As business travellers are facing increasing risks, companies need to extend their duty of care adequately to ensure worry-free business travel. It means going above and beyond infrequent risk management seminars and pre-trip safety briefs. Safety awareness needs to become a mindset, and precaution measures must turn into habits.
Safety Awareness
You might have heard many stories about pickpockets in cities like Milan or road accidents in places like Chennai, but those incidents are just a part of the big picture. Travelling imposes three types of danger on business travellers:
- Security risks
- Health risks
- Safety risks at the destination
While being on the road, travellers face various security threats by doing seemingly harmless activities that they do every day at home: getting on the internet, using a computer, withdrawing cash from an ATM or walking around with mobile devices and debit cards in the pocket. For example, when you connect to an open Wi-Fi network at an airport (instead of the highly secured one at your company), someone might try to get hold of your data to do illegal things without your consent.
Health risks range from extreme outbreaks to common illnesses, or merely the slipping away from healthy routines. The stress of travelling for work and the unfamiliarity with the destination could heighten the problems that business travellers have to endure.
Road accidents and petty crimes are the most common risks for business travellers at a destination. There are also threats as uncommon as natural disasters and political unrest and ones as common as cultural misunderstanding.
Form the habit of taking precaution measurements
Awareness is the first step, but travellers often need guidance to arrive safely and leave successfully. The habit of taking precaution measurements can be built by turning each must-do into a list of small steps. By going through the list before travelling, you can make it a habit of being safe on the road.