Is Your Travel Risk Management Still Fit for Purpose? Explaining ISO 31030

Last Updated on: March 7, 2023 at 9:25 am

As a result of the pandemic and the recently issued ISO 31030 Standard (the first worldwide framework for travel risk management), corporate travel planning has become a topic of discussion in boardrooms. As vaccination programmes continue to be pushed out and travel picks up, companies must look to update business travel practices to ensure they meet the corporate duty of care criteria as defined in ISO 31030 to make staff feel secure and comfortable when travelling for business. 

We spoke with Francis Chong, Vice President for Collinson Assistance for the Asia Pacific region, to find out more about travel risk management and the new ISO 31030 Standard. Collinson Assistance is a global leader in the provision of medical and travel risk mitigation solutions, which assists companies with overall travel risk management needs. Hence, ensuring that you’re ready for anything from medical emergencies to simple business trip risk management, to help safeguard your employees’ well-being.

What is travel risk management, and why does it matter?

There are many exposures and variables to handle when it comes to corporate travel, which increases the chances of things going wrong, no matter what sector of business you’re in. Whether it’s a migraine or stomach sickness, a delayed or cancelled flight, a terrorist attack, or a natural incident, a variety of unanticipated events may disrupt even the best-planned business trip.

Corporate travel risk management is focused on helping organisations go beyond the basic duty of care to provide crucial assistance to business travellers.

The pandemic has brought attention to the need for good health in the workplace, particularly in industries that require travel and interpersonal interaction. Travel risk management necessitates firms to anticipate, assess and put appropriate measures in place to manage the possible effect of events, develop mitigations, and communicate projected risk exposures to their employees. As a result, it’s become critical to advise and provide travelling staff with holistic medical, emergency response, security, and data security protection.

Risks related to travel are ever-evolving. They differ from one location to the next. As a result, it’s critical to keep track of and update your travel risk management programme to protect your travelling employees and meet duty of care requirements as new threats emerge.

The larger concept of travel risk management and duty of care is tied to how effectively your business can avoid a crisis from occurring in the first place, not simply how well it can react to one.

When workers travel on behalf of the business, it is critical to demonstrate that they support them. Whether it is international or domestic business travel, travellers may encounter novel circumstances and places, each with its own set of risks. Some dangers include road accidents, disease outbreaks, natural disasters, conflict, crime, terrorism, political and social instability, and unrest. All these can endanger travellers’ safety, security, health (both physical and mental health), and their business trip’s outcome.

A good travel safety training will cover all travel dangers, how to avoid them, and what to do if they occur.

What is the new ISO 31030 Standard? 

ISO 31030 is a global Standard that breaks down all risks of travel risk management today. Established to help organisations manage the challenges associated with business travel in today’s new normal, the Standard released in September 2021 is the first truly global benchmark for travel risk management developed by experts from over 160 countries.

ISO 31030 is intended to assist companies in dealing with the problems posed by the constantly evolving and diversified risk and danger landscape that exists in the business traveller’s environment. Organisations should prepare for these risks and ensure that they are satisfying their duty of care obligations when employees travel for work.

ISO 31030 provides the flexibility required to deal with differences in organisation size and scope and the various contexts in which they must function. There is advice on how to implement the recommendations in a balanced manner by using a risk framework which helps identify priorities based on corporate goals and the appropriate planning required.

The ISO Standards development process has brought together a wealth of knowledge from across the world to analyse these threats and dangers and identify the best management and mitigation methods to make travel safer. Consequently, ISO31030 will undoubtedly change over time.

Tell us more about your recent partnership with AETOS and Crisis24 to create AETOS Assist

Under the AETOS Assist brand, we entered a strategic collaboration agreement with AETOS and Crisis24 to deliver end-to-end security, medical, and travel risk management solution.

Pre-travel risk assessment, real-time security information and people monitoring, crisis management, emergency evacuations, and worldwide medical help are all part of the service.

In addition,we provide customers with medical solutions, such as COVID-19 travel testing and support, to assist organisations in fulfilling their duty of care and protecting personnel. With the new ISO 31030 Standard putting travel risk management on the C-Suite agenda, this collaboration will guarantee that firms can protect their most important assets — their people. The service will be accessible 24/7 throughout the year and overseen by a state-of-the-art’ 5G-enabled Command Centre.

Finally, how is Collinson working with TruTrip?

We are delighted to be working in partnership with TruTrip to enable TruTrip’s users to seamlessly and securely book a range of pre-departure COVID-19 travel tests including RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests. The partnership makes COVID-19 travel testing even more accessible for business travellers using TruTrip services from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Korea and the UK.

The partnership enables TruTrip customers to book a COVID-19 test seamlessly and securely through Collinson’s website using a unique promotional code at their preferred in-city clinic from a given list of testing facilities. Upon completion of their test, customers will automatically receive notification of their PCR test results within 36 hours, and usually within an hour for Rapid Antigen tests; which if negative, can then be used for travel. Together, we strive to ensure that business travellers are given the support they need to feel confident and protected when returning to the skies.

Collinson is trusted to look after the safety and wellbeing of millions of business travellers and expatriates around the world with an expert-driven approach to medical and security services. They are also getting travellers back to flying confidently with medical screening and other travel medical services.

We’re thrilled at TruTrip about how, in collaboration with Collinson, we’ll be able to provide our customers with the finest possible start to safe travel.

Are you going places in 2022?

Travel requirements add complexity to your plans but we’re here to make it simpler for you. Find your nearest Covid-19 testing facility here or book a demo to see how we can improve your travel programme.