November 2008’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai were timely – and high-profile – reminders of the more unpredictable perils mobile workers can become caught up in as they fulfil their duties. Could employers be doing more to safeguard employee security and health, asks Ruth Holmes.

In today’s globalised business environment, where hopping on a plane has become as ordinary as getting on the bus, it’s relatively easy – both as an employee and employer – to become complacent about the risks involved.

As a basic minimum, all UK employees are covered by Health and Safety at Work legislation and also by the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which came into force in April 2008. These acts of law require employers to carry out appropriate risk assessment in order to prevent people from being harmed or becoming ill as a result of their working environment.

Legislation is just one very good reason to monitor, assess and respond to the risks in the workplace appropriately. Another is that the safeguards an employer puts in place are also increasingly a sign of how much value it places on its employees and their work. In the war for talent, the integrity of an employer’s brand is key to attracting, recruiting and retaining personnel, especially for assignments in less-desirable destinations.

Regular monitoring and assessment is also a necessity given the swiftly changing and unpredictable geopolitical landscape since the Cold War ended and post-9/11, coupled with increased levels of business travel to an increasing number of destinations. “Now it’s not just Nigeria and Angola where terrorists attack, but political decisions made in the Netherlands, the UK and Spain mean that cities in these countries could become targets and therefore potentially more ‘risky’ than before,” says Mike Penrose, a security expert with International SOS.

Running unnecessary risks?

Despite the compelling business case for assessing and responding to the risks a globally mobile workforce faces, a large number of UK companies seem to be turning a blind eye to the issues. A survey of over 1,000 business travellers undertaken on behalf of international security company Control Risks shows that only 39 per cent of UK firms have a travel security policy. What’s more, while 60 per cent of travellers would know whom to call in an emergency, only 37 per cent would feel confident that they could get hold of the right person day or night. This is at a time when 40 per cent of the business travellers surveyed reported feeling more vulnerable than ever when on overseas business travel.

These figures suggest that many companies are potentially leaving themselves open to claims of negligence, with the consequence of paying both a high human and a high financial cost. At October 2008’s ORC Worldwide/Deloitte conference on managing global risk, Jake Stratton, a director of Control Risks, cited the example of French construction firm DCN.

DCN sent a team of its workers to Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002. A suicide bomber rammed his car into the bus that was carrying the employees, killing 15 people (including 11 French and two Pakistani nationals) and injuring 20 others. After a hearing, DCN was fined nearly US$900,000 in a French court for “inexcusable error” and negligence in safeguarding its employees. Tellingly, a DCN director reportedly said after the tragedy, “We never had the slightest problem nor the slightest indication to take precautions. We are appalled – everyone is in shock.”

Managing the dangers – what can employers do?

So what should employers be doing to manage effectively the risks to their global talent? Mike Penrose, of International SOS, suggests first focusing on the endemic, predictable – and therefore controllable and preventable – risks.

These are often the simple things, such as making sure travellers are aware of road safety, that are often left unconsidered – especially by seasoned business travellers. (Thirty-eight per cent of British business travellers claim never to do any research to check the political situation or social climate of the countries they travel to abroad on business.)

“Car accidents are the most common risk to overseas workers, yet these risks are often overlooked. Someone who would never hail an unlicensed cab in London may well be tempted through lack of knowledge and convenience to pick up any old taxi, which could well be a poorly maintained death trap in cities such as Mumbai, for example,” says Mike Penrose. “It’s about assessing those kinds of risks and informing employees on that basis. Equally, you need to inform workers about street crime and where to socialise. It’s not a good idea to go on a pub crawl in downtown Algiers, for example. If you’ve given the employee the information, it is up to them what they do with it.”

“Issues included in these ‘Level One’ risk considerations might be environmental, social, customs, about the infrastructure, etc,” says William Parry, a director of global security information and monitoring services specialist Blue CRM. He is also a firm believer in the fundamental necessity of pre-departure briefings to equip employees with prior knowledge of the risks and how to manage them.

“The first period of the assignment is when an employee is most vulnerable. Giving them the information ahead of departure is going to help them be informed and make decisions on the basis of knowledge,” says William Parry.

Responding to risk

As well as monitoring and responding to the predictable, endemic risks, employers also need to be aware of unpredictable risks, which can still be significant and are ever-changing – such as the threat of terrorism – and adjust policies and responses accordingly as part of a wider risk management strategy.

Specialist intelligence, monitoring and 24-hour crisis assistance services can therefore be of paramount importance for many companies. A number of organisations offer a range of services that can be tailored to the gamut of global workers’ situations, whether it’s a long assignment in a remote location, short-haul, short-stay business travel or a familiar expatriate destination.

These services tap into new technologies, can be highly cost-effective and streamlined, and provide a ready audit trail to ensure that companies are achieving and maintaining best practice in safeguarding employee health and security while they are overseas. For example, an employee’s existing mobile phone can become both a point of contact and can be used for tracking. Many security firms use text messages to update customers on situations and pass on government advice. The internet, too, is a valuable information portal for subscribers, providing instant access to up-to-date country health and safety information, and city guides advising how to keep safe and streetwise.

The Mumbai attacks provided the ultimate test of the efficacy of these arrangements. International SOS and Control Risks, for example, received calls to their 24/7 control centre from clients, where operators were able to provide the latest information and advice, which, for those not directly involved, was to stay indoors and out of the affected areas and to be more aware of the heightened security presence in the days after the attacks. For those business travellers caught up or injured in the Taj Mahal or Oberoi hotels or on the streets, International SOS and similar service providers were able to provide air ambulances and medical teams to evacuate and provide immediate medical assistance.

Health overseas

The principles of first identifying and responding to endemic and predictable risk in safeguarding mobile employees’ safety underpin the health considerations for any overseas assignment too. The more common reasons for medical evacuation remain cardio-vascular disease, with trauma and infections also being reasonably common.

Dr Sue Thorp, medical director of International SOS, explains that, again, appropriate health risk management comes down to communication between the employer and the employee – making the employee aware of the health issues and giving them the appropriate information for them to make informed decisions.

“The employee has to be aware of the health issues current in the destination country in order to be able to make informed decisions,” says Dr Thorp. “For this, employers should really be looking at three areas. The first is the employee’s health: do they have any pre-existing medical conditions and are there the facilities in the destination country to manage these, eg easy access to a genuine, reliable source of prescription drugs? This can be carried out according to need via a pre-departure health questionnaire or examinations as required.

“Second, they need to be aware of prevalent infectious diseases, and, where possible, have the vaccinations, medication and health advice to prevent these. Third, they need to know the risks from trauma, say in road transport. Prevention is always better than trying to solve a problem.”
 
Making the case

Just as absence is costly in the home country, it can be doubly so in the host country when relocation packages and project set-backs are accounted for. Having an infrastructure in place that covers every family member can be hugely reassuring and thus help to settle a trailing family. It is also a small investment to make given the potential consequences. Concludes William Parry, of Blue CRM, “The growth in both GPS technology and the number of people happy to travel means that anything an employer can do to help manage the risks inherent in business travel using tried-and-tested means and at a reasonable price is, to me, a no-brainer for businesses.”