Essential guide to modern travel risk management. Level 2 BBBEE Contributor

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Susan Owens
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1 Essential guide to modern travel risk management Level 2 BBBEE Contributor

In an increasingly dangerous world your duty of care obligations to your business travellers should be at the top of the South African corporate agenda.

2 In an increasingly dangerous world your duty of care obligations to your business travellers should be at the top of the South African corporate agenda. According to 2017 research by Ipsos Mori, 72% of business travellers and travel managers believe that health and security risks have increased in the past year whilst 80% of organisations have modified travel itineraries due to health or security concerns. In fact, International SOS has revealed the top 3 reasons most organisations in Africa modified itineraries for their business travellers and assignees in the last year to be due to: - Security Threats (63%) - Country Risk Ratings (41%) - Civil Unrest (36%) With the stats only set to rise this year, it s critical for corporates to increase their investment to mitigate the risks involved. The Business Impact of Travel Risk survey, published in February 2017 by International SOS, puts the improvement of internal communication and traveller education on travel risks at the top of 70% of European organisations priority lists. The survey found that travel security risk mitigation programmes are undermined by a lack of effective communication, and that 60% of senior executives have only a partial or no understanding at all of medical threats faced by their mobile workforce. Other findings were as follows. 46% say health and travel security incidents have an impact on business continuity 27% are either moderately or not confident in their level of preparedness 50% of organisations have not conducted a comprehensive review of their mobile workforce s health 61% do not have a wellness programme in place Page 2 Page 3

degree of freedom within a dictated selection of options that fit the company s travel policy.

3 ALBANIA Madrid Lisbon Azores (Pt.) GREECE SPAIN PORTUGAL Athens Gibraltar Rabat Madeira (Pt.) A consideration for South African corporates in light of the realmexico threat of traveller friction is to create a freedom within framework approach which allows the individual traveller a certain degree of freedom within a dictated selection of options that fit the company s travel policy. For example, instead of having a strict policy of only opting for the cheapest flight for long haul flights, include flexible MOROCCO Hassi Messaoud Valletta TUNISIA MALTA considerations like the times your traveller departs and lands. If the cheapest option means catching a red eye flight and landing just in time to walk into the boardroom and home again on a midnight flight, rather let your traveller stay overnight before commencing his weary journey home. Perhaps an upgrade option for executives flying long haul flights for just one meeting and on to the next. Adrar WESTERN SAHARA MAURITANIA MALI Nouakchott CAPE VERDE Praia Dakar GAMBIA Banjul NIGER Bissau GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAUConakry Freetown SIERRA LEONE Monrovia LIBERIA CÔTE D IVOIRE GHANA NIGERIA Abuja YamoussoukroKumasi Porto-Novo Lomé Lagos Accra Takoradi Warri Port Harcourt Yaoundé Malabo SOUTH SUDAN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Juba Bangui CONGO GABON Kinshasa SOMALIA Mogadishu RWANDA CONGO (DRC) Kampala Nairobi Kigali BURUNDI Dodoma SEYCHELLES TANZANIA Glorioso Islands (Fr.) Luanda Moroni ANGOLA ZAMBIA Lusaka MALAWI Windhoek Libya Niger Niamey Burkina Faso Guinea Sierra Leone Liberia Central African Republic South Sudan Eritrea Yemen Somalia Burundi MOZAMBIQUE Juan de Nova Island (Fr.) BOTSWANA Antananarivo MADAGASCAR Europa Island (Fr.) Gaborone Pretoria Johannesburg Maseru SOUTH AFRICA And the following are considered high medical risk African countries: Maputo Mbabane SWAZILAND LESOTHO KEY very high medical risks Mayotte Pemba ZIMBABWE NAMIBIA COMOROS Lilongwe Harare According to International SOS, from an African perspective, the following countries are considered very high medical risk countries for your business travellers: Riyadh YEMEN KENYA Ilha de Luanda Brasília QATAR Doha Addis Ababa UGANDA Libreville Brazzaville BAHRAIN Manama ETHIOPIA EQUATORIAL GUINEA SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE Kuwait City Djibouti N Djamena CAMEROON KEY ERITREA Asmara Niamey BRAZIL Page 4 Basra KUWAIT SAUDI ARABIA SUDAN CHAD Ouagadougou Bamako BURKINA FASO Baghdad Amman JORDAN EGYPT LIBYA SENEGAL COLOMBIA clients with their TRM solutions and the creation or revision of crisis management plans and response processes tailored to their clients structures and cultures. And while Terrorism inspires fear and grabs headlines, it is often isolated, whereas other risks can be much more widespread. For example infectious disease in most virulent form (and indeed at flu-level) can be hard to contain from person to person. Organisations should prepare for the worst but not at the expense of the more common and frequent risks. PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES ALGERIA Further measures cited by travel managers in a recent 2017 survey conducted by ABTA and FCM Travel Solutions was to include catering to business travellers needs better within the travel policy through the inclusion of sharing economy options, bleisure opportunities and internal wellness programmes. Personalising the business traveller s experience also helps to reduce traveller friction the negative impact that travel has on a traveller, e.g. insomnia, depression, discomfort, exhaustion because to a large extent that traveller is travelling on their terms. TMCs have a key role to play in supporting their clients duty of care responsibilities. Although the majority of safety-related incidents faced by business travellers tend to be low-risk (e.g. lost baggage), the range of risk is becoming broader. From theft leading to loss of sensitive company information up to major terrorist incidents. TMCs are therefore stepping up their efforts to support ISRAEL Cairo El Aaiún Damascus Beirut Tripoli Canary Islands (Es.) TOGO BENIN From the above stats, you can see that as much as you need to be preparing for the external risks, paying attention to the internal aspect of duty of care (like employee wellness and traveller friction) is equally as important. Tunis Algiers high medical risks Algeria Mauritania Mali Chad Nigeria Bamako Ghana Cote D Ivoire Sudan Ethiopia Cameroon Gabon Congo DRC Uganda Rwanda Tanzania Malawi Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Mozambique Madagascar Swaziland Lesotho Page 5

