"Workers on the move: Managing new risks?" SOS report flags cyber crime as new risk to lone workers

The Federation of Risk Management (FERMA), the International SOS Foundation and KPMG today launch “Workers on the move: Managing new risks” a joint paper providing insight and practical advice for companies on managing the risks associated with business travel.
A survey* conducted for the report reveals the increasing responsibility of the Europe based risk manager in regards to health, safety and security risks (60% of the respondents) and the contribution to their organisation’s travel risk management policy and decision process (66% of the respondents) in an environment of changing travel risks.
Key insights from the report include:· Geopolitical climate (41%) and globalisation of organisations’ activity (39%) plays a large part in the complexity of risk manager’s task; cyber security (68%) is considered as risk number 1 for mobile workers. Mental health is a significant concern (45%) as well as social media (33%); 67% of organisations* consider that their exposure to health, safety and security risks linked to workers’ mobility has increased over the last two years.
Marc Burrows, Head of Global Mobility Services of KPMG, says “Expanding geographies, particularly into emerging markets, coupled with developed world expectations around risk management and compliance creates a need for a different approach to global mobility operations and increases the risks associated with a mobile workforce. All of this must be considered in the context of business continuity, reputation and brand protection being of paramount importance to global CEOs.”
Best practices for travel risk management: 10 good ideas…
1. Get commitment from senior management decision makers in the travel risk policy and programme.
2. Manage travel risks across functions, including security, risk and insurance, travel management and HR.
3. Look at travel safety management in the same way you manage process safety, integrating all dimensions of safety information, hazard analysis, travel procedures, training, near misses and incident reporting, and management of change.
4. Good communications are at the heart of good practice.
5. Consider the accumulation risk if several employees are going to the same destination.
6. Use the same health and travel security solutions for all international assignees, short and long term, for better coordination in a crisis.
7. Provide emotional support in times of anxiety.
8. Ensure pre-travel risk advisories and responses are broad enough for a diverse workforce.
9. Insurance, including claims handling, should be easy for travellers to use.
10. Regularly review use of the assistance centre, apps and the results, including feedback from travellers.
Laurent Fourier, Executive Director of the International SOS Foundation says, “Organisations are faced with an increasingly challenging and complex world of domestic and international pressures, rapid growth of the mobile workforce and increased regulations. We know that organisations want to make a difference in the lives of their mobile workforce and make a commitment to duty of care. By partnering with FERMA and KPMG we are pleased to enable risk managers to better understand their new challenges and fulfill their responsibilities in mitigating health and travel security risks”.
Download a copy of “Workers on the move: Managing new risks” here
* Source: online survey conducted from January to May 2017 among 377 risk managers based in Europe.