Preparation key to protecting staff & reputation in overseas crises

What lessons can be learnt from the situation in Ukraine? Ukraine, which has hitherto been considered low risk for travel security, demonstrates the importance of being adaptive and the need to undertake contingency planning. It also shows how a situation can develop rapidly and unexpectedly, with important implications for business travellers, expatriates and national employees. What are the main reasons a company might pull its staff out of a country? The main reason for evacuation is political instability—as seen recently in Ukraine, Venezuela and Thailand. Natural hazards, such as tropical cyclone Haiyan in the Philippines and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, are probably the next biggest driver. Even storm Sandy in the US saw some clients with business travellers in New York request assistance.hideAre there other reasons? The availability of adequate medical facilities can be another factor. In Ukraine and Sudan the standard of medical care played a part in our advice. For example the closure of Sudan’s only international standard hospital was a key driver for evacuation. Our data shows that nearly 50% of travellers and expatriates hospitalised in a high-risk country will require medical evacuation. In an extreme risk country, that figure rises to nearly 80%. Are such crises becoming more common? That is hard to say, but there are many examples where clients have called on our support. Most recently, Ukraine has kept us busy and we are currently advising over 9,000 business travellers and over 1,700 expatriates in the country from a total of 107 companies. The conflict in South Sudan and protests in Thailand and Venezuela have also resulted in requests for support from clients in recent months, while we still see residual unrest in Egypt and other Arab Spring countries. There was also a significant spike in interest for North and South Korea when tensions ratcheted up last year. Are companies growing more concerned with the risks of operating in overseas markets? We have noticed an increased level of preparedness among companies since the terrorist attacks of September 2001 as well as since more recent crises, such as the Arab Spring, that were seen in Africa and the Middle East in 2011. Our clients want to understand and anticipate what is happening in countries in which they operate. We have also noticed that the scale and impact of our assistance has grown, while we also see organisations take more time preparing travel and evacuation risk management plans. What might be behind this increased interest—is it just linked to globalisation? Businesses are increasingly shifting towards emerging and riskier markets. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report estimates a 50% growth in overseas mobile workers by 2020. But we also see an increased understanding among clients of the need to prepare for threats. What are companies doing to prepare? What is best practice? We do see much more work around prevention, and we see that clients are on the whole much better prepared. Our experience of crises management projects shows that good practice lies within four elements: Understanding how many travellers or other staff you have in a given location, and being able to communicate with them both efficiently and quickly Developing contingency plans for crises and reviewing them regularly Staying in close contact with your travel service providers, such as local transport companies Preparing employees that are heading in to high-risk areas with the possibility that their visit might have to be cut short What is the potential damage for those not prepared? The dangers of not preparing are around business interruption and reputation, as well as exposure to subsequent legal liability if appropriate steps to protect employees are not taken. Ultimately employees’ lives are at risk. Is there much difference in preparedness between companies and sectors? There are different levels of preparedness among our members, but the fact they have membership shows that they are addressing the problems. Some companies—especially those operating in high-risk areas and sectors—are very active and have a forward-focused approach, but across the board we see greater engagement among organisations that realise they need to be better prepared to deal with these inherent risks. Is it a straightforward decision to evacuate? The most important decision for a travel risk manager is whether to defer non-essential travel and pull out non-essential staff. But it’s not just about getting people out. We help companies focus on managing their exposure and enabling business continuity. For example, some organisations continue to operate in a country after we have advised leaving, as some did in Syria, and we are able to support them in that decision. There can also be risks of moving employees out too early. For example, after the earthquake in Japan and the Fukushima nuclear crisis a number of our clients were concerned with the perceived reputational problems of leaving when other companies were staying. Should companies also consider local employees in their plans? It’s not only about expats. Companies should always consider the safety and wellbeing of their national employees in a crisis, however there are particular constraints on moving local employees. What are the benefits of using a company like International SOS and Control Risks? There is an obvious return on prevention and preparation. For example, in a crisis a company will need to use accredited secure providers, but these are hard to find at short notice and in a demanding crisis environment. But in many ways the most important service we provide is information, which is particularly relevant in emerging markets. We provide an assessment of the inherent risk, keeping clients updated on the situation so they can make judgements based on their own perspective.

Preparation key to protecting staff & reputation in overseas crises

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