More Than a Matter of Safety

Workplace mobility was already a rapidly evolving topic prior to 2020. Then, in the course of just one calendar year, nearly everything changed. Companies all over the world were forced to rethink what they thought they knew about how and where work gets done. That meant reinventing many policies and procedures designed to manage employees, whether they worked in the office, from home, or in the field. Due to a dizzying pace of change and the emergence of serious new risk categories, employers developed a new sense of urgency when it came to protecting the health and safety of their people.

With the renewed emphasis on duty of care, companies are embracing the fact that business travelers are exposed to ever-changing and sometimes significant risks to their health and safety. From a business perspective, duty of care is now seen as a strategic tool; a way not only to protect workers and increase travel safety but also to strengthen and sustain organizations.

As mobile and remote working models become increasingly prevalent, certain trends are shaping the global workforce, influencing the employee experience, and affecting companies’ approach to duty of care. Here are just a few:

• Remote work. COVID-related stay-at-home orders proved that working remotely can really work. Productivity does not suffer, virtual tools keep communication channels open, and many employees enjoy an improved work-life balance.
• Digitalization. There is a sensitive and ever-changing data ecosystem at the center of every organization with a remote or traveling workforce. The more complex that web of workers, the greater the need for technological tools that protect both personnel and data.
• Worker wellbeing. Increasingly, employers are operationalizing the connections between employee wellbeing and performance. In other words, companies are leaning in on the fact that happy employees are productive employees.

There is no prescribed methodology that dictates how companies can and should operationalize duty of care. The right approach depends on many factors. Regardless, the program must contain a cohesive strategy that is easy for every department to understand and adopt.

Download the whitepaper to learn more about duty of care strategies from SAP Concur and our partners.