REPORTUNDERSTANDING
TRAVEL RISKMANAGEMENTIN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAFETURE

INTRODUCTION

TRM PROGRAM ROLES, TASKS AND PROCESSES

DEFINING TRAVEL RISK MANAGEMENT (TRM)

COMMON MISTAKES AND PROBLEMSWHERE RESPONSIBILITY FOR RISK IS LESS CLEAR

TRM TOOLS AND SOLUTIONSBUSINESS DRIVERS

THE FUTURE OF TRM

TRM SOLUTIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMSABOUT SAFETURE

October 2023

© 2023 BCD Travel N.V. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Andreas Rodman, co-founder of travel risk management solutions provider
Safeture recently published Everything you should know about Travel Risk
Management, a comprehensive guide to travel risk management. We’ve
summarized the key points below. For further detail, you can download thefull report for free from Safeture’s website.

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Defining travel risk management (TRM)
ISO standard 31030 defines travel risk management (TRM) as “the effects of uncertainty on objectives due to travel.” Quite simply,
what this really adds up to is making work-related travel safe(r) for employees and other people traveling on a company’s behalf.
The standard further describes TRM as “coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to travel risk.”1 So,
TRM is not just the “why,” it’s also the “how.” You can find out more about ISO 31030 in this short video from BCD Travel’s Global
Crisis Management team.

Why manage travel risk?

Getting started

There are three main factors necessitating a TRM program:

For travel managers new to TRM, using an external TRM supplier may be a good starting
point. TRM programs can range from simple to highly complex, and ISO 31030 may be an
unsuitable guide for those completely new to TRM. Even before bringing in a third-party,
seeking advice from a travel management company (TMC) can also be a useful starting
point. Available through Advito, BCD Travel’s Traveler Security Program Assessment (TSPA)
can help ensure TRM alignment to ISO 31030.2

•

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Duty of care – in most countries, employers have a legal responsibility to care forstaff when working, and this includes work-related travel. The responsibility is lessclear for non-employees traveling on the company’s behalf, but it seems sensible toinclude them within the wider scope of duty of care. As this is a legal responsibility,
employers may be liable for damages (and in some jurisdictions, senior executives
may be liable to criminal charges) if an employee is injured or killed on a trip. A
properly delivered TRM program may provide some legal defense. And it’s worth
remembering that workplace laws apply wherever an employee is active on behalf ofan employer, and that includes when traveling for business.
Moral and ethical duty – employers have a duty to keep employees safe whentraveling on business and support them should something happen on a trip.
Reputation – being seen as a caring employer will help companies retain staff andattract new employees.

ISO 31030:2021
Advito, Traveler Security Program Assessment

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Where responsibility for risk is less clear
There are some aspects of travel where an employer’s responsibility towards employee risk is less clear.

Bleisure travel

Managing the entire risk

Whilst on a business trip, an employer’s responsibility
for employee safety and welfare begins the second
they leave home (for the airport) until they are backhome. Engaging in leisure activities during a trip adds
complexity, particularly when leisure and business travel
are blended together in a bleisure trip. Clear policies
should define the boundaries between work and leisure,while the validity of the company’s travel insurance
during leisure time should also be ascertained.

It’s a mistake simply to ensure a TRM program covers
only the most common travel risks, as it leaves
companies exposed to the legal consequences ofunmanaged risks.

Bleisure travel as an employee benefit
Post-pandemic, blended travel has become more
popular than ever and has supported the growth of
the “digital nomad.” Many business travel insurance
policies will cover employees when they extend
their trip to include some leisure time. Companies
can promote this as an employee benefit, helping
with talent acquisition and staff retention.

Remote workers
The boundaries between work-related travel and remote
working are becoming increasingly blurred. When anatural disaster occurs, should a company look after
both business travelers and remote workers in the area?
An employer’s legal responsibility for out-of-office work
has become less clear. Ideally, TRM should extend to
all impacted employees, and not just to those travelingfor business. Travel risk management is
becoming people risk management.

