By Randall Gordon-Duff, Head of Product, Corporate Travel, Collinson Group
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The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), as many people know, does as an excellent job in providing a good level of travel advice and information on security risks. Many news services, organisations such as charities and corporations base much of their
travel information on FCO advice (likewise, many insurers used FCO guidance as a trigger for coverage).
The good news is that, at the end of last year, the FCO announced that it is to reform how it issues travel advice, including more information about terrorist targets and the likelihood of attacks — a reflection of the more difficult, sensitive world
we are unfortunately living in.
However, while FCO guidance is a great place to start and is designed specifically for UK nationals, it is not intended to provide an entirely comprehensive safety and security briefing for business travellers. Collinson Group believes that in a heightened
global risk environment, corporations and organisations need to rely on more itinerary specific information to provide a value-added service for their staff.
For instance, companies should recognise FCO advice may have a foreign policy perspective and will not necessarily be tailored to the nuances of those who, irrespective of general advice not to travel, still have a need to conduct business in potentially
dangerous places where independent risk mitigation and advice can have much more value.
A female business traveller in Saudi Arabia, for example, should be especially vigilant and may find it unsuitable for reasons of cultural expectations or safety visiting the far north of the country. However, if they are visiting an international centre
such as Riyadh or Jeddah the advice is much more lenient. The FCO advice for Saudi Arabia currently focuses on the border conflict zones with Yemen, advising against travel to these parts, with little context or nuance given to the particular traveller
and the needs for their specific journey. The FCO does publish "Travelaware" advice which focuses on certain traveller profiles and risky activities whilst overseas but again is not itinerary or country specific and aimed more at the leisure rather
than business traveller.
Research commissioned by the Collinson Group in 2016 found that the FCO website is used by more than six in 10 corporates to complete risk assessments for employees travelling abroad. Even with enhanced guidance on terrorist threats, using just this tool
for risk assessments is inadequate and could see companies not legally compliant with Duty of Care obligations.
When it comes to briefing employees pre-travel, less than under half of HR professionals at large corporates said they ensure employees are issued with company guidelines with regards to safety and security when travelling on business, reducing to 40%
for SMEs.
Given the increasing risks globally, including the rise of social unrest and political uncertainties, Collinson Group believes that companies sending employees overseas in 2017 should ensure they have access to appropriate guidance pre-travel and when
abroad. Moreover, while terrorist incidents are very high profile, it is important to brief employees on all aspects of safety abroad, as it is often those issues that don't grab the headlines, such as road traffic incidents or the ability to access
to quality medical care, that occur with most frequency — FCO advice does not cover such possible outcomes.
To help companies manage the business travel needs of their staff, Collinson Group offers 360 Assistance, a unique assistance solution to help corporate clients proactively manage their Duty of Care towards
employees.
360 Assistance is a fully integrated medical and security advice and emergency response service aimed at corporates employing frequent business travellers, short-term assignees or expatriate workers. It has
been designed to help users in any situation, in any time zone around the world through Collinson Group's extensive global network.