In chapter 1 we started with an overview of the new ISO standard 31030 "Travel Risk Management". In chapter 2, we now dive deeper into the individual topics:
Creating contextual understanding
The basis for a successful TRM is to embed it into the organization’s context. It is about addressing your organization’s specific needs and circumstances. The following three core topics provide a helpful guidance to develop your TRM fit:
1. Operating Context
Get a clear understanding of the factors affecting the TRM of your organisation. There are external and internal factors. External factors can be, for example:
- political, socio-economic, ethnic, regulatory, religious.
- violence (political, social)
- infrastructure quality (transport, telecom, hotel)
- quality of the health system
- environmental factors
Internal factors include your organisation’s:
- strategy and culture
- governance structure
- risk management and risk criteria
- scope of travel activities
- technical resources for TRM
- data management
The industry sector in which the organisationoperates can have a significant impact on the relevant risks. Accordingly, the organisationneeds a clear and comprehensive understanding of its risk profile, which in turn needs to be reviewed regularly.
2. Stakeholders
Within the framework of a TRM system, various internal and external stakeholders must be taken into account and should be involved in the process at an early stage, e.g.:
- Internal stakeholders/functions
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- HSE
- Corporate security
- BCM
- Emergency/crisis management
- CSR
- Corporate Travel
- HR
- Country/Regional Representation
- Risk Management
- Legal & Compliance
- Communication
- Finance
- External stakeholders/functions
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- Travel Management Companies
- Insurance service providers
- Emergency organisations
- Emergency contacts of travellers
- Local partners
The comprehensive involvement of these stakeholders is required for an optimised and effective incident handling.
3. Travelling Population
At the core of every TRM are the travelers with their different profiles, which must be placed in the context of the travel destinations. Factors such as age, gender, skills, nationality, cultural and religious background, sexual orientation, medical condition have an impact on the risk assessment for a specific travel.
This results in different categories of travelers with corresponding levels of duty of care - such as:
- Direct employees
- Guests of the organisation
- Family members travelling with the main person
- Students / interns
- General distinction between travelers and expatriates
- Local employees or remote workers
For an accurate and up-to-date assessment, HR and legal services should be involved as of the preparation phase of a business journey.
Business goals vs. risk acceptance
Every business trip has its business objective. In terms of a risk and reward analysis, these objectives should be compared with the corresponding potential risks and, if feasible, mitigation measures should be defined.
Every organisation has its business specific risk profile. The relevant risk criteria should be documented in the TRM policy. This allows for a systematic definition and implementation of internal and – with the help of external service providers – external measures.
A specific assessment can potentially also lead to the conclusion to refrain from traveling to the envisaged destination or to modify the travel plans.
Outlook to Chapter 3:
How to manage travel risks?