Don’t just focus on high-profile risks
When it comes to travel, it’s easy to focus on thehigh-profile risks, such as terrorist attacks orlarge-scale natural disasters. While it’s importantto prepare for such events, particularly since
their travel impact could be significant, in reality,
they occur only rarely. It’s just as importantto prepare for smaller impact risks, which areeasily overlooked, but which occur much more
frequently. These can be more isolated incidents,
impacting a smaller number of or even single
travelers. They can include medical emergencies
or car accidents - the number one cause of
non-natural business traveler deaths.3

DecisionSource Security Map
4

3

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Traffic and Road Safety

Business drivers
Duty of careComplying with duty of care is the main driver forestablishing a TRM program, as it will help mitigate therisk of lawsuits and other damages.

Past incidents
A post-incident review is often the catalyst for
implementing or improving TRM at a company. Wherea program is already in place, a review can help identify
what’s working and what isn’t and herald the necessary
adjustments. Companies experiencing frequent incidents– by the very nature of their travel patterns – can havesome of the most developed TRM solutions.

Employer ethics
Organizational culture and ethics can sometimes override
compliance as the main motivator for TRM. Protecting
staff may be a core value which drives companies toinvest the necessary resources. As this may require theTRM program to be aligned with multiple organizational
policies, sufficient resourcing will help ensure this
implemented effectively.

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TRM solutions
Duty of care is not a transferrable
responsibility
While insurance companies and third-party
assistance providers can be critical in providing
duty of care solutions, an organization’s dutyof care is not a transferrable responsibility.
Employers should always maintain an active rolein overseeing supplier relationships and service
fulfillment to ensure their employees’ health,safety and security needs are being met.

It’s possible to classify common TRM solutions into two groups: inadequate and adequate.

Inadequate solutions

Adequate solutions

These provide some level of travel risk management but
are unlikely to be sufficient for full duty of care, thereby
exposing companies legal and financial penalties. The
most common approach is to have insurance only, but
it’s not enough on its own. Travel insurance is often
insufficient for non-medical incidents, such as natural
disasters, kidnapping and civil unrest. And somemedical incidents may also be excluded. Relying on
travel insurance alone, organizations increase the risk ofreputational and financial damage, as many frequentlyoccurring types of incident will not be covered.

These offer good protection for traveling employees,aligning well with a company’s brand and values. Whilelarge organizations have the resources to build their own
TRM solution, many companies choose to simply buy acomplete one from an external assistance provider. Andeven those companies creating their own solutions, may
decide to outsource certain components.

As a first step, it would be an improvement to implementa basic managed solution, which does not include
assistance. In this instance, companies would appoint a
travel manager(s) to look after travel tracking and travel
insurance. The manager could also arrange all travel orassign a dedicated travel management company (TMC).
While the travel manager becomes the contact point in
event of an incident, they won’t be available 24/7. And
they lack the resources to support employees on the
ground. Incident responses tend to be poor and slow andmay full short of a company’s duty of care requirements.
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When selecting an external provider, it’s important
for them to be able to offer 24/7 medical and security
emergency assistance and be able to cover all costs,
following up with insurance claims at a later date.
Such a solution that reacts with assistance is considered
to be adequate from a duty of care perspective. But
more comprehensive solutions with prevent or reduce
employee exposure to risks and act proactively whenrisks change.

Comprehensive TRM programs
Comprehensive managed solutions consider all risks and create risk mitigations for all stages in a business trip, fromplanning to a traveler’s return home.

Pre-trip processes

Proactive assistanceThe best solution is to not expose travelers to risk in thefirst place and prevent incidents happening through goodplanning and preparation. The following methods can beeffective:

Comprehensive solutions may often include a proactive
process in responding to an incident. This would include
reaching out to all employees in the vicinity of a major
incident, to confirm they’re ok or need assistance.
Location information can help identify which employees
to contact. Communication should extend to employees
planning travel to the affected area too. Travel booking
data will be a useful source of whom to contact.

•
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•
•
•
•
•

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Automated integration of travel bookings withcountry risk levels to trigger the need for travelapproval.
Pre-trip approval to ensure travel plans adhere to
TRM policy. For certain high-risk destinations, travel
could be blocked with authorization.
As a policy requirement for work travel, employees
must register with the TRM program before
departure.
Pre-trip medical approval to ensure a traveler is fit totravel, thereby reducing the risks of health-related
incidents.
Safety and security training.
Alerts both pre- and on-trip.
Prebooked travel services to reduce the risk ofincidents. Booking secure ground transportationfrom known safe suppliers is one of the mostcommonly used services.

