International SOS’ London alarm center


Grey areas “Organizations with already-established business continuity or crisis plans were able to put them into action”, says Michael Hancock, International SOS’ Group General Manager, Assistance Worldwide. But many were having to make critical decisions as they went along because so many grey areas were exposed by the crisis. Who had the authority to make alternative bookings and at what cost? Which departments should be directly involved in decision- making? Were companies going to pay for employees returning back from business and leisure travel? Senior executives and crisis teams were unclear as


“ Over 90% of


clients said they had used TravelTracker during the crisis


” 8 Hotline Silver Edition, 2010


to what was expected of them. “Risk from a natural disaster is a situation that employers need to manage on behalf of their traveling employees”, says Michael. “‘Travel for work purposes’ and ‘accommodation for employees while working’ are both clearly stated as legal and moral obligations of an employer’s duty of care. Yet there were ambiguities shown up by the crisis.”


International SOS response “When the whole thing started, expectations were low as to how much disruption there would be. We’d seen volcanic eruptions before, but none had impacted business travel so significantly”, Michael continues. Within 24 hours the crisis had deeply impacted


International SOS’ operational activities – with many of the company’s own staff stranded and the need to assist clients impacted by the crisis, as well as ensure its own business continuity. “All our departments were working closely together: our alarm center network – especially London, Paris and Philadelphia; our regional security teams and the Global Security Center in London”, explains Michael. While International SOS dealt with huge numbers of enquiries from members, medical and security services were still supported. “Actually the way we work and our decision-making processes did not change”, says Michael “We looked at clients’ needs on the day and designed solutions accordingly.” New approaches and new providers were identified,


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