Employee Safety: Travel Guides

You are responsible for traveling employees' safety. It's good to tell them what not to do. It's better to teach them how to be alert and anticipate and avoid trouble.

McIndoe, who is here to talk about iJet's travel safety alert service, says that until recently, most companies focused solely on the protection and safety of the top 1 percent of their employees as part of their business continuity plans. But companies understand now that they are liable for all of their traveling employees24/7, whether they're in a business meeting or taking a side trip to run with the bulls in Pamplona.

CSOs need to give their employees safe travel guidelines before their next trip, says Paul Lunt, a retail loss prevention consultant and an alumnus of Katz's travel safety class. Lunt says it can help to bring in an outside expert like Katz. If that's not an option, CSOs can coordinate with HR or corporate travel to conduct a class themselves.

Katz, Lunt and students from this class offer these guidelines:

Conduct awareness training. Organizations need an awareness training program for their travelers to help employees develop an alert mind-set, Lunt says. Make a checklist of information that travelers need. Make the list quick and memorable, and in a format that's portable. The list should cover hotel security, traveling by cab, renting cars and so on. (See Katz's Travel Safety Checklist at www.globalsecuritygroup.com/downloads.) Teach employees the importance of paying attention to their environment.

Perform risk assessments. The travel safety guidelines that you establish are directly proportional to the level of risk you're comfortable assuming. Conduct pretravel intelligence. Do you need to accompany all of your employees on a private jet everywhere they go? Probably not. Katz says pretravel intelligence gathering would evaluate travel warnings at destination sites and surrounding regions, the level of local political instability, the activity of terrorist organizations, the region's health hazards and the local emergency medical care, local criminal activity, and driving hazards.

Keep a low profile. Don't flaunt money, jewels, or U.S. logos on clothing and belongings.

Avoid predictable behavior patterns. We all have daily routines. We drive the same route, in the same car, and stop at the same café for coffee and a bagel. These patterns are easily discernible to someone looking to kidnap or rob you. Alter your routine.Have a contingency plan. In an emergency, employees need to know what to do and where they can go to be safe. Give them phone numbers of the local U.S. embassy. Advise them whether the local police can be trusted. Remind them to be aware of emergency exits in hotels and other buildings they visit.