Feb 1 2012
How to Reduce Corporate Exposure with a Travel Risk Management Plan
Business travel continues to expand as the world becomes a more global market and as travelers go to increasingly unstable regions of the world travel risk management becomes much more important to companies and their employees. Two of the most important elements of travel risk management include foreseeable risk and duty of care. Ignorance of these two items produces more risk exposure to companies and travelers than any other hazard. In an effort to manage this risk, companies must understand foreseeable risks and duty of care as they pertain to the travelers that represent their company.
Foreseeable risk can easily be explained by looking at a surfer who surfs in water that is known to have sharks. The higher than normal chance of a shark attack represents a very easy to determine foreseeable risk for the surfer. However, a business traveler riding in a taxi cab is injured when the cab slams on the brakes and the seat belt fails to hold them in place and they are injured by hitting the glass in front of them. The expectation of reasonable training, working equipment and driver skill eliminates this seatbelt failure as a foreseeable risk for the passenger.
Duty of care can in travel risk management can best be defined as the actions of a person or employee and how they interact with other employees and the public at large. Actions, in this case, speak louder than words as only the action of the employee can be considered and not their intent, as long as their actions are what reasonable and prudent person would take they are safe from negligent claims. Any deviation from this norm can be considered negligent and expose the company and the traveler to risk. Individual responsibility is not negated by the fact that one is acting on behalf of the company.
Frequent business travelers, human resources managers, travel managers and corporate risk managers must consider all the factors involved with sending traveler out from their company. Developing travel policies with clearly defined acceptable actions, training employees on these policies and continually monitoring their use is a strong first step in managing travel risk. As new countries emerge as business destinations the risk of putting certain people into these regions must be addressed. Areas that are affected by social and political strife and upheaval must be monitored more closely than ever. Putting groups into ethnically based cultures where there is a predisposed prejudice can open a company to extreme risk and financial liability.
Managing the risk associated with travel is a growing area of concern for international companies as well as those who transact business entirely within their own borders. Ensuring that your human resources and travel managers keep current on these trends can reduce your risk as well as to help manage future risks. Travel Risk Management in advance and training business travelers on these policies is the beginning step to reducing your risk exposure.
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