How to Strengthen Employee Safety During Business Travel

In an increasingly unpredictable world, a company's responsibility for the safety and well-being of its employees extends far beyond the walls of the office. For a traveling workforce, this responsibility, known as Duty of Care, is a profound legal, moral, and ethical obligation. Ensuring employee safety during business travel is not just a best practice; it is a fundamental aspect of corporate governance and a critical component of a healthy company culture. A robust travel safety program protects your most valuable asset, your people, while also shielding the organization from significant legal, financial, and reputational risks.

A "hope for the best" approach is not a strategy. A modern approach to traveler safety is proactive, systematic, and technology-driven. It involves creating a comprehensive Travel Risk Management (TRM) program that anticipates risks, prepares travelers, monitors their location, and provides immediate support in a crisis. This guide provides a strategic framework for strengthening your employee safety protocols at every stage of the travel lifecycle.

Pillar 1: Pre-Trip Preparation and Risk Assessment

The most effective safety measures are those taken before a trip even begins. A thorough preparation process is your first and best line of defense.

Implement a Mandated, Centralized Booking Platform: This is the non-negotiable foundation of any effective safety program. You cannot protect your travelers if you do not know where they are. By mandating that all travel is booked through a single, company-approved travel management platform, you create a single source of truth for all itineraries. This is the only way to reliably track traveler locations in real time.
Conduct Thorough Destination Risk Assessments: Before approving travel, especially to unfamiliar or higher-risk locations, a formal risk assessment is essential. This should be based on professional intelligence, not just a quick online search. Partner with a risk management provider to get up-to-date information on:
- Security: Local crime rates, political stability, terrorism threats, and any specific areas of a city to avoid.
- Health: Required vaccinations, endemic diseases, local healthcare quality, and any current health advisories.
- Logistics: The safety of local transportation options, infrastructure reliability, and any unique logistical challenges.
Automate Pre-Trip Advisories: Based on the risk assessment, your travel platform should automatically send a detailed pre-trip advisory to the traveler. This email should be a comprehensive safety briefing, including emergency contact numbers, the location of the traveler's home embassy, cultural etiquette, and practical safety tips specific to the destination.
Establish a High-Risk Travel Approval Workflow: Your travel policy must define a special approval process for any travel to a destination classified as "High" or "Extreme" risk. This ensures that senior leadership is aware of and has formally signed off on the trip, and it should trigger a mandatory, one-on-one security briefing for the traveler.

Pillar 2: Traveler Training and Education

An educated traveler is an empowered and safer traveler. Your company has a responsibility to provide employees with the knowledge they need to mitigate risks themselves.

General Travel Safety Training: All employees who travel for business should complete a regular travel safety training course. This can be an e-learning module covering key topics such as:
- Situational awareness and personal security.
- Hotel safety best practices.
- Cybersecurity and protecting data on the road.
- What to do in a medical or security emergency.
Documentation and Health: Train employees on the importance of having a valid passport (with at least six months' validity), obtaining necessary visas, and carrying digital and physical copies of their important documents. They should also be advised to consult a travel doctor for any required vaccinations or medications.

Pillar 3: Real-Time Monitoring and Crisis Communication

During a crisis, the ability to locate and communicate with your people in seconds is paramount.

The Live Traveler Map: Your travel management platform should provide a live, interactive map that shows the real-time location of all your traveling employees based on their booked itineraries. In the event of an incident, you can instantly see who is in the affected area.
Proactive Risk Alerts: The system should monitor global events 24/7 and automatically send alerts via SMS and email to travelers who may be impacted. This could be a notification about a transportation strike, a weather warning, or a nearby security incident.
Two-Way Communication and "Check-In" Feature: Communication must flow in both directions. A critical feature of a modern TRM system is a simple "check-in" function, usually via a mobile app. In a crisis, the company can send a request to all travelers in an affected area, who can then confirm with a single click that they are safe. This allows the crisis management team to quickly focus its efforts on those who have not checked in or who have requested assistance.

Pillar 4: A Robust Emergency Response Plan

Having a clear, well-documented, and practiced plan is what separates a smooth response from a chaotic one.

Defined Crisis Management Team: Your company should have a pre-defined crisis management team with clear roles and responsibilities. Who is authorized to make decisions? Who communicates with the traveler's family? Who liaises with the assistance provider?
Partnership with a Global Assistance Provider: This is a critical component. Your company must partner with a professional medical and security assistance company (e.g., International SOS, Healix). These firms provide the 24/7 hotline that your travelers call in an emergency, and they have the global network of doctors, security personnel, and logistical experts to manage any crisis, from a lost passport to a full medical evacuation. This is not a service you can or should try to provide in-house.
Clear Communication Protocols: The emergency plan must outline how communication will be handled, both internally and externally. Every traveler should have a single, reliable emergency number to call.

Strengthening employee safety during business travel is a continuous process of planning, preparation, and practice. It requires a strategic investment in the right technology, the right partners, and the right policies. By building a comprehensive travel risk management program, you are not only fulfilling your legal and ethical obligations but also fostering a culture of care that demonstrates to your employees that their well-being is your highest priority.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is "Duty of Care" in the context of business travel? Duty of Care is a company's legal and moral obligation to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect its employees from foreseeable harm. When employees are traveling for work, this obligation extends globally. It means the company is responsible for ensuring their safety, security, and well-being throughout their journey.

2. Why is mandating a single booking platform so important for safety? It is the only way to ensure you have a reliable, real-time record of your employees' whereabouts. If travelers are booking on their own, you have no visibility into their itineraries. In a crisis, you would have no efficient way to locate them. A central booking platform provides the data that powers your entire traveler tracking and risk management system.

3. We are a small business. Do we really need a formal travel risk management program? Yes. The legal and moral obligations of Duty of Care apply to businesses of all sizes. While you may not have the resources of a large corporation, you can still take essential steps. The most critical is to centralize your travel through a modern platform that has built-in traveler tracking and to secure a basic travel insurance policy that includes access to a 24/7 medical and security assistance hotline.

4. How do we choose a medical and security assistance partner? Look for established, reputable providers with a proven global network. Evaluate them based on the scale of their on-the-ground resources, the experience of their medical and security teams, and the quality of their technology platform. Your travel management company can often help you evaluate and select the right partner for your needs.

5. How do we get employees to take travel safety training seriously? Make it relevant and engaging. Use real-world case studies and practical, actionable tips rather than dry, theoretical content. E-learning modules with interactive elements can be effective. It is also important for leadership to champion the training and communicate that it is a mandatory and critical part of being a responsible business traveler.