For many employees, traveling on business is a small treat and overall perk. Nothing beats sightseeing after a day of meeting with new, potential or old clients in a different locale — especially if it’s in a warmer climate.
However, COVID-19 has changed how often employees travel. Companies must stay current on COVID-related travel restrictions in and out of the U.S., and must monitor CDC and state department guidelines for testing, proof-of-vaccination and quarantine mandates. That’s now more important than ever with the rise of the highly contagious omicron variant.
Additionally, other factors, like severe weather, active shooters, civil unrest and cyber crime affect employee safety when traveling on business.
Companies are accountable for harm to employees on company time. Being unprepared is costly and being uninformed leads to mistrust of management, which affects employee morale. For example, employee anxiety can translate into hesitancy to travel or relocate. This could mean losing valuable face-to-face business opportunities.
Take the recent shutdown of I-95 in Virginia due to heavy snowfall; if it was one of your employees stuck in the lineup of cars, would you be prepared to help? Creating a travel risk management (TRM) plan allows for a consistent chain of action in events like these.
