17 May
2017

Managers reveal their main concerns for travelling staff

Over half of those surveyed feel under-prepared to manage issues

New research released today reveals the top concerns that managers with decision-making responsibility have for their staff who travel on business.

When asked about their main concerns for travelling staff, perhaps unsurprisingly, safety is the number one concern. Over half of respondents (59%) are concerned about security and terrorism when staff travel abroad. A half of respondents (50%) are concerned about organising the correct entry documents and one in four (39%) said health and medical issues were a concern. Almost a quarter (23%) are concerned about harassment and violence against staff. Women were much more concerned about harassment and violence against staff, with 31% of female managers seeing this as a concern, compared to only 18% of male managers.

When asked whether they felt prepared to manage an issue involving their staff travelling on business, over half (53%) felt under-prepared.

The fact that many managers feel underprepared may be representative of the challenging global environment, including political and economic uncertainty around Brexit, changes brought in by the Trump administration and the global terrorism threat. Additionally, it appears that managers may be feeling under-prepared based on their past experiences. When asked what issues you or your staff have experienced when travelling in the past 12 months, 51% of respondents said their staff had experienced at least one issue. The most common issues experienced were health or medical issues (e.g. Zika), natural disasters or severe weather conditions and issues organising the correct entry documents (e.g. passports, visas).

ABTA is hosting a Business Travel Risk Management event on 25th May 2017 in London exploring ways in which businesses can minimise risks associated with travelling staff. Speakers from a diverse range of business travel, legal, security and health backgrounds will provide insight on what the risks are and how to manage them.

ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tanzer said: “Businesses must consider a whole range of issues to minimise risk when sending employees abroad. While safety is, understandably, a major concern that must be addressed the reality is that business travellers are more likely to be affected by weather related incidents or having the right entry documentation. With global events, economic and political uncertainty causing concern for business travellers, we will be discussing these issues and providing advice on how to better evaluate risk and implement plans that answer the needs of organisations and their travelling staff.”

Speakers include Paul Wait, Chief Executive Officer, GTMC; Adam Knights, MD, ATPI; Sandy Moring, Director of Education, Institute of Travel Management.

A full programme, event information and registration link can be found here: abta.com/events

17 May 2017