Page 8 - Best Practice in Travel Risk Management 2019 - Forum Findings

The Future of Travel Risk Forum by beTravelwise
At Citrix, the security role is to provide information to the traveller, who then decides on whether to go ahead with the trip. The traveller has to balance the cost of being safe with the long term value to the company of the contract.
The traveller’s business unit is responsible for the cost of complying with the advice.
“Sometimes the traveller says yes they will pay for what is recommended. Other times they say no and that they will just get a cab,” says Keen.
“In that situation, I ask them to email to confirm that they have received my advice.”
The important thing with advice is to spell out the risks in a clear way. Tell the prospective traveller what the threats are and what can be done to mitigate the risks. Use as few words as possible.
Jovic agrees. His company has a different
policy and the security manager can veto a trip. He says whenever he has had pushback it is because people have not understood the advice.
So what is the expectation of travel risk professionals? Do they always have to say yes? It is one thing to have the insurance and back up in place for when things go wrong and another to be proactive to prevent a situation from happening.
This is where internal marketing helps and supporting diversity groups helps to raise the
TRM program’s profile.
In Keen’s case, working with the company’s lead officer for diversity and inclusion helped him to get the wording right and also to connect with the company’s PRIDE alliance to disseminate information. TRM programs cannot profile people. Instead, they need to raise awareness that advice is available and to encourage people to get in touch.
In the case of any traveller going to a high-risk destination, Keen will provide written advice. It is up to the employee to read the advice. On average he is providing three pieces of advice a day for these destinations.
At Vodafone, Jovic uses a third party provider, which delivers advice by phone. He also works with the company’s diversity groups to spread information across the business.
At the end of the day, a good day at the office is one you get home from
“The benefit is that the advice becomes a message from a diversity group and not just a message from travel security,” says Jovic.
“And doing this helps you to build political capital about your TRM program because it puts you out there and people ask, ‘what else do you do?’”
If you are a disabled traveller going to Paris, getting advice from a disability diversity
group will be more authentic and have more impact, says Roper. The traveller will be more comfortable talking to someone whom they believe understands the complexities of getting a wheelchair on an aeroplane. So as a security team you should brief the diversity group and direct the traveller to talk to them.
Also, check if your organisation has an executive assistants group. EAs will follow the travel policies and use the recommended providers. However, bear in mind that as the EAs do such a good job, the senior team they are supporting may not appreciate how hard it is to get travel advice out to the rest of the business.
“Everything we do is about enabling and not constraining,” says Keen. “We want people to be able to travel to make money. But at the end of the day, a good day at the office is one you get home from.”
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