Knowledge of local customs, security risks and legal systems is indispensable for PAs planning corporate travel around the world. Review Travel explains all.
A recent survey conducted by Collinson Group found that a fifth of HR professionals have no corporate travel partner or travel management company (TMC) in place. In a world where the safety of staff travelling abroad has never been a bigger focus for employers, these findings are somewhat surprising.
With political, economic and social instability dominating the news, the legal responsibility of businesses to keep employees safe must be addressed, and TMCs have an important role to play. Here are three reasons why working with a TMC will help your business manage safe and secure travel to sensitive areas of the world:
- International SOS – For travel to particularly sensitive destinations, your TMC will alert organisations, such as International SOS, who specialise in medical and travel security assistance. In the event of an emergency, they will ensure the efficient provision of documentation or evacuation.
- Tracking – TMCs have access to extremely intelligent software. Small and medium-sized TMCs are permitted membership to the Advantage Travel Partnership, allowing exclusive use of the PA Dashboard. This programme generates reports on employee location as soon as clients require them, proving invaluable in the event of unforeseen disruption. Review Travel is able to access client travel data immediately if a potential disruption or threat to client safety emerges, proactively alerting companies with travellers affected.
- Personalisation – Advances in technology and a demand for instantaneous information are driving a more personalised approach to business travel. TMCs collate information on traveller habits and use the data to provide tailored travel alerts and reach individuals faster. In the event of potentially dangerous disruptions, these time savings are invaluable.
Well-equipped TMCs will employ travel professionals with extensive experience in overseeing employee travel to sensitive destinations. Steve Blows, Director at Review Travel has amassed many years’ experience resolving security concerns worldwide. From escorting pharmaceutical groups into Libya, to assisting with client hostage situations, he has honed his skills for crisis protocol over a varied and challenging career. As such, these experiences have given him enough of an understanding of the situations that professionals enter into for him to use this to advise clients on a daily basis.
Ultimately, it is a company’s responsibility to provide travel advice and guidelines to employees, but there are simple measures that can be taken to improve a traveller’s experience.
Below, Steve gives his top tips for ensuring the safety and security of employees while travelling abroad:
- Do your research – The Foreign and Commonwealth Office website’s travel advice is a great source of information for destinations worldwide. It contains everything from currency and entry requirements to safety, security and terrorism threats. Fit For Travel is also a useful website for checking which vaccinations travellers will need.
- Establish and adhere to emergency protocols – Every company should have emergency protocols in place, and these should be adhered to in unforeseen circumstances. When such situations arise, there can be confusion and worry, but an understanding of emergency procedure will resolve these efficiently and safely.
- Double check insurance cover – Many companies have blanket insurance policies for employee travel. These policies cover the majority of travel, but it’s vital that businesses check which destinations are included in the package. Companies can be caught out when certain countries aren’t included on the policy. This has been the case for clients travelling to Cuba, Russia and Ukraine, where specific add-ons were required.
