Last week I was in Italy meeting with customers and partners, and I wanted to show case our product ICETRAVEL360, but I also wanted to start taking the conversation Beyond Duty of Care.
Heightened security threats, infectious diseases, civil unrest and geopolitical instability are expected to be the top disruptors to the mobile workforce in 2020. How is the world handling the emerging habits of travelers and business travelers, both domestically and internationally? How are we approaching the Grey Zones Risk that arise with the diversification of the workforce?
During my conversation, I noticed that employers are not aligning travel policies with new potential risk factors, and people are choosing not to act within policy if it restricts the use of their preferred mode of transport or accommodation.
Perhaps most surprisingly, we have witnessed less than a third of organizations include cybersecurity in their travel policies. This could potentially open organizations up to litigation and reputational damage if they are not adhering to their Duty of Care, as well as significant negative consequences for the business and, most importantly, the employees.
The impact of travel disruption on human capital and productivity
The threats facing organizations and their workforces are impacting established and emerging economies alike. In my conversation, I would like to see decision makers start to look at becoming aware of the threats of epidemics and infectious diseases.
With over $1.7 trillion expected to be invested by organizations by 2022, without taking into account human capital and productivity impacts of travel disruption, it’s important that organizations get ahead of whatever potential disruption they can.
With accurate information, tools and support in place, organizations should (and can) plan for the anticipated risks and safeguard their investment and their people.
By the numbers:
Just 11% of organizations include shared economy services in their travel policy
Only 26% include considerations for female travelers in their travel policy
31% cover cybersecurity
Mental health issues are included in a mere 15% of travel policies
Considerations for travelers with disabilities are covered by only 12%
“Bleisure” travel was covered in 22% of policies.
Opportunity for safety through human-led technology
Companies invest thousands in new tech each year, but very little seems to go on the safety of their people, despite new technology providing excellent solutions to protect employees. From the use of AI and human ground truth in situational intelligence, to e-learning courses and traveler tracking, strides in keeping people safe have been made thanks to new technology, like ICETRAVEL360.
Despite this progress, business travel managers continue to struggle with:
Educating employees about travel risks (53%)
Communicating with employees during a crisis (47%)
Confirming with employees that they have read pre-travel information (45%)
Tracking employee travel (42%)
Managing a crisis (40%)
The Top 10 Health & Security Risks that organizations should be prioritizing in 2020
Risks borne from geopolitical shifts will be the most important mobility challenge for businesses
Mental health issues will increase in importance
Physical health: organizations will be more proactive in safeguarding physical health
Cybercrime is likely to grow and be an increasing risk to security
Climate change will exacerbate the occurrence of environmental disruptions
Infectious disease outbreaks from established and newly emerging pathogens will increase due to multiple factors, including climate change, increasing urbanization, diminishing vaccination coverage and security instability
“Bleisure” travel: the debate about whether an employer is responsible to cover bleisure as part of employee Duty of Care will amplify
Millennials and Generation Z entering the workplace with different preferences, expectations and attitudes to risk will continue to challenge businesses to evolve their risk strategies.
High profile Duty of Care legal cases will increase
Start-ups and SMEs that are under-resourced and inexperienced will struggle to meet Duty of Care obligations
So, What’s On Offer?
There is no silver bullet here, but I know technology can help, which is why we have built ICETRAVEL360 – a hyper intelligent Travel Risk Management platform for the next generation of travelers
Whether you are looking to protect a small group of travelers or enhance your entire organization’s well-being, ICETRAVEL360 can deliver you a solution that:
Knows where all your travelers are and whether they are ok or in need of assistance in seconds
Provides individual risk rating for every traveler
Supports ISO31030 Travel Risk Management best practice
Enables full duty of care, by providing individual Travel Safety risk assessments at the touch of a button
Includes Travel Safety training videos specifically procured for the individual’s journey
Can be rolled out to 1000s of travelers in minutes
Includes a mass messaging solution
Built-in GSOC (Or can come without)
And much more