Near three in ten (29 percent) travel managers report they do not know how long it would take to locate affected employees in a crisis. That’s according to a new study released by the GBTA Foundation, the research and education arm of the US-based trade body the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). Overall, half (50 percent) of travel managers say, in the event of an emergency, they can locate all of their employees in the affected area within two hours or less. Three in five (60 percent) travel managers rely on travellers to reach out if they need help and have not booked through proper channels.
The study, How to Close Risk Management Loopholes, done with Concur, a travel and expense management software company, explores how traveller safety protocols are established and executed, including how much technology is used and integrated.
Kate Vasiloff, GBTA Foundation Director of Research, said: “Research reveals significant gaps in educating travelers about resources available to them and the existence of protocols should the unforeseen happen. Failing to establish and communicate safety measures leaves travelers and organizations vulnerable. As both security threats and technology evolve, even the most robust protocols that once served companies well may now have weaknesses requiring immediate attention and modification.”
Regardless of which department formally oversees duty of care, travel managers still play a key role in supporting travellers should disaster strike, the research authors suggest. Hence most (85 percent) of travel programmes include risk management protocols. Over the past two years, US travel risk management protocols have increased to rival those of international travel. Only three in five (62 percent) international travellers, that is, beyond the US, are given pre-travel information and even fewer (53 percent) are given information on local providers for medical and security assistance services before leaving.
During a security threat, every minute spent trying to get in touch could be putting them in greater risk. Live personal calls (58 percent) and automated emails to business addresses (52 percent) are the most popular methods of communicating with travelers in an emergency. Two-thirds (65 percent) of organizations retain the services of third-party safety and security companies. At organisations using third-party safety and security companies, four out of five travel managers report travellers can be tracked anywhere (84 percent) at any time (81 percent).
