Top 6 risk management considerations

In critical times like the one we are going through now, travel is something that is completely off the mind for attendees. However, in case, if someone has to travel, there are several perennial issues to consider when building or improving your travel program. Read on to discover these six issues your corporate travel policies must address for comprehensive duty of care and risk management:  

1. Discuss and analyze the importance of tracking domestic travelers as well as international travelers. Given today’s risk environment, domestic travelers face an increasing amount of risks and disruptions within the same country travel. Managers should consider tracking domestic travelers if not already doing so.
2. Carefully review the assistance services included in your insurance policies if your company relies on these services exclusively through insurance coverage. Ensure the services available include medical and security assistance services and support travel to all of the countries to which your employees travel.
3. Review your current practices of keeping mobile phone numbers up to date for employees. With the increase in the use of smartphones and support by companies for “bring your own device”, you need to be sure you have the most up-to-date mobile phone number on record for employees for emergency communications purposes.
4. All companies should carefully evaluate their policy around direct or open booking for employees. Managers should determine the real level of travel booking compliance and implement services to capture as much open booking activity as possible to give the company ample opportunity to support the duty of care needs and calculate and track travel spend outside of the managed travel program.
5. Create a cross-functional crisis management team or committee who convenes and manages any critical events that affect your employees. The team should participate in tabletop exercises and mock events on a regular basis where emergency response protocols and procedures are tested. The exercises should include any third party response and technology vendors that support the travel risk management program within your organization.
6. Research and analyze the opportunity to integrate emergency notification system contact information and travel tracking applications to ensure contact details can be accessed in real-time for sending crises or routine messages to travelers and non-travelers alike. It often takes extensive time to identify and compile contact details for affected employees during times of crisis or critical event. Make sure you have access to an application that contains all employee contact details (or close to it) for communication purposes.