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Conclusions, Recommendations and Limitations


travel incidents, based on the profile of where employees are sent on assignment and business trips. These stakeholders must not only work together, but also be able to convince senior management that Duty of Care is a CSR priority and that resources must be made available.


3. Expand policies and procedures Beyond the usual travel-related policies and approval procedures, companies should consider developing new types of protective policies and procedures. Best practices in Duty of Care call for appropriate travel restrictions through medical and security alerts, rest break policies, “I’m okay” policies and employee behavioral codes of conduct while on assignment or business travel. Travel to high-risk destinations calls for careful notification and employee training.


4. Conduct due diligence Employers cannot delegate their Duty of Care responsibility to others. When using vendors, contractors and subcontractors, they must perform Duty of Care due diligence and make it part of their standard operating procedures.


5. Communicate, educate and train It is vital that companies obtain the necessary buy-in from managers and employees with regard to the importance of Duty of Care for the organization and its employees. Managers must know, follow and enforce the Duty of Care policies and procedures. Employees must follow the policies and procedures (e.g., booking through an approved travel provider and getting the necessary travel approvals), knowing how to use the tools provided to them to protect themselves while traveling or on assignment. In other words, employee Duty of Loyalty is necessary for effective employer Duty of Care. This education, communication and training should be part of the overall orientation and on-boarding process for all globally mobile employees and their managers.


6. Assess risk prior to every employee trip While risk assessment prior to travel is a logical step for companies with globally mobile employees, many organizations fail to engage in this activity, especially for their international business travelers and expatriates who may be traveling or assigned to high-risk locations. An employer’s Duty of Care obligation should include ensuring that employees are oriented to the foreseeable risks and threats they are likely to encounter. Employees with health risks or other personal concerns should be identified prior to travel so that they can be adequately addressed to limit potential negative outcomes. Every travel approval should include an employee risk assessment component prior to departure ideally linked to the risk at the destination, and have a protocol for both employer and employee refusal to travel.


7. Track traveling employees at all times The ability to track employees at all times is vital for employee protection. Employer knowledge of employee locations is critical in order to warn, protect and assist them. This


inevitably entails approved travel booking, electronic communications and monitoring, and employee conformity to these procedures. Employers must be sensitive to the issue of employee privacy rights versus their duty of protection of those employees. A broader dialog between the employer and its employees on why certain policies and procedures are in place should be part of any employee monitoring.


Additionally, it is recommended that companies implement a comprehensive emergency response plan for all foreseeable contingencies.


8. Implement an employee emergency response system Companies should develop emergency response plans so they can confirm that each employee (and family) is “okay” following an emergency situation or disaster. These emergency response plans usually focus on several components, including whether the employee is safe, whether the family is safe, status updates on whether the employee can get to the place of work or not, and a general assessment of the employee’s home and office situation. It also requires the use of multiple means of communication according to an approved protocol, and can be push-oriented (initiated by employer) and/or pull-oriented (initiated by employee). The greatest challenge with these systems is not how to plan them or which technology to use, but rather how to effectively implement them.


9. Implement additional management controls Many companies still have major challenges in enforcing Duty of Care policies and procedures. Concurrent with buy-in from managers and employees, it is recommended that companies implement appropriate management controls. Accounting departments should, as part of their corporate social responsibility, engage in internal controls regarding employee travel planning and expenses, ensuring that employees are authorized to travel before making a payment, and verifying whether the employee actually traveled.


10. Ensure vendors are aligned Organizations must rely on outside partners to assist them with their Duty of Care obligations. If multiple vendors are used for different aspects of Duty of Care, it is vital that these vendors are both appropriate and aligned with organizational goals. But, it is equally important that they are aligned and coordinated with one another. They must work in a coordinated fashion to obtain the necessary synergies. Multiple vendors often cause overlap as well as a blind spot in terms of coverage. Therefore, the multiple Duty of Care stakeholders in a company must coordinate and manage their vendors as well.


These best practices are part of what is to be considered relatively “low-hanging fruit” based on the findings of the Global Benchmarking Study.


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