Crafting a comprehensive travel risk management policy
Travelling for business can be both exciting and essential for your company's growth, but it doesn’t come without its fair share of uncertainties. To ensure the safety and well-being of your employees while they're on the road, having a robust travel risk management (TRM) policy in place is crucial. This policy serves as your guiding light, ensuring that your team is well-prepared for any adventure that comes their way.
What should be included in a travel risk management policy template?
Every business is unique and will need to create a TRM policy that will suit their individualized needs. However, an effective travel risk management policy template is made up of six essential sections:
1. Policy Scope
Before drafting your travel risk management policy, you need to determine its scope. Consider the reasons behind its creation and what it should encompass. Your policy should be comprehensive, covering aspects like risk assessments, Duty of Care (DOC) obligations, and more.
2. Roles and Responsibilities
Every member of your organization has a role to play in ensuring the success of the TRM policy. Clearly define the responsibilities of individuals, departments, and stakeholders involved. It’s also equally important to outline the roles and responsibilities of employees, senior management, line managers, and travel managers both before and after trips.
3. Planning and Approving Travel
Travel approval should be a meticulous process. Document each step, including who has the authority to sign off on a business trip. Consider all aspects of the journey, evaluating whether the employee is travelling to a high-risk destination. Factors to consider include:
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Political instability in the region, ranging from protests to susceptibility to terrorist attacks
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Potential for natural disasters
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General security concerns
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Endemic diseases
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Entry requirements (such as additional identification or proof of vaccination)
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Traveller risk profile assessments (including risks associated with LGBTQ+, religious, gender, or racial backgrounds)
4. Travel Risk Assessment
Pre-trip travel risk assessments are the cornerstone of your policy. It helps identify threats that business travellers might encounter during their journeys. Since risk levels can fluctuate, your policy should cover a wide range of potential risks, even those considered low level. Consider including:
Employee health considerations
Evaluate the health status of your travellers before they embark on a trip. Should they have any underlying health conditions, such as a chronic illness that poses mobility issues, ensure that appropriate accommodations are provided during their journey.
Accessibility of medical care
Assess the availability and accessibility of medical facilities at the destination so that your travellers can receive prompt treatment in case of injury or illness.
Traveller profiles
A deeper understanding of your travellers' personal profiles can help tailor more accurate travel risk assessments. This is especially crucial for specific risks, such as those associated with gender-based travel safety concerns or religious considerations.
Travel itineraries
Scrutinize the travel itineraries to identify any potential disruptions or challenges, such as layovers in high-risk destinations, transit through politically unstable areas, or long journeys that could lead to traveller fatigue.
Procedures for flight and hotel cancellations
Develop clear procedures for handling flight and hotel cancellations, ensuring that travellers are informed and supported should their plans face any unexpected hiccups.
Location-specific risk factors
Assess the destination's specific high-risk factors, including prevalent diseases, potential natural disasters, local crime rates, and geopolitical stability.
5. Incident Reporting and Traveller Support
No matter how well prepared you think your TRM programme is, incidents can (and will) still occur. Your corporate travel risk management policy should outline the organisation's responsibilities in assisting employees during such situations, ranging from minor incidents like pickpocketing to major crises like natural disasters. Provide clear instructions on how employees can access support, including emergency phone numbers and guides for assistance. Specify how to report incidents during business travel and detail the organisation's crisis management procedures.
6. Insurance
An often overlooked but crucial aspect of the policy is insurance coverage. Clearly define what is and isn't covered by travel insurance, leaving no room for ambiguity. Make it easy for employees to understand which items and events are insured, how to report losses or incidents, and how to make insurance claims. For instance, specify whether insurance covers damage or theft of personal mobile phones or just company devices.
7. Training and Awareness
Writing the policy is only the first step. It's equally important to ensure that employees are aware of and trained in the policy's provisions. Regular training sessions and awareness campaigns can help instill a culture of safety and security within your travel risk management programme and organisation as a whole.
No risky business with FCM
When it comes to business travel, a well-structured TRM policy is essential for safeguarding your team during business trips. Remember, the true key to ensuring the safety of your travelling employees lies not just in the policy itself, but the commitment to implementing and enforcing it throughout your entire organisation. And with FCM, travel safety doesn’t have to be a challenge.
Tailored strategies and unparalleled support
We’ll work with you to develop customised strategies that effectively mitigate travel risk, keeping you flexible and agile to an ever-evolving travel climate.The best part? Our cutting-edge technology is built to keep your travellers safe at every turn, while our dedicated support teams are available around the clock, ready to provide assistance in any and every situation.
Elevated travel safety with trusted partners
We work with leading third-party risk management providers to alleviate the burden of managing risks on a grand scale, especially for multinational corporations. Together, we work tirelessly to ensure your travellers feel secure and supported, no matter where their business takes them. Powered by Crisis24, FCM’s travel alerts are issued through the FCM Platform, by email, or directly through our mobile app.
No matter the circumstances, FCM has got your back.
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