Business Travel iQ
Watch Martine's speech from the conference below
"My name's Martine Wright. Let my mum and dad know that I am okay."
Those were the words that Martine repeated over and over while she was being removed from one of the wrecked London Underground carriages on 7th July 2005. She had left a little late for work that morning after celebrating the London 2012 bid win the night before, not knowing (how could she?) that where she sat for her commute would change her life forever. A terrorist set off a bomb in the carriage she was travelling in that morning, killing 52 people.
Martine was one of the lucky ones. She lost both her legs in the incident but with a positive and determined attitude went on to learn how to fly and ski, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing for Sport Relief and ultimately competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games as part of the sitting volleyball team (she's now captain). Martine's opening keynote speech at the Responsible Travel Management conference was inspiring and moving, but also set the tone for why it is so important to put travellers at the centre of a travel policy, especially when it comes to risk.
What happened to Martine could have happened to anyone. Most travel risk programmes focus on high risk destinations but, in fact, all destinations are high risk. Technology and data might be helping to reduce the likelihood of a major incident, but it's widely uncontrollable and we don't know what's going to happen. That doesn't mean that travel and risk managers can't prepare, even if it's a basic strategy and traveller guidelines.
It's natural to mainly think about the physical, external damage or preparations. Arranging flights so that your travellers are removed from a location safely or ensuring they get the right medical help is crucial. But there's the emotional and psychological element to consider, throughout and after the ordeal. It's an area that will also involve HR, but what do you have in place to support employees then? Is it flexible enough to deal with different reactions and communications?
During an incident it might be difficult to offer that support when there are communication challenges. Many crisis plans assume that people will be able to use their mobiles, but Martine's story and subsequent buyer case studies during the conference all had one thing in common: no mobile phone signal. That's where pre-trip education and advice, local contacts or traveller tracking can make a difference.
The words Martine kept repeating on that day were her way of communicating among the madness. It was her family that she wanted to get a message to more than anyone. Linking up travel and HR profiles could be one way of making sure you have the relevant information together beforehand.
"It's not what happens but what you do with it," Martine said towards the end of her speech. It's a mantra that's led her down a particular path. It might be one that pushes you to rethink or refine your travel risk strategy.