So what should travel managers be doing to meet every-increasing duty of care obligations to mitigate travel risk? Here are top tips to mitigate your risk: 1.

Risk varies according to location, environment and circumstance. Make sure the risks in each location your travellers visit is visible not just the life-threatening ones.

4 So what should travel managers be doing to meet every-increasing duty of care obligations to mitigate travel risk? Here are top tips to mitigate your risk: 1. There are five stages of travel risk management; identifying the risk, preparing the traveller, tracking the traveller, communication and response. Each should be included in any TRM plan. 2. Risk varies according to location, environment and circumstance. Make sure the risks in each location your travellers visit is visible not just the life-threatening ones. Just knowing where is a traveller is doesn t mean you have a workable plan in place to help when things go wrong. Make it clear to the traveller what those risks are, what measures are being taken in the interests of their safety. 3. Prepare your travellers before they travel. Make sure they have the latest advice on vaccination requirements and where to get them. Educate them on potential health risks, how to prevent them and what to do if they do fall ill whilst travelling on business. Page 6 SECURE 4. It s important that health response plans cover extreme eventualities such as a country closing its borders due to disease outbreak, but also more everyday risks such as traffic accidents and personal theft. Travellers need to know what action to take and the support they will receive in these circumstances. By partnering with, you can include FCM Secure to assist with your risk mitigation process. 5. Having a TRM plan is great, but response processes, communication channels and traveller perceptions of the available support need to be checked and reviewed regularly. If they don t work, you could be in real trouble. 6. Make use of available technologies to help support and manage your TRM plan. Your TMC should be able to guide you on what systems are available and work with you to review or implement your TRM solution supported by their own Customer Crisis Plan. FCM Secure provides a unique combination of service, support, technology and intelligence to deliver a travel risk management programme for your business. It is customised to your requirements, making it easier for you to connect to your travellers in times of need: Report my location traveller safety feature using Mobile Trigger based reporting for critical alert monitoring A global crisis communications process via and SMS Dashboard based solution pulling live reservation data to monitor traveller information Advanced support plans can be implemented in consultation with your FCM Travel Solutions Account Manager High level alerts categorised by risk and destination Page 7

5 About FCM FCM is a single global brand providing a comprehensive range of corporate travel and expense management solutions. We have a presence in more than 95 countries and are regarded as one of the top five travel management companies in the world. FCM is responsible for the travel programmes of some of the world s most successful corporate brands. It has always been personalised service that sets FCM apart from the rest and we blend this with innovative technology and unrivalled access to content to drive the optimum performance of your travel programme. Contact us today to find out how FCM can elevate the performance of your corporate travel programme. Call info@ Level 2 BBBEE Contributor

Africa. Display Transparency 6 on the overhead. Explain to students that Africa is the

Africa. Display Transparency 6 on the overhead. Explain to students that Africa is the 3S 4S 1S 2S 3N 4N Banjul Bissau SIERRA LEONE 5N MADEIRA IS. CANARY IS. (SPAIN) (disputed) Dakar Freetown (PORTUGAL) GAMBIA Bamako Conakry Monrovia Rabat BURKINA FASO 1W Accra Lomé ~ Niamey BENIN Algiers