Why security is important for employees whilst travelling

Craig Swallow

Good planning reduces travel risks

When travelling abroad for business, employee safety should be at the forefront of planning. Not only is it the employer’s duty of care to ensure that travellers are safe, but they should be especially diligent when sending employees to potential or known high-risk areas. Protecting employees is more important than ever as businesses are operating in a global marketplace, with an increasing number of employers expecting their employees to work abroad as part of their work.

Planning a trip well in advance allows the team back at home and the employee travelling to be prepared for every situation. As technology has developed, there is now the ability to track employees in real time through GPS tracking and as the risks of travelling abroad have increased exponentially over the past few years, this may be essential to some businesses. Not only are there more cases of fraud, theft and loss of valuables, but employees travelling to potential danger zones such as areas of political unrest or economic instability, are at greater risk of being affected in some way.

To minimise these risks, many hours go into organising business trips and logistics, the delivery and security are vital aspects in the preparation. Several factors need to be taken into consideration when ensuring all aspects of the trip have been covered.

Identify High-Risk Areas

Research around the destination should identify any potential danger zones, such as areas with high levels of crime. Once these areas are identified, the traveller should be informed of the potential risks and a plan set in place, in order to be more proactive rather than reactive.

To combat this issue, Vismo can be used to place geo-fences over high risk areas remotely. By setting up geo-fence alerts, teams will be notified and alerted via SMS and an email, if a traveller enters or exits a pre-defined area. The pre-defined areas can be placed anywhere, whether that being over a potentially high-risk area, or it could also be a place on safety, to be alerted when the traveller has got back to the hotel for example.

Communication

To ensure communication runs smoothly whilst travelling, travellers will benefit from being equipped with roaming SIMs according to the destination. This will ensure data can be used when needed and will minimise the potential huge data bill when returning. Where no network coverage is available, satellite devices can be used to ensure communication is available. Communication is essential whilst travelling, the traveller may need to quickly get in touch if needs be, in case of an emergency. A quick message to report and check in; such as ‘Arriving at Meeting’ or ‘Arriving at the Airport’, can keep colleagues constantly up to date and informed.

Planning a Schedule

In the process of organising business trips, the team members supporting the traveller should have a copy of their trip schedule. Knowing a traveller’s schedule ahead of time will allow easier check ins and appropriate communications to be put in place to alert the relevant personnel. Training and guidance may be required before the trip commences to prepare the traveller for potential scenarios that may take place. It may also be important to advise on local culture as well as any other additional information.

For more information on how Vismo helps our clients see our case studies, view our licence options or contact the team for a demo.