By Tim Crockett
In today’s world, the health and well-being of your employees across the globe is an increasingly important focus. In the face of terrorist threats, natural disasters and health epidemics, the increasing duty of care obligation for employers is undeniable. The question then becomes: what is the best way to pro-actively ensure the safety of your employees, travelers and expats?
When an incident occurs, time to react is critical and four factors are essential: 1) know where global employees are located 2) determine if any employees are impacted by the incident 3) communicate with them and 4) assess their safety needs.
Technology undoubtedly plays a key role in this. Location-based data and knowledge of where your employees are or where they’re going to be is critical. However, technology alone cannot meet an organization’s duty of care needs. Once you know who might be affected by an incident, what happens next? How do you reach those people, and what do you do if they need help? The fact is that it doesn’t matter how technologically advanced the world becomes, nothing can take the place of human interaction and insight. Your employees should have access to relevant information before they travel, empowering them to avoid many of the hazards faced today. This same system should provide the employee the ability to pick up the phone and talk to an expert. Whether they require advice, assistance or find themselves in danger, the knowledge that they have immediate access to medical and security professionals can make a world of difference.
This human element is also critical for risk program managers and other stakeholders. Access to real-time information and guidance on how best to communicate with executives and family members can be the deciding factor in whether an incident is managed successfully or not.
Join me on Monday, September 24th at GSX 2018 for Session #4102, Managing a Global Workforce in a Crisis. We will be discussing the critical combination of technology and human interaction in next generation crisis management and sharing a case study of the 2017 London Bridge Terror Attack.