Pre-trip processes should cover all
employees
Ensure that pre-trip preparations are inclusiveof the needs of all travelers in your workforce.
Companies must look after the safety andwell-being of all travelers, but certain diversity
dimensions such as travelers’ race and ethnicity,
gender, gender identity and expression,age, sexual orientation, neurodiversity andaccessibility for travelers with disabilities, tohighlight some, may require additional focus toensure inclusive travel experiences.

TRM program roles
Multiple stakeholders need to be involved in implementing TRM programs. Once these are in place, annual table-top exercises should be held to fully test incident management processes
from end to end. Such exercises should also include insurance companies and any third party assistance providers to simulate emergency processes and responses as realistically as possible.

TravelMedical Assistance Provider

In companies where such a role exists, the travel manager should be involved in the TRM
program, as it forms a critical part of managing employee trips.

As health-related issues are the second most common faced by business travelers,
including a medical assistance provider in a TRM program is crucial. Medical insurance
coverage for traveling employees will most likely include a company to contact for medical
assistance. But this may restrict assistance only to those incidents specifically covered by
the policy.

Security
A company’s security manager may often be assigned responsibility for its TRM program.
But travel risk can often be a small part of the role. And security’s status as a cost rather
than a source of revenue may make it difficult to secure investment. Companies need to
see TRM as securing revenue and profit and not merely as a cost.

Human Resources
As TRM programs support a company’s duty of care, it’s crucial to involve HR in theircreation and when a major incident occurs.

Travel Management
By mandating their use in the travel policy, a travel management company (TMC) or
corporate travel department (CTD) can assist with pre-trip authorization and tracking oftravelers via bookings data. And by requiring employees to book through the TMC or CTD,
companies are reducing the risks associated with unmanaged bookings.

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Working independently with the medical assistance provider can ensure the TRM Programsupports both medical and non-medical incidents. One number (only) to get assistance inan emergency will reduce traveler stress in the event of an incident. And if other specialist
providers are required, then the medial assistance provider can get them involved, as andwhen necessary.

Security Assistance Provider
Some incidents will be specifically security-related,so including a security assistance provider
in the TRM program is another necessity.
Such providers can book secure groundtransportation to reduce risk when travelling
between the airport and hotel, for example.
And in the event of an incident, they canprovide security personnel or assist in
evacuations.

Insurance companies
Knowing that an insurance company is on hand to handle claims and cover costs provides extra reassurance when
delivering support to traveling employees. Action should not be delayed by concerns about payment.
To get the right insurance, it’s important to describe the level of protection required, the number of employees requiring
coverage, and what their travel and work patterns are. The insurance company will also need to know how it’s expected towork with the TRM program.
For companies with travel to countries with a high risk of kidnapping, it’s important to remember that this requires a
special type of insurance, which might not be included in a standard travel insurance package. Separate kidnap and ransom
insurance should be investigated.

Threat Intelligence Provider
Threat intelligence is a crucial part of the risk assessment, which can determine to which countries employees may travel
and what security preparations they should make. Real-time 24/7 alert services can enable assistance to be provided
proactively if a threat develops.

Internal Management
The most important role in a TRM Program is ultimately held by a company’s own management. ISO 31030 has leadershipand commitment at its core, connected to all other parts of the TRM framework. Commitment needs to be secured andthis can be done simply by pointing out the financial, reputational and possibly criminal damages that might arise if
management fails in its duty of care towards employees.

9TRM tasks and processes
For the operation of a successful TRM program, many tasks and processes need to be in place. Here’s some of the key ones.

Leadership commitment andcommunication
Senior management support is crucial, more so if they
mandate the use of the TRM program by all travelers.
Failure to participate should result in denial of travel. But
the TRM program needs to be effective, and this requires
senior management support in the shape of sufficient
resourcing. Absent this, and the program risks functioning
poorly and failing to fulfil the company’s duty of care.

Rollout process
Getting the rollout right is key to traveler adoption of a
TRM program. Employees need to know the program
has been introduced, what it means for them and how
they can use it. What number to use in an emergency?
How to use the insurance policy? The TMC through whichbookings should be made? Any mobile apps that need to
be used? These are some of the questions travelers willneed answers to.

