Tag: business travel risk management

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Business Travel Travel Management Travel News

How to Support Your Business Travelers During The Coronavirus Outbreak

Originally published Feb 27, 2020 at 4:02 PM, updated March 09, 2020

As the coronavirus continues to affect business travel, we want to provide corporate travel managers with helpful tools, resources, and information to best support their travelers. For the most up-to-date information on the coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. 

CDC Travel Guidelines

The following warning and alert classifications have been outlined by the CDC. We encourage travel managers to review the warnings and make informed decisions to protect their travelers.

Warning Level 3 

Nonessential travel to these highest-risk locations should be avoided. This currently includes China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

Alert Level 2 

Due to sustained community transmission of the virus in Japan, the CDC recommends that older adults and those suffering from chronic medical conditions postpone travel to these areas. Corporate travel managers could also consider adding an additional level of approval for these business trips by having senior leaders review them on a case-by-case basis. 

Watch Level 1 

The CDC recommends practiving usual precaustions when traveling to Hong Kong at this time. The CDC will continue to update its recommendations on their website. Companies with employees traveling to level 1 watch areas may want to consider implementing additional health and security protocols to ensure traveler safety.  

Personal Travel 

While personal travel does fall outside the realms of a corporate travel manager’s purview, companies may want to encourage employees to travel with caution and remain aware of this ongoing situation. If an employee has personal plans to visit or has visited one of the warning level areas, you could consider having them self-quarantine for 14 days. If an employee participates in any travel, regardless of the area, and shows signs of being sick, you could also ask them to follow the same 14-day self-quarantine. 

Reminder to Only Book Within Approved Corporate Tools 

Travel managers should reiterate the importance of booking business travel within the organization’s approved corporate booking tools and enforce these policies. Booking within policy ensures you always know where your travelers are so that you can best support them and communicate critical information in a timely manner. 

Review Your Risk Management Policy and Update if Needed

Be sure you have included a protocol for an infectious disease outbreak like this in your risk management plan. Events that could trigger action include travelers becoming infected or being stranded in an infected area. Do you have a plan in place to quickly and appropriately support your travelers? 

Remind Travelers to Follow These Best Practices While Traveling 

Ask business travelers to follow these actions recommended by the World Health Organization when traveling. 

  1. Wash hands frequently
  2. Maintain social distancing 
  3. Avoid touching eyes nose and mouth 
  4. Practice respiratory hygiene
  5. If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early
  6. Stay informed and follow the advice given by your healthcare provider

Additional Resources

For more resources to help you plan and respond to this situation, visit the CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019. 

BCD Travel also has a current list of airline updates and advisories by country. 

The information presented here is up-to-date as of March 9 and is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Christopherson does not give recommendations on the prudence of travel to affected areas. Our aim is to provide helpful information that allows companies and travelers to make informed decisions. As the situation continues to unfold, companies can access real-time information through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization website.

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Business Travel

Modified Travel Itineraries Increased In 2016 Due To Risk Factors

As security threats become more prevalent and health concerns rise in different areas of the world, travel managers and company decision-makers have been watching. A new study by International SOS and Control Risks found an overall increase in modified travel itineraries due to travel risk factors in 2016.  In addition to itinerary modification, 80% of organizations adjusted or reinforced travel security measures in various other ways. Almost half of the respondents say they increased their travel mitigation procedures in the last year.

Overall, the business travel industry as a whole sees the need to update travel procedures or implement risk mitigation activities. And it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Even with this jump in travel risks, business travel has risen by 44% in the last year, according to this study. Over half expected business travel to increase through 2017 as well. Meaning more companies are likely to update risk protocol in the future.

Top risk mitigation actions during 2016:

Below are the ways in which companies increased their risk mitigation techniques over 2016.

  • Reinforced travel security measures (50%)
  • Updated travel policy (45%)
  • Introduced pre-trip travel advisory emails (39%)
  • Implemented travel safety training (32%)
  • Implemented programs to locate travelers (25%)
  • Provided pre-travel health programs (22%)
  • Invested in crisis communication systems (20%)
  • Enforced use of mobile check in (15%)

The greatest challenges facing travel managers or human resource managers:

Companies are actively taking precautions to ensure their business travelers are safe. Unfortunately, a hurdle with most decision makers is internal compliancy with their travelers. Below are the top challenges employers faced in implementing new risk management protocols.

  • Educating employees about travel risks (49%)
  • Communicating during a crisis (47%)
  • Tracking employee travel (42%)
  • Confirming that employees have read pre-travel information (37%)
  • Travel risk policy compliance (31%)
  • Managing a crisis (31%)
  • Business continuity planning (23%)
  • Implementing a travel risk policy (23%)
  • Confirming that employees have taken travel risk training (23%)
  • Understanding legal obligations to travelers (22%)
  • Management buy-in of travel risk policy (18%)

Activities found to be successful by travelers and decisions makers:

Overall, travelers are less likely to encounter problems if the prepared for the destination and have a known procedure for events. These are the tasks both travelers and decision makers found success in mitigating immediate travel risks in their destination city.

