OccupierEdge_Autumn2016_Terrorism

Traveling Employees and the Terrorist Threat: Is your Company Prepared?

What safety and security challenges of international travel and routine travel in metropolitan cities have you noticed recently? The biggest challenge for companies, in regards to both international and domestic travel, is maintaining employees’ safety when outside of their secure office environments. For example, with the increasingly spontaneous nature of today’s terrorism, a major priority is locating staff quickly and determining their well-being. The good news is that technology, such as mobile phones, and apps such as Tactics ON (www.tacticson.com), are helping companies improve the ability to quickly determine staff’s whereabouts and also more effectively coordinate them during crises. What would be the best way for employees to prepare for a potential terrorist attack? A complete plan should be in place and traveling employees should be trained in what to do during, and immediately after, a terrorist attack. Such training can help save lives. Ultimately what are the most common mistakes that are made during a crisis situation? The biggest threat in a crisis situation can often be your own curiosity. We have to override that inherently needs and desires to investigate, so if you hear something suspicious (explosion, gunfire, etc.), head in the opposite direction as quickly as possible.

At one time, the focus of journey management involved how to handle delayed flights, missing reservations and luggage. Journey management still includes those, but now it also involves ensuring employee safety in the face of terrorism. Will Geddes, Managing Director of the International Corporate Practice Group, offers insights on how to plan and train employees in the instance that an employee finds himself or herself in danger’s way. Over the course of the last year, the world has experienced an unprecedented number of various terrorist-related incidents. During the past two years, more than 70 attacks throughout the world have been attributed to the Islamic state and this number doesn’t account for domestic terrorism. Have companies began to re-assess their risk, security and training of their employees? Historically, following terrorist incidents and attacks, the majority of companies would only address and revise security measures for the specific city or region affected. As a result, we’ve had a significant increase in demand for the delivery of executive and training, both generic safety and crisis response practices. International Corporate Protection (ICP) Group is experiencing a significant increase in demand for training in safe journey management, situational awareness and, most telling, terrorism and political/civil instability risks.

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