Travel is risky. Travel risk management doesn’t have to be.
Travel is an essential part of any modern school, but it’s not without its risks. So, how will your travel risk management program manage?
Why is it important?
Travel Risk Management (TRM) is important for several reasons:
- Safety – Ensuring the safety and well-being of your travellers is paramount
- Compliance – Meeting duty of care obligations and legal requirements
- Business Continuity – Minimising disruptions and financial losses
- Reputation – Protecting your school’s image and credibility
- Employee/Parent Satisfaction – Demonstrating a commitment to employee/student welfare.
Travel risk management is built on:
Proactivity – a thorough pre-trip risk assessment.
- Identify environmental risks
- Illness & Injury – Healthcare availability at the destination. Is there a requirement for vaccinations prior to travel.
- National disasters & adverse weather – Does the destination have a high number of natural disasters or extreme weather? Some weather events are more common at certain times of the year (Ex: bushfires in Australia during summer, tornado season in parts of the US).
- Crime and civil unrest – What’s the political situation at your destination? Could it change quickly? Does your country’s embassy recommend travel to the destination? Crime Rates.
- Transportation – Will hired drivers show up on time and drive safely? Accommodation security. Rules around foreign licenses for hire cars. Poor quality roads, dangerous local traffic, extreme weather.
- Internet access and cybersecurity - Availability and reliability of internet if visiting remote locations. Cybersecurity and the risk of security breaches while working remotely.
- Consider risk to the individual
- Individual risks, are those directly related to the travellers themselves. Get employees/students to fill in a risk assessment form well before they travel, so you can most accurately assess their individual risk levels.
- While you don’t want to intrude on your employees’ privacy, it is important to be aware of any threats that could come up during travel, including:
- Health, Identity – customs of country travelling to
- Behaviour – does employee have credit cards, drivers’ licence, other personal limitations/preferences
- Food & Water – Allergies could make it difficult to find suitable food in certain countries, requiring a plan in case of a reaction (Ex: person with a peanut allergy travelling in Southeast Asia).
- Evaluate the risks and create a mitigation plan
- Crafting a comprehensive travel risk management policy
- Communicate with your travellers
- Review and update as needed.
ASA Travel provider FCM Travel provides a technology platform designed to help schools manage travel risks effectively.
Key Features:
- Monitoring and Assessment: The technology monitors travel conditions and assesses potential risks
- Real-time Alerts: It delivers travel security alerts and updates to travellers and relevant personnel
- Risk Reporting: Enables schools to track and report on travel risks
- Location Sharing: Facilitates real-time location tracking for enhanced safety and security.
FCM provides schools that have joined the ASA Travel Program cutting-edge technology built to keep school travellers safe at every turn, while their dedicated support teams are available around the clock, ready to provide assistance in any and every situation.
Your school yet to access the ASA travel program just email ASA Travel Procurement Manager at kmantle@anglischools.edu.au
By Karen Mantle
ASA Travel Procurement Manager