Duty and Deployment
A combination of heightened security threats, employment legislation and employee aspirations have increased corporate responsibilities and obligations to deployed staff that barely existed a decade or so ago.
Duty of
care
From a corporate perspective, such obligations
are encapsulated in the “duty of care” concept. Duty of care, however, is an open-ended ideal whose
parameters have yet to be tested as to how far they may be extended under existing legislation. More importantly, perhaps, is how existing practices and assumptions may be dealt with under future legislation. One security consultant describes duty of care as “the new asbestosis”, a reference to how a once-acceptable industrial product became a massive liability for many of the companies involved in the production and application of asbestos once its long-term impact on health became clear.
| Home Sick The most assured source of contentment for an expatriate family is a comfortable and secure home. Such an environment will greatly reduce the risk of a “failed” posting, help ensure employee productivity and justify the expense of deploying personnel overseas. Residence Assessing the security of a residence should be conducted by qualified personnel, either from within the company or by contractors. There are a large number of issues to be addressed, ranging from access control, hiring and managing domestic staff to specific local threats and conditions. Travel Transport options for both the employee and dependents need to be assessed against a variety of risks. In most cases these relate to the wisdom of self-driving, traffic conditions or public transport availability. However, in other cases there may be a real threat from criminal gangs or political violence. Office Unless an expatriate is opening a new office it is likely that protocols are in place regarding office and plant security. However, all new expatriate managers should be encouraged to review existing procedures and be authorised to seek professional advice. Communications The most important communications are invariably between “the field” and head office, particularly in terms of security. Miscommunication and the damage it can inflict on a company’s commercial interests are often best dealt with by using an independent source to mediate and give advice. | The expatriate tourIn the case of duty of care obligations to staff sent overseas, the present and potential implications for corporate responsibility and costs relate mainly to security and health issues. Keeping long-term expatriates and their families or short stay business travellers as secure as possible will largely reflect the view that each member of staff – and where relevant their dependents – are company assets that could rapidly become liabilities unless management introduces procedures to protect equally personnel and corporate interests. Sending personnel overseas for a prolonged period is a relatively high risk commercial venture for any company. The expense of establishing and maintaining an expatriate family can exceed US$1 million in the first year, while the likelihood of an early return due to a variety of personal and professional factors has been assessed at between 20 and 50 per cent. Managing an expatriate’s security concerns may help ensure they remain in post and productive. However, unlike the business traveller, security planners and their advisers may have to factor in dependents. Issues concerning spouses and children are often the principal source for the failure of a posting, and these can be the most complex to deal with from a security perspective. This reflects the strong likelihood that although a company’s office or factory is secured within an established security regime, the expatriate household is not. Gaining compliance and cooperation from non-employees, particularly those on a first overseas tour, is a delicate task often best dealt with from outside the company. |
The business tripFor many employees the overseas business trip is an exciting and challenging assignment that often marks new responsibilities and opportunities. From a company’s point of view the assignment is obviously intended to further its commercial interests while perhaps testing or even rewarding an employee. For this reason such travel must be seen as available across the relevant skill-sets. This means companies are now sending overseas far younger staff than in the past, amid a security and legislative environment that penalises failure to prepare personnel for such assignments. At the same time, more experienced and welltravelled personnel are required to follow protocols they may find erode their perceived abilities to operate in often complex and even hostile environments. Managing these extremes requires sensitive and often carefully-tailored, relevant and up-to-date information, advice and, on occasion, training that goes beyond mere box-ticking procedures. The purpose of such a process should be to ensure the individual traveller is aware of the hazards they may encounter and the means they can employ to mitigate such risks, while also ensuring the company meets any legal obligations that can offset possible future liabilities.  | Travelling right All foreign travel should be subject to a basic set of security criteria intended to alert personnel to the risks from crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety. Clearly some destinations will require far more intensive briefing than others. Planning All foreign travel involves planning, and the security component should be involved from the start. The traveller and those responsible for his or her security should be in close contact, with consideration given to any known or realistic criminal, terrorist or other threats. Communications All staff should be required to check in regularly either verbally or by email to a designated department or a specialist security company that offers a “tracking” service. Clear protocols must be established to deal with missed or emergency calls. Awareness All staff travelling overseas should be given security awareness briefings, emphasising the need to remain alert to threats. These may range from a one-off briefing for personnel who routinely travel to secure countries to intensive training for staff visiting a hostile environment. Contingency All staff should be briefed to ensure they check emergency procedures at their hotels and should be provided with relevant contact numbers for the country they are visiting (embassy, medical assistance, emergency services). |
| In a global environment constantly tested by political unrest, social stresses and burgeoning regulation, the act of travelling or living abroad on company time is set to become even more complex. Managing this process efficiently and sensitively will provide greater security to the traveller and expatriate while limiting a business’s corporate liabilities. |
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Duty and Deployment
