Chris Job is director of risk management services at Healix
The paradigm of risk assessment and prevention for businesses is dramatically shifting. The Russian-Ukraine conflict and the ensuing energy crisis, the political, social and economic fallout from the pandemic, the intensifying climate crisis and soaring inflation are all having an unprecedented global impact.
As a result, with corporate travel back on the rise, businesses now face greater and more complex travel risks than they were up against even just a year ago. Many will need to check that their existing policies and procedures for evaluating and mitigating the threats to their operations and security remain fit for purpose.
Another element businesses now need to consider for these policies is the rise of flexible, hybrid and remote working, a result of the multiple lockdowns which greatly reduced office attendance globally. With employees able to work from anywhere and some choosing to work from abroad, businesses have to tackle the many risks and complications that can come with this, from travel risk to insurance and tax issues, to cyber security threats and more.
As we pass the half-year mark, it is a good time for businesses to take stock of the markedly different risk landscape they now face so that in the months ahead, they can effectively navigate and mitigate the threats relating to corporate travel and hybrid working.
People risk management amid hybrid working
According to Gartner, 39 per cent of 'global knowledge workers' are set to work in a hybrid fashion by the end of 2023. Businesses therefore need to account for the increasingly blurred boundaries between the personal and the professional. In the case of travel risk management, this means shifting the focus to include people management, catering for all staff – not just travellers.
One area that businesses may be interested in reviewing is the increasingly complex implications of managing employees who are digital nomads, travelling regularly but not purely on business. In practice, this growing phenomenon gives rise to many complications ranging from tax status issues to insurance cover difficulties. These are all compounded by the inherent risks of employees living and operating in the chosen country, which often differ significantly from their home country.
Nomadic staff may or may not communicate these issues to the business in sufficient time before their departure for their employer to be fully aware of the risks and put the necessary mitigations in place, further heightening the degree of risk involved.
Employers should consider how they can proactively provide full support and reassurance to staff who may wish to move around by making them aware of the potential risks and tax implications, and informing them of the measures that they can put in place ahead of time to help manage these.
This can prevent unwanted situations where employees expend time, effort and money selling their house, moving their children out of school, and making all the other arrangements necessary for their move, only to suddenly discover that they have to commute back to their hometown on a weekly basis for tax purposes.
Taking this a step further, businesses may need to be fully aware of the risks that exist in any location that employees may choose to work from remotely, including even their own home. To illustrate this point, in a recent German court case, when an individual was injured while moving from his bedroom to his home office, the judge ruled that this constituted a workplace incident as he was commuting.
Additionally, with home internet, mobile devices and cloud security all more susceptible to cyber-attacks, it is crucial that employers are giving all staff intensive cyber security training while also implementing best practice standards in order to firm up their cybersecurity defences.
Providing protection for blended travel
A further trend in blurring the boundaries between the professional and the personal is the rise of blended travel, where employees visit a destination for both work and pleasure – for example, extending a work-related trip to allow time for personal travel. With the rise of hybrid working, the inverse is true as well, with travellers able to ‘work from anywhere’, taking their jobs with them when going abroad.
With blended travel, it is vital that travel managers stay on top of who is going abroad and ensuring their travel policies are continuously updated to account for this style of travel. Similar to accounting for digital nomads, travel managers need to work closely with managers to account for those who are extending work trips into personal holidays.
While there is a line between duty of care and invading privacy, many employees may be reassured by knowing there is an actionable travel crisis management plan in place in the event of an issue during the business aspect of their trip.
Additionally, providing travellers with information on potential risks for the region they are visiting can also be useful for both the personal and professional aspects of their trip.
However, regardless of it being a blended trip or a purely business-oriented journey, companies should ensure that they are following best practices for travel risk management and provide the strongest support and information for these travelling staff.
A good starting point is ISO 31030, introduced in September 2021, which businesses can use to compare their base standard and existing activity in order to identify possible areas of improvement to ensure they are meeting the best practice from a legal perspective should anything happen.
In addition, ongoing proactive monitoring of the regions being visited is useful to both forewarn staff and to be notified themselves and therefore provide on-the-ground support and protective services to ensure their safety, if required. For employees taking a blended approach to a trip, it’s vital travel managers know how to contact them during the ‘personal’ aspect of their journey too, should they need such information.
Proactivity is key to a company effectively managing the complex risks facing businesses in a world where workforces are increasingly dispersed and many employees have the option of working from anywhere. While being proactive cannot guarantee protection against such diverse risks and issues, it can reduce susceptibility to these dangers and problems, and mitigate the scale of damage.