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Pre-trip processes
In a comprehensive TRM solution, pre-trip processes are
the best way to ensure a high-quality program. Getting
it right on pre-trip authorization, mandating booking
through designated TMCs, education and high-riskbooking processes is the place to start.

Assistance
Where an external emergency assistance provider is used,
it’s important to establish efficient interaction with theirsystems, and with those of any subcontractors that might
be used.

Common mistakes
Does your company havespecialized insurance coverage?
Additional policies may be required for kidnap
and ransom and the risks to the company, should
the safety of key personnel be compromised.

Travel insurance is enough
By relying solely on travel insurance that includes
work-related travel, a company will fail in its duty of careto employees, exposing it to legal and financial risks.
This is because insurances normally include restrictions,and that means employees will not be covered incertain circumstances. Pre-existing medical conditions,evacuations due to security and health threats, cybersecurity attacks, natural disasters may often be excluded
from travel insurance, but they’re the sort of risks thatmany business travelers face.
Should an event or situation be excluded from the policy,
the employee may not be assisted or could face paying
for assistance themselves.

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Misunderstanding mobile phone
tracking
It’s a common misunderstanding that mobile phone
location tracking conflicts with an individual’s privacy.
When used for TRM purposes, it’s possible to limit anemployer’s access to location data to prevent its misuse.
To allay fears about real-time tracking by employers,availability of mobile location data could be restricted toa third party emergency assistance provider. And if thisisn’t the case, employees could turn off tracking for a
specific location or restrict its use to certain areas.

Common problems
Traveler resistanceTechnical issues

Company culture and individual behaviors andpreferences are the most common obstacles to a TRM
program. Experienced travelers who may in the past have
faced high-risk situations without the support of TRM
may doubt its value and may be reluctant to comply withany policy requirements.

Even with all employees onboard, technical problems canderail TRM:

Even when TRM is mandated in travel programs, they
won’t cover bookings made outside of travel policy.
Some travelers may simply be unaware of the mandate.
Others might believe they can find better deals or may bedissatisfied with the service they’re receiving from theirtravel manager or TMC. Perhaps the policy prevents themusing their preferred airline or hotel chain? Whatever
the reason, such bookings could be supported by theTRM program, if employees share a copy of the booking
confirmation email with the TRM system.

•••

Bad travel booking data – use of free text fields
means it’s easy to enter incorrect traveler details
Location tracking not working – as such systems
often operate in the background, they cansometimes be disabled by operating systems looking
to preserve mobile phone battery life
Incorrect employee data

Employee engagement can reduce
traveler resistance
Actively engage with employees to emphasize
the importance of the TRM program. Craft any
messaging to highlight how allowing access tolocation data, personal mobile phone numbers
and emergency contacts can help companies
protect their employees in the event of anincident.

Legal issues
While data protection and privacy laws shouldn’t preventthe operation of successful TRM programs, they still need
to be legally compliant. There are often restrictions overthe cross-border transfer of personal data. Ownershipand control of personal data must also be established,to ensure legal compliance and legal responsibility in theevent of a data breach. And there need to be the proper
protections in place to secure against cyberattacks andthreats.
TripSource pushmessaging alert

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TRM tools and solutions
Communication is key to successful TRM. Communication needs to be enabled both to and from the traveler and there are a number of solutions worth considering.

Destination intelligence

Mobile phone locator

Integrated TRM platforms

As part of the pre-trip authorization process, companies
can provide destination intelligence to employees. Thiscan help them make informed decisions before a trip andcan help identify and mitigate risks.

Such devices provide a real-time location of an individual
mobile phone, meaning travelers can be located, even
if they deviate from their original itinerary. To protect
their privacy, location tracking could be restricted topredetermined geographic areas or provide less exact
locations. And possibly misuse by an employer could be
avoided by only allowing dedicated assistance providers
to access location data.

The solutions detailed so far may be used in isolation, butthey are increasingly being integrated within the same
TRM platform. Some include APIs (application programinterfaces) to allow them to link with other systems,
including HR platforms containing employee personal
data.

Travel tracker
A system integrated with the travel managementcompany (TMC) automatically receives copies of all
flight, hotel, rail and ground transportation bookings.
In the event of an incident, travel managers can moreeasily search active and future bookings within specificgeographic areas. Travel trackers can also be used to
manage risk for future trips as the situation evolves.
But travel trackers can only show the booked and notactual location of traveling employees. For this reason,
they should be augmented with other solutions, such as
mobile phone locators.

