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Although some business traveller respondents from the most recent traveller survey in August said their employers provide post-trip support, such as personal time off (13%), requests for feedback post-trip (11%), or follow-up with on-trip security or medical incidents (10%), 39% said they receive no support.
More than three-quarters of business travellers say their employer treats traveller health, safety and security as a priority. Still, only 36% of travellers say their employer unconditionally takes care of their safety and security when working remotely, and another 25% don’t know, according to a recent BCD Travel survey in August. The study of 674 business travellers worldwide aimed to examine travel risk management and the traveller experience, as well as a variety of measures that may improve the health, safety and security of business travellers on the road.

“This survey shows the growing need for a mindset shift from travel risk management to people risk management,” said Mike Janssen, Global Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer for BCD Travel. According to the survey respondents, companies are doing reasonably well supporting traditional travel risk management. Still, there’s a lack of support for newer workforce behaviours, specifically remote work and bleisure travel.

A separate BCD survey in March on corporate travel program priorities among travel buyers placed traveller wellbeing as the second priority behind the duty of care. Some 64% of travellers don’t know if they are covered by their organization’s travel security and medical support if they extend their business trip for leisure purposes. “Today’s duty of care policies have to address the realities of hybrid or work-from-anywhere workforces as well as the changing values around traveler wellbeing.” An additional 16% said they don’t know if such support exists.

Some of the areas that successful risk management should address are:

● Hybrid workforces

● New sets of locations

● Work-from-anywhere policies

● Political unrest

● Changing values

● Traveler wellness

● Risk mitigation

● Cost

When travellers do feel unsafe, it is most often when walking in the streets (44%), driving in an unfamiliar location (43%), or using public transportation (40%).

Other survey highlights:

75% of travellers rarely or never feel unsafe during a business trip. Of the 23% who sometimes or regularly feel unsafe, a slightly higher percentage of men than women feel unsafe, and an even higher rate of non-binary/non-conforming travellers feel unsafe.

Travel buyers can better address duty of care by creating and maintaining an effective travel risk management program and making the program and policies accessible and part of a culture that promotes health, safety and security. The top support measures from their organizations that travellers say make them feel safe and secure on a trip are travel alerts and security notifications (61%), a central contact in case of an emergency (53%), pre-trip destination security information (51%), and clear instructions on what to do in an emergency (44%).

BCD helps clients to adapt travel policies, communicate with travellers and provide the right traveller tools to support the changing needs of people risk management. The main actions travellers take to keep their safety include separating their hotel room key from its envelope (50%), taking a taxi or ride-hailing service instead of public transportation (46%), and checking the fire escape route at their hotel (40%).

Additionally, companies can look to technology tools, such as BCD Alert™, COVID-19 Information Hub and TripSource® security messaging, to manage travel risk and keep employees informed on changing travel rules and dangers. Travellers are less likely to feel unsafe at a restaurant (6%) or in a hotel room (6%). BCD clients can also take the Traveler Security Program Assessment, which conducts an in-depth review of their duty of care practices and policies to check their effectiveness against today’s risks.

People’s well-being needs to be a top priority at any company. Otherwise, employers risk damaging employees’ physical and mental health and decreasing job satisfaction, potentially leading to talent loss. People who don’t feel safe and cared for are unlikely to stay. On the contrary, managing employee risks will give organizations an edge in talent recruitment and retention.