  • Share itinerary with friends and family (59%)
  • Research threats by destination (54%)
  • Know vaccination requirements (42%)
  • Explore attitudes, cultures, and practice of local population (42%)
  • Protect against mosquito bites (36%)

How Christopherson Business Travel provides safety reassurance

Studies like these just reinforce why we created our AirPortal 360 suite in the first place. Our SecurityLogic technology allows travel managers to instantly locate their travelers anywhere in the world in an instant. Displaying safety risks, weather complications, traffic delays, etc, it provides an overview of the destination, without needing to be on the ground or search through additional websites. Should an emergency or disaster strike, our Safety Check feature contacts the traveler instantaneously, notifying them they need to check in with their

Should an emergency or disaster strike, our Safety Check feature contacts the traveler instantaneously- notifying them that they need to check in with their employer. We provide peace of mind for duty or care responsibilities and work fast in an emergency. Our other technology tools in the suite compliment SecurityLogic, ensuring everything you need is in one place.

 

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company, specializing in advanced technology and personalized account management. Learn more about SecurityLogic and our other tools, or contact us for a free demo.

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Travel Management Travel Technology

Reduce Business Travel Risk with SecurityLogic®

SecurityLogic is a duty of care assistance tool, accessible via desktop, smartphone, or tablet, that provides travel managers the ability to verify safety and location of business travelers.
SecurityLogic is a duty of care assistance tool, accessible via desktop, smartphone, or tablet, that provides travel managers the ability to verify safety and location of business travelers.

With many companies expanding their travel programs domestically, multi-nationally, or globally, business travel continues to become more and more complex, especially when it comes to risk and safety. Christopherson Business Travel understands the stress of fulfilling those duty of care requirements and provides valuable technology to help to reduce business travel risk.

Christopherson’s duty of care tool SecurityLogic®, allows travel managers to locate travelers quickly and push alerts to communicate instructions or information to travelers via text or email in emergency situations. Unlike other disaster recovery products, SecurityLogic continuously pulls data from the Global Distribution System (GDS), thereby providing real-time accuracy.

SecurityLogic also provides access to multiple global map overlays and because all travel information is geocoded to street level accuracy, travel managers can easily zoom in on any country, city, or street to find their business travelers anywhere in the world.

As an extra level of safety and communication, SecurityLogic has a two-way check-in feature called Safety Check, which allows travel managers to send travelers a check-in message to verify their safety. Upon receipt, the traveler simply responds to the message one of two ways: “I’m safe.” or “I need assistance” (with an additional field to explain their need). SecurityLogic then geocodes the traveler’s location using the GPS coordinates provided by the traveler’s cell phone.

SecurityLogic delivers the following key benefits:

  • Quickly locate travelers by name, travel date, and/or location
  • Request verification of safety and location from travelers through the check-in feature
  • Get real-time info on weather, airport delays, security, and disaster alerts
  • Push alerts directly to travelers via text and email
  • Use map overlays to view weather, traffic, and travelers anywhere in the world
  • Quickly zoom from global to street-level view

Travel managers can also find confidence in Christopherson’s service which is available 24/7/365. This means your business travelers can call us at any time to make changes to itineraries and get travel assistance in the event of an emergency or unexpected delay.

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Business Travel Travel Technology

Lost in Space – Why every company needs to know where their travelers are.

SecurityLogic
SecurityLogic® keeps track of your travelers around the world, 24 hours-a-day, every day of the week.

As I was on my flight to New York this week, I couldn’t help but think about Malaysia Air Flight 370. What would it feel like to be on a plane that vanishes from site? What would, or could, I do to communicate with my family or company?

So far, 2014 has been plagued with numerous weather delays and flight cancellations, exceeding both 2012 and 2013 combined. But weather delays and interruption of travel is something we are all accustomed to from time to time. A plane disappearing with 239 passengers, political unrest in many areas around the world, and the possible threat of a new Cold War brings duty of care and the risk management of your travelers to a heightened focus for many companies.

Did you know that Christopherson Business Travel can provide your travel manager and risk department the latest in tracking technology? SecurityLogic® is a dynamic reporting and communication tool created to facilitate your company’s duty of care responsibilities. With customized search options that allow you to quickly locate travelers by name, date, and/or location, SecurityLogic also provides real-time weather, airport delay, security, and disaster alerts that you can then easily push to travelers via text and email. This technology truly keeps your travelers from being Lost in Space.

To learn more about this valuable business travel technology tool, simply contact a Christopherson executive.