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Mass communication
Many travelers could be impacted by the same incident.
Mass communication offers an effective way to informall employees in an affected area, and not just travelers.
Such tools are already used for business continuity
and crisis management purposes, but they should beenhanced with TRM functionality.

TripSource Safety
Alert

The future of TRM
The post-pandemic acceleration in the shift towards an increasingly mobile workforce has blurred the definition between
work-related travel and remote working. When it comes to the duty of care towards employees, TRM must apply beyond
those traveling purely in the traditional sense. Travel risk management will need to transition into people risk management,
addressing the risks faced by employees wherever they are.
As it broadens its focus to people across companies, TRM must also leverage technology to automate and integrate betterwith other company systems and processes.
In whatever shape or form it takes, one thing is clear: TRM will need to grow to satisfy the needs to travelers in an
increasingly global, but far from safe world.

Fulfilling the duty of care
While the ISO 30130 standard can provide a comprehensive take on what travel managers should do to ensure duty of carecompliance, it may be hard to decide what actions to prioritize. Safeture has created its own simple checklist as a usefulstarting point:
Create a travel policy
Mandate a travel management company for all
employee travel
Secure management commitment, budget andresources to implement a TRM program

Ensure comprehensive travel insurance
is in place
Contract with an emergency assistance
supplier able to manage both medical
and security incidents
Implement a system for locating
travelers

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TRM’s expanding scope
Travel risk management is evolving. Agile
organizations, which want to attract and keep thebest employee talent, are expanding TRM’s scope
beyond travel to include employees working from
home, hybrid workers and even digital nomads.
In the end, it’s not just about duty of care fortravelers, but duty of care for all employees. And
this is why travel risk management is evolving into
people risk management.

Why BCD should be a vital part of your TRM strategy

Around the clock monitoring

Prepare and prevent

Communicate and act

Our Global Crisis Management team monitors events
24/7/365 to identify incidents that may impact businesstravelers. Once identified, our team conducts anassessment and action plan for each incident.

Our proprietary and interactive security map allows you
to visualize a traveler’s current and upcoming locations
against known risk events. The in-depth destination
reports and automated risk alerts will keep travel
managers and their travelers informed before they everstep on a plane.

When an incident occurs, we provide multiple ways tocommunicate with travelers.
•••

Real-time mobile alerts to both travelers and travel
managers to keep them informed and aligned.
Automated “I’m Safe” check-in functionality for highrisk incidents. Responses sync back to interactive
security maps in DecisionSource.
Reach out directly to travelers via email or SMS withcontact data pulled straight from their itineraries.

SUCCESS STORIES

Find out how BCD has supported companies with their
TRM needs
DISCOUNT RETAILER IMPROVES SAVINGS, DUTY OF CARE AND TRAVELER
EXPERIENCES WITH CONSOLIDATED TRAVEL PROGRAM
DecisionSource Security Map

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SAFRAN SECURES TRAVELER SAFETY WITH AUTOMATED TRIP APPROVALSOLUTION

About Safeture
World leading employee safety andduty of care platform
The Safeture platform is a complete and cloud-based service managing risk, safety
and crisis processes involving employees. The solution takes care of all risk and crisis
management needs, finding new ways to safeguard employees wherever they are andsecure your company. For more information on Safeture, visit the BCD marketplace.

About Andreas Rodman
Andreas Rodman is a Swedish information technology (IT)entrepreneur. He previously founded successful IT companies including
Safeture and Bokks, which developed products and solutions using
new emerging technologies to disrupt and replace existing solutions.
Andreas has always been fascinated by how new use cases emerge as
computer technology evolves. He holds a master’s degree in computerscience and engineering at Lund University. In 2019 Andreas Rodman
stepped down as the CEO of Safeture, continuing to work as its CIO
until the summer of 2023.

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Share your thoughts
Do you have questions or comments regarding this report?
Please email Mike Eggleton to share your thoughts.

Mike Eggleton
Director, Research & Intelligence

We have carefully researched and checked the information contained in this report.
However, we do not guarantee or warrant the correctness, completeness or topicalityof this article and do not accept any liability for any damage or loss as a result of theuse of the information contained within this article.

© 2023 BCD Travel N.V. All rights reserved.