these

requirements, consider companies that offer a greater range
of experience and capability. Consider a company reputable
for assessing the wider needs of a business that can tailor a
service to suit your own requirements. Choosing to
implement a Travel Risk Management programme makes
sure that you are fully prepared and able to respond in the
event of a crisis overseas, thus creating a more resilient
company.

About Healix
Healix International is a leader in global travel risk management and international medical,
security and travel assistance services. Working on behalf of multinational corporations,
governments, NGOs and insurers, we are relied upon to look after the welfare of expatriates,
business travellers and local nationals living and working in every country of the world, 24
hours a day.

W: www.healix.com E: enquiries@healix.com T: +44 (0)20 8481 7720